Danganronpa: Disparity Between the Truth and Lies (SYOC CLOSED)
by RioA
Summary: Ultimates are capable liars. Ultimates are capable killers. Who gave these humans a right to believe that Ultimates aren't capable of murder? I'll prove them wrong, and I'll prove them wrong in this beautifully thrilling killing game. (SYOC CLOSED)
1. SYOC Form

There is no thin line between a lie and the truth.

Sure, you can skew a truth halfway, but it is still the truth. You can skew a lie and make part of it fit into the whole picture, but it is still a lie you want them to believe in.

There are lies in this reality that the entire world believes in. There are plenty of truthful stories that many deter from.

However, it must be said that people desire the lie more than the truth in this world.

Lies can be seen as the better of the two. It gives us a false sense of security, it helps makes us ignorant to the dying world around us.

Criminals use lies to try to lessen their punishment. Policemen would use lies in order to corrupt a trial. Everyday citizens would lie about anything, everywhere, everytime. Anyone could lie. Just about anyone could lie.

Yeah, let's not try to stretch the purpose any longer.

Even your idolized beings could lie. Ultimates, as we call them.

Ultimates are still human beings, only intelligent in one certain area and average at the rest. They only excel at a certain area because they are obsessed with that job of their's. It is to be said that these Ultimates are still teenagers, still kids, still humans.

Humans could lie. Ultimates could lie.

There is no way around it. Stop idolizing these teenagers as if they are meant to be Gods. They are children, pawns to the world.

And I'll show you. These children are capable liars, capable sinners. These children are capable of doing the most brutal things mankind could dare to see.

The most brutal humans dare it to be? Yes, that is murder.

Haven't you heard of stories of children who murdered their own families? Who tortured their own siblings simply for the sake of it? These were children who committed these acts. These were children- children who were supposed to be considered innocent and pure.

If children could kill, why couldn't teenagers kill? Teenagers are bound to be stressed out. They are bound to scream bloody murder at someone.

Humans are naturally selfish. If they cannot accept the fact that Ultimates, mind you, teenagers, cannot kill, I might as well prove the world wrong.

So, let yourself indulge into this messy world where sixteen Ultimates will battle in a trial of life and death.

* * *

 **General Idea of the Story:**

Hello, my name is RioA, but just Rio is fine with me. I want to use the ideas of truth vs. lies in this story, so the excerpt up here has the central topic on liars. Anyways, let me talk about what I plan to do with the story. For starters, I am thinking about making this story dark as I could make it, so I may bump the rating of this to Mature if it comes down to it. This does take place in a high school building (how creative), but trust me that I will try to make this story as suspenseful and eye-catching as possible.

Anyways, Minori here will be the protagonist. His talent, Pseudologist? Well, I'll have to explain everything later, just not right now...

 **Rules:**

1\. Like every other SYOC, I will not accept any Mary Sues or Gary Sues. Perfect characters ruin any chance of them having character development and may as well ruin Monokuma's plan to plot a killing game altogether.

2\. I want these forms to be answered in detail and with a lot of thought behind such. I won't accept first come, first serve. Instead, I will be waiting till I feel like I gain enough characters and I feel like I rounded the cast well. EDIT: Since I am getting a lot of submissions than I would've thought I would say the due date is around November 10.

3\. I would like the talents to be original and creative. Of course I am not asking for insane talents like Ultimate Weeb and whatnot, but creativity is always welcomed! You could reuse talents such as Ultimate Detective, but the character would have to be exceptionally well for me to accept it or that they fit into the story really, really well.

4\. You can submit up to three characters! I don't mind if you submit in characters who weren't accepted in other SYOCs either.

5\. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I am generally warm and friendly, so don't be shy!

 **-General Form-**

Name: (First and last name.)

Nickname: (If they prefer to be called by their nickname state so as well.)

Gender: (Are they male or female?)

Age: (I'd say to make it 15-18.)

Talent: (I'd like some unique talents.)

Height:

Weight:

Sexuality: (I'm honestly open for anything.)

Nationality: (I'd prefer if they were Japanese since I will accept few foreigners, but if you want to test your luck go right ahead!)

 **-Past-**

History: (I would like this to be one of the more detailed from the form. I would like to know about their basic past and how they came to get their power as well as what drove them into nurturing that talent (or not) and becoming a renowned Ultimate. I don't mind some dark back stories here and there, but stories that are perfectly normal are fine as well.)

Family Ties: (Just tell me their basic relationships with their family and if they are faring well with them. Tell me who they're closest to and who they aren't possibly fond of.)

Others: (Are there friends or neighbors that your character seems to hate or are fond of? If so, tell me right here and explain their relationship.)

 **-Appearance-**

Physical Appearance: (I don't mind diversity. Skinny to muscular people, anyone would work! As long as they fit their talent and make sense to their height/weight. Tell me the more detailed features, such as the shape of their eyelids and their body shape.)

Clothing: (Their clothing should make sense, for both an Ultimate and a high school student. No student would wear revealing clothing nor would the Ultimate Attorney wear a maid outfit. Though there could be a lack of care for clothing that the character has for their appearance, it should still make the least bit sense.)

Special Features: (Special features would include birthmarks, scars, etc.)

 **-Personality and Mentality-**

Outdoor Personality: (This is how they present themselves in front of others. Do they act more refined than they usually do towards themselves and/or their closest friend? Do they come off more as rude because of their lack of social ability? State their outdoor personality here.)

Indoor Personality: (This is how they really present themselves. They should rarely show these to others other than their closest ones and themselves. If they act the same either way, just state so right here.)

Health/Mental Disorders:

Mentality (Before Killing Game/Murder Occurs): (This is what they would think before the killing game and/or before a murder actually occurs. They wouldn't think about the killing game being real, right? They would not have a 'fight or flight' mentality as of yet.)

Mentality (During Killing Game): (This is during the killing game. Now that they know the killing game is real, what will they do about it and how will they react? Will they slowly go insane or will they force themselves to lead the group?)

Expectations They Think People Have About Them: (This is what they think people would think about them, whether if their judgment is true or not.)

Expectations They Have For Themselves: (This is what they expect themselves to be. They desire to act a certain way towards others and focus on their goals.)

Speech: (This is how they speak. What is their tone? Do they sound arrogant or calm? Do they have a high-pitched or low-pitched sound of voice?)

Mannerisms: (This is how they act. Do they have habits they can't control such as tapping their foot or bowing to other people without needing to?)

Biggest Pet Peeve: (What is their biggest pet peeve? It can range from anything serious to anything comical.)

Biggest Fear: (What do they fear the most? Again, this can range from serious to comical.)

Biggest Secret: (The same as the upper two.)

Hobbies: (Give me around 3-5.)

Likes: (3-5.)

Dislikes: (3-5.)

People They Like:

People They Are Neutral Towards:

People They Dislike:

Relationship/Love Interest: (If you want your character to be in a relationship or be a possible love interest to another, state so here and what they look for in a person.)

Quotes: (Basic quotes on their introduction, examples of what they could say in a trial, etc.)

 **-During the Story-**

Motive to Kill: (I would want at least two possible motives. This could range from anything to simply wanting to kill for fun to their parents being threatened.)

Victim, Murderer, Survivor: (Give me your own personal take on what your character could become. This may or may not come true during the course of the story, of course, especially if you want your character to be a survivor.)

Mastermind? If so, Why?: (If you do choose to want your character as a mastermind, you must explain their reasoning and history into becoming such.)

Character Arc: (An idea for character development would be nice, especially if they are going to become the main core to the protagonist later on.)

Free Time Event Ideas: (A basic few ideas on what my protagonist to talk to about with your character.)

When an Area is Unlocked: (How will your character react when an area is unlocked? During their free time, will they traverse the area alone or with a group? Will they care that an area is unlocked or will they stay in one place?)

 **-Trial Grounds-**

When the Killing Game is Announced:

When a Murder Happens:

During the Investigation:

During the Trial:

Being Accused (Innocent):

Being Accused (Guilty):

Witnessing an Execution:

Execution Idea: (You do not have to give me one here, but it would be greatly kind if you do so.)

Other: (Is there anything I miss? State so right here!)

* * *

 **Submitted Talents:**

Ultimate Pseudologist x1

Ultimate Egyptologist x1

Ultimate Psychologist x1

Ultimate Scholar x1

Ultimate DJ x1

Ultimate American Football Star x1

Ultimate Astrophotographer x1

Ultimate Masseuse x1

Ultimate Wedding Planner x1

Ultimate Kinetic Visionary x1

Ultimate Wedding Planner x1

Ultimate Bookworm x1

Ultimate Jeweler x1

Ultimate Stand-Up Impressionist x1

Ultimate Psychogeographer x1

Ultimate Body Broker x1

Ultimate Affluent Progeny x1

Ultimate Spirit Medium x1

Ultimate Marine Biologist x1

Ultimate Surgeon x1

Ultimate Thief x2

Ultimate Hypnotist x2

Ultimate ? x1

Ultimate Barista x1

Ultimate Slacker x1

Ultimate Lifeguard X1

Ultimate Mortician x1

Ultimate Master of Disguise x1

Ultimate Suit Actress x1

Ultimate Knight x1

Ultimate Con-Artist x1

Ulimate Street Fighter x1

Ultimate Ventriloquist x1

Ultimate Extraterrestrial Investigator x1

Ultimate Chocolatier x1

Ultimate Squash Player x1

Ultimate Stunt Double x1

Ultimate Horror Novelist x1

Ultimate Cult Leader x1

Ultimate Linguist x1

Ultimate Zookeeper x1

Ultimate Tactician x1

Ultimate Test Subject x1

Ultimate Rhetoric x1

* * *

 **Genders Submitted:**

Male: x29

Female: x17

* * *

 **Roster:**

Will be shown in updates and when the final cast is posted.


	2. The Students - Official Cast

Hello! And we finally come to the moment of truth!

So! Here are the characters I've accepted! Thank you to everyone who participated and send in characters, I'm really glad that you guys are interested in this story! I had more characters than I anticipated, and man was it hard to choose who's best fitted for the story! I wanted a blend of all sorts of characters, but honestly I loved all of your characters! It was so hard to choose one and leave out the others.

I'm sorry to all the rest of you kind folks who couldn't get their submissions in on time! I hope you'll find better success in another fanfic, so I'm truly sorry!

Anyways, let us have a look at the cast for this story.

* * *

 **FEMALES**

1\. Fuwari Akatsuki - Ultimate Spirit Medium (Agrael)

2\. Saori Arai - Ultimate Body Broker (TheRoseShadow21)

3\. Rin Hoseki - Ultimate Jeweler (AmaryllisGreen)

4\. Sagiso Hazuki - Ultimate Psychogeographer (Harukawa Ayame)

5\. Kaniza Tsukitaiyo - Ultimate Astrophotographer (liammarklh88)

6\. Sheina Yakamuro the 12th - Ultimate Egyptologist (dashunterman)

7\. Amyto Uchida - Ultimate Hypnotist (Tario Ed)

8\. Asami Karihime - Ultimate Knight (ToonGuy)

 **MALES**

1\. Minori Watanabe - Ultimate Pseudologist (RioA)

2\. Fumio Fujiyoshi - Ultimate Scholar (zephryr)

3\. Kakuma Arakaki - Ultimate Wedding Planner (PoisonBanana)

4\. Nezumi Jirokichi - Ultimate Thief (irwegwert)

5\. Kamui Setsushi - Ultimate Mortician (DryBonesKing)

6\. Seiga Kosoku - Ultimate Stunt Double (Kukasabe Swift)

7\. Haruko Yoshikawa - Ultimate Chocolatier (hurgleplargh)

8\. Ryoichi Homura - Ultimate Extraterrestrial Investigator (mpjindustries)

* * *

Alright, since you get to have a look at the many different talents and names of the cast, I got a quick question for you to answer! What do you think of the cast so far? Who seems to have the most interesting talent and who do you think will leave the best impression on you? You can also answer this in the poll as well on my profile!

Of course, I will be replying to your reviews in the introduction to these characters. I hope I can satisfy your curiosity on what is to come with them.


	3. Prologue - Part 1, Part A

Hello, and welcome to the official introduction to this story! I am glad that I am able to whip up this prologue this quickly, and I hope the characters you will meet in this first part of the introduction (and prologue) will interest you along with our protagonist! I will be splitting up the introduction into two parts so I can better flesh out the characters so they can try to leave you an impression.

So, with that also said, I will go respond to your reviews!

 **Agrael:** "I'm glad you think the cast is colorful, I hope to meet your expectations ^.^ Lol, I gotcha with the pun for Ultimate Chocolatier lol."

 **mpjindustries:** "Oh, my computer kinda did something so yeah I had to repost it. I hope you will like this first part at least!"

 **Harukawa Ayame:** "Computer crashed, weird stuff. Aww, I'm glad I made your day! Yeah, there were a lot of submitted characters with talents I've never seen before, so I understand your interest!"

 **hurgleplargh:** "I hope you will like the prologue ^.^"

 **Writer's Block Abundance:** "Your character was really good too! Aha, good luck with picking favorites and hoping they won't die."

 **Abitat Eco:** "Your character was really interesting though! I hope you'll like the first part of the prologue."

 **zephryr:** "No problem, I really love your character! I hope you will like this introduction at least ^.^"

 **Kukasabe Swift:** "Oh my god I didn't notice the error I'm so sorry! I'm glad you're curious about a lot of the characters, and I hope you will like the cast more as the story goes on."

 **Power Player:** "Hope you can find success elsewhere, your character was interesting as well! Yeah, Maya was awesome to me lol. The protagonist may be interesting ^.^"

 **ToonGuy:** "Hooray! I'm glad you think the cast is interesting ^.^"

 **liammarklh88:** "No, every single character was good! Kaniza is a great character! Haha, yeah, a lot of people seem like to like the Spirit Medium because of the Ace Attorney series."

* * *

Let's drown ourselves in this tragedy of a story.

This is a tragedy. A comedy. A mixture of the two.

Which is which? Is this story a comedy or a tragedy?

Well, it's none of the above. You have been lied to.

This story is nothing more than a replica of many others. This story is nothing more than a joke, a false reality that wishes for itself to be real. This is a story which desires to reach to the top, but in the end is all a falsehood. A dream.

This is a story of lies. This is a story of death. This is a story of the spectrum between what is a fabrication to what is the truth.

...

So, he woke up.

He woke up from the darkness that people claim to be sleep. He woke up from a sleep which held little importance. He dreamt of nothing. He thought of nothing. It was only now, at the present, that he found himself thinking and found himself lying in a soft layer of cushion and fabric.

 _Ugh... My head hurts._

A groan escaped his lips. His chapped, dry lips. His body was aching all over, stiff. His hair was messy, his eyes watery from the sudden glaze of the light from above. His eyes which blurred the vision of seemed to be-

 _A... A dorm room?_

He found himself staring at the ceiling. A ceiling which was painted white, his eyes also noticing the dark purple walls which gave the room a sort of luxurious feel to it if it weren't for how bland the lights were placed- just one lightbulb hanging above the middle of the ceiling and a lamp next to his left. He was lying on a king-sized bed, the black blankets below him now wrinkled from his movements. From his view he could see a door to what seemed to be the restroom and the closet which was to the right, a desk in the middle of the chaos.

 _Why am I here? I don't remember anything... Was I going somewhere or something?_

 _Where... Where am I?_

The teenager groaned, forcing himself up to investigate the area. He found a portable item on the table, his eyes barely able to read the words 'MonoPad' on it. He moved his way closer to the MonoPad, eyeing the screen before touching the black case which protected the actual pad in leather. He moved his finger to the home button, and suddenly music began to play- a happy-go-lucky music which would play in any children's show.

"Upupupu! Hello, fellow student and welcome to the Reigning Academy of Ultimates!"

 _Reigning Academy of Ultimates?_

"You, Mr. Minori Watanabe, the Ultimate Pseudologist will have the pleasure of attending this marvelous school!"

With that strangely high-pitched voice screeching into the screen while music continued to play, there came a picture of the teenager itself on set who was smiling.

It was him- Minori Watanabe, the Ultimate Pseudologist. He could see his own picture, yet he couldn't recognize where he had taken such a picture from.

His dark green eyes and thin eyebrows, those dark green irises hinting of the grounded personality he was known for. His messy silvery-white hair which reached just below his ears, bangs resting over the place above his eyebrows and a gemstone of sapphire being the earring to the bottom of his left earlobe. His usual black coat that was buttoned up with only two large black buttons and elegant white scarf with black skinny jeans and leather boots. His tall structure despite his feminine appearance, his slim arms and legs. His small nose and round-shaped head. His small hands which didn't match perfectly to his height and fairly large feet. His fair to somewhat pale skin which was smooth and almost flawless, almost befitting to that of a doll's appearance.

He was that person in the photo. He was that exact person, his features matching that of the picture's a hundred precent accurately (if not perfect). He was even wearing those exact clothing at this exact moment, and yet he doesn't remember taking a picture inside of a school building, smiling as if it was his first day of school. He doesn't remember smiling so happily, ready to go into school when he knew he'd look the exact opposite.

 _Why am I wearing these clothes? When did I take this picture? Who...who's narrating this weird shit?_

"You, along with fifteen other students, will be participating in our headmaster's grand master plan that'll help make this world a better place. Well, by headmaster, I mean moi, but whatever! That doesn't matter at the moment. So... That, my friends, is the purpose of this academy! Upupupu! Students, you must meet in the auditorium for further announcements! Explanations will be said there, and questions will be answered there!"

Before Minori was able to question himself any further, the screen suddenly went black, and now the MonoPad was left for dead. There was no trace of any sound from the item. There was nothing to be found now. It was now a piece of junk at the moment.

Minori was now left in that discomforting silence, his heartbeat the only sound to be heard.

 _What...what the hell just happened?_

He didn't know. He honestly didn't know. If anything, nothing logical has happened and Minori felt himself being engulfed into an endless pit of bewilderment. His surroundings, his well-being, the MonoPad...nothing made sense. Nothing even went remotely close to making sense.

Minori just stood there, still. Silent. It took a few minutes before he regained his composure, his heartbeat now at a steady pace. It took even longer before he finally moved his head and decided to look around. Still, his mind thinking back to the supposed headmaster's words.

 _Hm, the headmaster actually called me the Ultimate Pseudologist, huh._

Minori frowned to himself. He never really liked being called the Ultimate Pseudologist. Though he was joyous that he was considered an Ultimate 'something' around the world, he had hoped he'd be something extravagant such as the Ultimate Ambassador. Even lesser-respected talents that could be given to people such as Ultimate Psychologist to Ultimate Chemist would be beter than his talent. His talent as a master of lies and deceit gave him a bad reputation, after all. Being a master of something that is considered a taboo in society would definitely attract attention from the media, and none would be received as positive. He'd be attacked left and right, people questioning how ethical his talent really is to why he deserved to even be considered an 'Ultimate'.

Still, it seemed like one academy accepted him. At least, from what the headmaster from the MonoPad said, it was the school Minori was inside of as of right now.

 _Reigning Academy of Ultimates... I've never heard of such a school though._

Minori was weary of his surroundings, suspicious of everything. The voice which had spoke in the MonoPad was definitely not befitting to a headmaster's. A headmaster should speak in a loud, boisterous, and demanding tone. A high-pitched and almost goofy tone befitting to a cartoon character was definitely not what a master of a school should sound like.

Besides, even the room Minori was in was suspicious. Would high schools afford enough money to build such a luxurious (if not, mind you, for the lights) room for their students? Especially the device that was covered in leather and the king-sized bed, and that's certainly not mentioning the restroom and how spacious the room is. The room could fit three, if not four students altogether, and there would still be enough space to spread your whole limbs apart.

Lastly, Minori held no recollection of what happened before he had awakened here.

He honestly doesn't remember anything, and he can't even begin to think about any previous event before hurting his head. All he remembered was his name, talent, and everything else that doesn't have to do with this so-called Reigning Academy of Ultimates. It was as though his memories of coming to school was erased for some suspicious reason.

He instantly called that a red herring. There was definitely something off about this school.

Minori glanced back at the MonoPad, hesitating before deciding to grab ahold of it. Though it looked like a piece of junk at the moment, he knew there would be a significant importance to it in the long run.

He turned to eye the room. The bed was now messy from Minori's movements, the blankets wrinkled and the pillows laid flat. The lamp next to the bed was still intact, being one of the only sources of light other than the lightbulb above the ceiling. He walked to the closet, opening it to find a discomforting surprise of a dozen or so pairs of the clothes he was wearing at this exact moment.

 _Why is this closet filled with the clothes I'm wearing now? There's like twenty of them here..._

Minori silently closed the closet, deciding to forfeit that fearful thought. He tried to open the rest of the shelves, but there was nothing to be found. There was only emptiness inside.

He moved to the restroom, turning the doorknob to find himself staring at a perfectly clean sink, a perfectly unused toilet with wraps of unopened toilet paper at the side, and a perfectly, squeaky clean tub with a shower head on top and beautiful white curtains to hide the body of a beauty. Rest assured, the restroom was a sight to behold for the common eye of the people.

 _How...fancy._

Minori was in awe of his surroundings, but after realizing the circumstances he was in currently he closed the door.

 _Oh, right. The headmaster said I should go to the auditorium._

 _And didn't he say 'students'? So there's more people here... That's reassuring. Maybe they know something about this place._

With that optimistic thought in his head, the Ultimate decided to leave the room, shutting the door behind him.

He looked around himself, finding about fifteen more dormitories around him. He was inside of a circular hallway, the exit being a long hallway down from where Minori stood from. The sixteen dorm rooms were spaced within one another, and from the strange icons (in which Minori assumed it was the students themselves, seeing his was an avatar of himself) he concluded the boys and girls were seperated into the left and right side of the circular halls respectively. Well, it made complete sense for a school to do such a thing. Not many would keep the two genders together, mixing them up freely. Still, Minori was quite surprised to find the supposed freedom in that all students still lived around the same area.

Minori was about ready to go down the hallway to find the auditorium when he heard a voice.

"I'm guessing you're a student as well?"

The Ultimate Pseudologist turned around, instantly recognizing that voice belonging to a girl's. Once he turned around, as expected, he was met face to face with a teenage woman.

"Yeah," Minori began, unsure of where to start. "And I'm gonna assume you are an Ultimate?"

The teenager was definitely on the more taller side than most of the average females, around five feet and six inches if he had to approximate (him being five feet and eleven inches tall), though she seemed much more taller due to her posture. The girl was slim and relatively curvy, making her a sort of beauty to the eye. Her eyes were a dark brown, though a normal eye color to most, they seemed to look akin to a feline's which were fringed by her long eyelashes. Her nose was snubbed and her lips looked full and were a rose-bud pink which gave her an elfin sort of look. Similar to her eye color, her hair was a dark brown and was slightly wavy, just below her shoulder length and was left unadourned if not for a couple of hairslides used to pin back the longer part of her bangs. And although her skin was fair, her skin seemed to be rough and worn. But, to be completely honest, the girl did have a fairly nice cup size at C and her legs were slim.

Well, he digressed. The teenager was wearing a flowy black wrap dress that are just above her knees, skin-colored tights under and slip-on pumps with a thicker and solid sole. Around her neck, however, is a wide and round neckline that only showed her collarbone and not her cleavage. On her ears are silver, dangly earrings that are an abstract, odd round shape and around her body was a handbag that seemed to carry her essentials. Well, if anything, she was wearing a casual, yet smart dress.

"I am," she replied, speaking in a husky (though not low), pleasant sounding voice. "My name is Saori Arai, and I am the Ultimate Body Broker."

* * *

 **Saori Arai**

 **Ultimate Body Broker**

* * *

"I see." Minori nodded to himself. He hasn't heard of a body broker since years, but he supposed life is full of surprises. He wasn't expecting to find an Ultimate Body Broker as well, so that doubled to the internal shock in his head. Besides, by observing her facial movements and her behavior, she definitely looked like the type who'd be inwardly pissed if he told her of his bewilderment. "I'm Minori Watanabe..." He stopped, wondering whether or not to say his talent before shaking his head.

 _Better now than later, right?_

Minori inwardly sighed. "I'm the Ultimate Pseudologist."

Unexpectedly, Saori didn't seem to care much, only humming in response an "I see," and eyeing the teenage boy. She was definitely one of those types of people who acted well-reserved and quiet, and from what Minori could judge she looked like the type who'd want a conversation to move straightforward and without beating around the bush.

"Do you know why we're here?" Minori asked, trying to pry an answer off the girl. If anything, he just wanted answers and was unwilling to just leave the girl to her lonesome. "I don't remember anything about how I got here."

Saori's answer was not what Minori wanted, but what he expected. "I don't remember anything as well. I'm clueless to this situation as you are."

"I'm guessing you remember everything except for how you got into this school and what is this school exactly."

The body broker nodded her head, almost satisified that she didn't have to explain her circumstances. "That's right."

"Okay then. I see."

Minori cupped his chin.

 _So the both of us don't remember anything. That's suspicious, and that definitely means there's something wrong about this school. I'm betting the other students besides us will have no clue about this weird shit too._

"You wanna go with me to the auditorium? Well, I guess you will go anyways since the headmaster told us to."

Saori nodded her head, urging the pseudologist to move. Minori could only inwardly nod (and maybe smile a little because, let's face it, Saori is a real beauty to the naked eye) his head as he led the body broker down into the hallway.

It was then did they almost reach the end of the hallway did they meet another face. Well, to be more exact, another student of this academy.

A little boy. No, it was definitely a teenager. It was definitely a high schooler, but being at a height of what seemed to be just five feet made Minori question himself for a moment. And it didn't help one bit when he heard the teenager call out to them, waving his arms about.

"Hey, hey!" The teenager called out, crying in a high-pitched voice that definitely fits that of a child's. Minori swore that the teenager was faking that voice. "Over here! I said over here!"

 _It's not like we **aren't** going there._

Minori and Saori walked closer to the tinier teen, eyeing him with perplexed glances. The pseudologist was the first to speak, noticing that happy-go-lucky smile that the teenager was wearing. "I'm guessing you're an Ultimate too, right?"

Minori took a look at the tiny teenager, observing him from top to bottom. Though he was small and thin, there was definitely a bit of muscle in him, most likely due to his seemingly neverending ray of energy. He was pale, freckles on his the bridge of his nose and face being slightly pundgy and round which did not help people from mistaking him for a small child. His irises were huge, green and his lips were constantly upwards in a mischevious grin, that shining of innocent deceit befitting of a prankster. He wore pale blond hair which is short and jagged, almost as if the teenager had cut it himself which contrasts his thick eyebrows that refused to be trimmed.

Anyways, the teenager was wearing a bright green t-shirt which would attract anyone's attention from how bright it was (and almost blinding to Saori's eyes) despite being seen just barely because of the dark blue raincoat that was worn over. On the bottom he wore yellow shorts and knee-high white socks, white runners with those childish wheels on the heels on his shoes. However, he was wearing what seemed to be a white apron over his clothes, but Minori wasn't sure since he had hid most of his clothing with the blue raincoat over him. And strangely enough, there were a plentiful of colorful band-aids on his face, legs, and hands- Minori could see just from how the teenager was exposing himself with how wide his array of movements are.

The boy answered instantly, nodding his head. "Yup! I'm the Ultimate Chocolatier, Haruko Yoshikawa! Woohoo, an Ultimate Chocolatier! It sounds so delicious, huh!"

* * *

 **Haruko Yoshikawa**

 **Ultimate Chocolatier**

* * *

"I see." Minori simply forced a small smile, agreeing to Haruko's words.

 _He seems to be a colorful character, and I'm not saying that because of his clothes mind you._

"So, uh, Haru-"

"Oh, forgot to mention. Can you please call me Ko? I like that name a lot better!" Haruko was smiling at Minori, a genuine smile plastered onto his face. "No, seriously, please call me Ko!"

Minori never understood why someone would prefer to be called something else other than their given name, but he wasn't a huge judgmental character. He didn't want to make enemies so quickly either, and Haruko was in fact an Ultimate like he was- they were one of a kind, and Minori did not mind at all about making friends. "Alright then... Sure. Um, do you know anything about this place, Ko?"

Haruko shook his head, frowning. "Nope. I just woke up to find myself lying in the dorm room! I'm preeetty sure I don't remember anything." The chocolatier then eyed the duo, looking back and forth from Minori to Saori. "So! Who're you two? Are you two friends?"

"Saori Arai, Ultimate Body Broker."

Minori instantly knew the girl was just about done with Haruko, and judging by the disinterested look on her face he knew she wanted to leave as soon as possible. "I'm Minori Watanabe, Ultimate Pseudologist."

"Ooooh, you're Ultimates too?" Haruko clapped his hands together, eyes seeming to glitter in excitement. "I've never met so many Ultimates in one day! Woaaah..."

 _I thought he would've known since the headmaster did say 'Reigning Academy of Ultimates'... Ultimates..._

Still, despite how unaware Haruko looked, the pseudologist continued to speak. "You're going to the auditorium, right?"

"Yeah, I was, but I got distracted by the scenery in this place."

Minori was dumbfounded. _What's there to see in the hallways here?_

"Also!" The chocolatier tilted his head. "What's a tsuuu...um, tsuoooologist exactly?"

The teenager was not at all surprised. Well, if anything, it might be better that someone as purehearted as Haruko is clueless to such a talent. Minori would suspect that Haruko would not take it well that he was a master of deceit. It wasn't an ethical talent, after all.

"You should go to the auditorium though," Minori said, continuing from where he left off. He watched Saori who was beginning to move, leaving him with the chocolatier without slowing down her pace. "Everyone's there, after all."

"Hmm..." Haruko tapped his chin, an eyebrow raised. "Oh. Alrighty then!" Seconds had passed before his smile appeared, he then saluting the air as he scurried down the halls and leaving Minori alone.

 _Oh. Everyone's gone._

The white-haired teen sighed, shaking his head.

 _Well, I'm used to this anyway._

Minori walked down the hallway, finally exiting the place to find himself looking at a wide diamond-shaped patterned wall with silver doors lined across in a symmetrical manner. There was only one word to describe the area- it was pretty old-school and quiet royal. Though there were traces of dirt and grime around the area, the floor had been covered with dark and smooth wood and the silver doors held signs at the top which told the viewer each room number and title.

Minori walked around the area, trying to find the auditorium. From there he could spot a few areas inside the this certain area- the mess hall (which most likely have a kitchen inside as well), the laundry area, two bathrooms, a lab room, the stairs to what seemed to be the second floor (though it was barred and unavailable), and a way into the next part of the hallways. Minori frowned. There was no auditorium in sight. He sighed, and continued walking his way into the next section of halls.

The Ultimate couldn't be more relieved when he saw a face walking down the halls. He supposed he was walking down the right path, and his footsteps made a loud pounce that attracted the other's attention.

"I'm guessing the duo who passed by were your friends?"

Minori frowned, instantly hearing that tone echo into his ears. That tone which is labeled as rude and standoffish, and from judgment the Ultimate assumed that was exactly the personality of the teenage man before his eyes.

"I guess." The Pseudologist crossed his arms, taking a minute to observe the man before his eyes. "Who're you?"

"Kakuma Arakaki. Some would know me as the Ultimate Wedding Planner."

* * *

 **Kakuma Arakaki**

 **Ultimate Wedding Planner**

* * *

Kakuma was, in terms to Minori, normal so far in terms of his clothing. However, his facial features were what Minori would label as sleep-deprived and tiresome. His hair is a jet black shade and was slicked back, his eyes however were dull and an unattractive shade of blue. There were dark circles under his eyes which would suggest his lack of restoration- maybe he hasn't slept and worked all day as a wedding planner. And although he was definitely not out of shape, he was leaning to the skinny side. He was just a bit lean in appearance and was almost pale, but not exactly what people would consider the look akin to a vampire's.

The Ultimate Wedding Planner was wearing a lavender polo shirt and tan pants. On the bottom were his black dress shoes which gave him a more sophisicated sort of look. To add to that flavor, he was wearing gold rings on each of his fingers and a gold cross necklack around his neck. However, whether or not they were real was a question Minori would never be able to answer soon. Anyways, on his face were rectangular glasses that held a thin black frame. So, to be put simply- he was definitely wearing a sophisicated and mature look.

"Ultimate Wedding Planner..."

 _I'm definitely meeting a lot of people with interesting talents so far... I would've expect talents such as Ultimate Detective or Ultimate Mathematician, at least anything that is school-related and more fitting for a high schooler._

 _Then again, my talent's definitely on the weird side._

"Is there a problem?" Kakuma frowned, crossing his arms. He had an eyebrow raised as he looked at the other. "Who're you anyways?"

"Oh, right." Minori sighed. "The name's Minori Watanabe, and I'm the Ultimate Pseudologist."

At that point, the Ultimate swore he saw the Wedding Planner's eyes widening slightly.

"Pseudologist? You mean the mastering of lies, right?"

Minori instantly knew what Kakuma was thinking. He knew what was happening.

 _Shit, I should've known._

 _He obviously didn't look like the type to take kindly to my supposed 'kind'._

"Yeah, that's my talent." Minori frowned, not surprised by how Kakuma was now giving him a look of disgust. "I know you're probably gonna hate me now, but I assure you I dislike my talent."

Kakuma, however, simply waved off the man's words with a scoff. He turned his head away from the Pseudologist and took his leave, walking away in a stride and leaving Minori alone without even shooting him a glance. The Pseudologist just watched him leave and heaved a long sigh.

 _This happens so frequently now that it isn't even depressing to me anymore. Whatever, I should just keep walking._

Minori did just that, continuing to move in search for the auditorium. Although he didn't want to admit it, he had followed Kakuma into the auditorium because his soul was lost. He didn't want to even mention Kakuma's name in fear of being reminded of the people who would ignore him for being a pseudologist. He walked down the halls and ignored the doors before finally reaching the gigantic silver door with the words titled in the sign 'Auditorium'.

He took a deep breath. Although he didn't know why his heart was beating quickly, he opened the door nonetheless. The door to what may be an unescapable future as he heard the tons of voices which echoed through the air.

Fifteen students, all high schoolers. With him into the mix, there are sixteen students in total inside of the room.

 _Sixteen students in total... We're all high schoolers, and most likely all Ultimates._

 _Yeah, there is definitely something going on here. I'm gonna keep repeating this to myself until I die, huh?_

Minori, wanting to at least ask about their circumstances, walked to the closest person he found. "Hey, you're an Ultimate too, right?"

When the Ultimate turned, Minori almost stumbled.

 _Oh shoot, I almost got scared because of the darkness hidden in her face!_

It was a teenage girl. A teenager who was almost as tall as him, if not for a few inches of difference. The teenager was of average build, but she definitely looked like (at first glance) like a foreigner from her tanned skin. She was wearing curly black hair which reached below her shoulders, her eyes an almond-shaped shape and having a bright green shade. Her eyes, however, looked as if they could be shining brightly in the darkness because of how mysterious the aura around her was. Her eyebrows are a thin black as well that seemed to get thicker as they tilted inwards closer to her eyes. Her nose was long, but skinny; and her lips were thick, but small and a dark red color.

She was wearing a bright red corset with golden decorations, exposing her chest. On the bottom of her body was a skirt that reached just above her ankles, the color a similar shade to the corset. On her feet she wore elegant high-heeled black boots and transparent tights. On her ears were her circular golden earrings and an incidentally golden-colored bracelet on her left wrist. However, what caught Minori's attention was the red head scarf she wore that were made with a delicate material and was tied to cover her head.

"I am." The girl eyed Minori in silence, not speaking.

Minori stood there for a few moments, wondering if the woman will speak until realizing how silent she was. He inwardly raised a brow as he decided to introduce himself. "Um, I'm Minori Watanabe, and I'm considered to be the Ultimate Pseudologist. How about you?"

"Ah, right. My apologies, I should've known better than to stay silent. May the Ancestors forgive me for my sin." The teenager nodded to herself. "My name is Fuwari Akatsuki, however I am known better as Fiona the Ultimate Spirit Medium. I would prefer if you address me Fiona."

* * *

 **Fuwari Akatsuki**

 **Ultimate Spirit Medium**

* * *

Minori nodded. _Well, she seems to be the respectable kind. She didn't seem to care about my talent either, so she's definitely on the more well-mannered side of the spectrum._

Fuwari eyed him, continuing to look straight at his face. "To answer questions you may further ask of me, I do not know anything about our current circumstances. A few people here has asked us all the same questions you're curious about, but we're all stuck in this same situation."

The Ultimate's eyes widened, shocked. "Ah, right. Thanks I guess."

"Mhm." Fuwari turned away from Minori and continued to her business.

 _Well, she's observant at least._

Minori sighed, now cupping his chin and pondering on his thoughts.

 _It's a given none of us know anything about our circumstances. It's not a coincidence that at least more than two of us don't know anything. Besides, what is this academy anyways and I wonder about the headmaster as well._

 _Well, he'll be here soon. I should talk to some of the other students before he comes at least. Maybe the headmaster could answer my questions since the others most likely can't._

Minori decided to go to the next person, find a teenage boy speaking to a girl. None of their faces were recongizable to the man. He hasn't met them yet, only noticing Kakuma and the others he's met so far looking around and speaking to some other students.

"What do you mean I stole your bracelet? Look, I'll empty out my pockets! I swear I didn't...oh, oops."

There was the boy who seemed at a lost, eyeing the bracelet which was decorated with the signs of astrology on the ground with a disappointed expression. A sigh had escaped his lips as he bowed his head down to the girl, apologizing as she bent down to pick her bracelet up.

"It's fine," the girl began, giggling as she put back the bracelet on her left wrist. "I'm not mad at you or anything!"

"B-but still..." The other shook his head. He was obviously throwing himself in a fit of guilt. "This always happens..."

"Hah, does it?" The girl continued to giggle before noticing Minori looking their way. Her eyes glittered up as she began waving her arms to and fro. "Hey, what's your sign?"

Minori raised a brow as he walked their way. "My sign?"

"Yup! You know, your astrological sign!" The girl clapped her hands, obviously interested in Minori's sign. She even moved her way closer to the Ultimate as she continued to speak, prying into his personal space and grabbing ahold of his shoulders. "Are you a taurus? A libra?"

"Umm... I'm a virgo."

"Oh, that's interesting!" The girl backed off instantly, cupping her chin as her eyebrows burrowed into a frown. She was taking a long, hard look at the man, and Minori decided to do the same. He decided to look closely at the woman's physical appearance.

The teenage girl was wearing midnight-black wavy hair that reached right down just above her bottom. Her eyes were a hazel-gold color and were of round shape that gave her an almost innocent look to herself. Her nose was small and shaped like a button, her lips small and her cheeks a rosy hue. She was definitely slim, having a svelte and skinny figure, hourglass-like hips and her breasts decently average. Her nails were trimmed, giving her a clean look to add on to her look.

She was wearing a midnight-blue long-sleeved top with the logo of a yellow crescent moon with a sleepy face on the front, a black undershirt under her. She wore a gray-and-yellow gypsy skirt at the bottom which reached just around her ankles, black-and-white strapped flat shoes that had yellow stars on the front of each one. Her stockings were a transparent silver, added with glitter as well. On her hair was an orange bow with a sun-shape in the middle on her right, the left side a light blue bow with a moon in the middle to contrast from the Sun's glory. Around her neck was a necklace that was shaped like a constellation and finally- the charm bracelet that she had put on her left wrist.

"What's your name?" Minori began, wanting to acquaintance himself to the girl. "I'm Minori Watanabe, and I'm the Ultimate Pseudologist."

The girl smiled, speaking in a cheerful voice in return. "The name's Kaniza Tsukitaiyo, and I'm the Ultimate Astrophotographer! It's a pleasure to meet you."

* * *

 **Kaniza Tsukitaiyo**

 **Ultimate Astrophotographer**

* * *

"Really? That's sounds like a nice talent."

Minori smiled to himself.

 _Definitely a nice talent for sure._

Kaniza nodded. "Glad you think so, I'm charmed by your compliment! I love taking pictures of space, after all." She then looked at the Ultimate with genuine interest. "Your talent seems interesting too! You'd have to smart to be a pseudologist, so I respect that!"

 _And she is definitely an oddball. A weird, but nice girl. I swear I've rarely gotten complimented on my talent._

Minori chuckled to himself, liking this new experience before noticing the teenage boy who had been guilt-tripping himself for a while now. He could still see him hanging his head low, sighing every few seconds. He frowned, slowly walking to his way. "Um..." He didn't know where to start. "You alright?"

The melancholy teenager quickly looked up, finding Minori and Kaniza eyeing him. His eyes widened, and he suddenly threw his hands up in surrender. "I-I'm sorry!" He cried, his face turning pale. "It's just a habit. I didn't mean to steal from you, I swear!"

Kaniza grinned, if not showing a toothy smile. "I'm charmed that you care, but I'm seriously fine about it! It was a mistake and you did apologize, after all! I'm sure if I look outside and if it was night, I would see that the stars are aligned to prove your innocence!"

"Is that how it works?" The worried teenager frowned, now curious. He eyed Minori worriedly as he fiddled with his fingers. "You think I'm a horrible person, huh? I don't blame you."

"I-I'm sure you're not a bad person." Minori sweated. He honestly did not know how to handle with complimenting people, let alone calming their nerves. He wasn't the best at advising others, after all. "Um. who're you? I'm the Ultimate Pseudologist-"

"Ah, Minori Watanabe, right? I heard you speaking to Kaniza..." The teenager quickly averted his gaze, tensing up. "I-I don't mean to eavesdrop, though."

"Of course." The Ultimate forced a chuckle. He wanted to nudge Kaniza for help, but noticing her perky smile he didn't feel like interrupting her from her thoughts. "So, can I ask for your name and talent?"

The teenager gulped. "A-ah, right. Um... I'm Nezumi Jirokichi..." He stopped. He looked at Minori who was silent, hesitating. "Do I have to say it? Fine, but don't hurt me! I-I'm the Ultimate Thief! Ack! Now don't hurt me!"

* * *

 **Nezumi Jirokichi**

 **Ultimate Thief**

* * *

Minori raised a brow. "Why would I hurt you?"

"I-I'm the Ultimate Thief, so I'd assume you'd hate me for my talent..." Nezumi murmured under his breath, sweat trickling down from his forehead. "I... I mean, I'm obviously a criminal..."

 _Well, that's true, but you look like too much of a nice guy for me to hate you._

Minori sighed, deciding it was better to observe his classmate's appearance.

Nezumi had a decent amount of muscle on his arms and legs, though he was a few inches shorter than Minori himself and was still thin otherwise. The teenager was pale as well, and Minori could assume it was because he had been doing his work around nighttime. There also seemed to be a few cuts on the thief's face as well. The thief held brown irises which would definitely look prettier if not for how they were always wide, as if he was in constant fear of everything around him. His hair was a dark blue, cut very short and rather cleanly as well.

Clothing wise, Nezumi wore a neat white dress shirt that had a plain white tie around the collar, his pair of dress pants a comfortable black color and his dress shoes similarily sophisicated. He looked like he was wearing freshly new clothes, everything looking clean and without tear. However, he wore a tattered black coat over his uniform that definitely symbolized his status as a thief, the hood over his head. Nezumi also looked like he wanted to hide his clothes, his hands that were under thick black gloves moving the cloak closer to the middle to cover his uniform. Why is that Minori wondered may be because he wanted to keep his status as a stealthy person. Or, that may be because he wanted to hide himself.

"Um, excuse me, but do you know when the headmaster will appear?"

Minori shook his head. "Nope. He just told us to go in the auditorium."

"I see... Sorry for asking!"

 _I don't think you have to bow your head to me as an apology._

The Ultimate felt his energy being sucked out from his body as he continued to talk to the others. Kaniza had worried him the moment she invaded his personal space, and now Nezumi was being overly apologetic that Minori didn't know how to respond. It honestly made his brain boil in pain.

Minori decided to leave the duo to their own, moving his way to find another Ultimate.

The Ultimate looked lonely, if not silent. He was simply staring into the air and having his arms crossed. Minori decided to approach the teenager, waving to his way as the other's eyes moved his way. The Ultimate waved back, if not awkward as the Pseudologist came to his side.

"Hey, what's your name?" The Ultimate began, eyeing the unknown with a careful glance.

"..."

The teenager stayed silent.

Minori instantly felt like he said something wrong. "Um..."

"..."

"I'm Minori Watanabe, if you want to know." The white-haired boy forced a smile. He wasn't sure if the other Ultimate was ignoring him or was simply stuck in his daydreams. Honestly, he couldn't tell with how monotone his expression looked. "... I'm the Ultimate Pseudologist. You?"

"..."

The boy didn't speak. He was still, stiff. It only took a long one minute till the boy began to move. Or, more specifically, move his hands around.

 _What is this?_

Minori watched silently in bewilderment as the boy continued to move his hands.

 _Is this sign language?_

He watched the boy who finally stopped, then eyeing Minori in an almost needy manner. Unfortunately for the poor man, Minori held no knowledge about sign language. The Ultimate shook his head, feeling instant guilt as he heard the other sigh.

"Sorry. I just hoped you knew of sign language." The teenager had written these words in a notepad, a pencil in hand as he showed it to Minori.

"Ah. I see."

 _I'm guessing he's a mute..._

The Ultimate nodded once he saw Minori's understanding, quickly writing into his notepad and showing it to him. "My name is Fumio Fujiyoshi, and I'm the Ultimate Scholar."

* * *

 **Fumio Fujiyoshi**

 **Ultimate Scholar**

* * *

Minori eyed Fumio. He was definitely short, possibly around just five feet. He wasn't of average build either, having a really feminine appearance. He was small, scrawny, and a delicate boy who would definitely not win in a fight- even against Minori who never fought anyone before. He was small, and he was skinny. The scholar was skinny, bony- everything from his arms to legs were considered 'bony'. His hair was a pastel blue, groomed to make his hairstyle give a fluffy feel to it. His eyes, on the other hand, were a droopy shape and were orange- a ghastly, dull shade of orange. There were also minor blemishes on his face, mainly due to acne.

Well, what mattered most was his clean sense of fashion. From everyone Minori met so far, most of the people wore sophisticated clothes. Fumio was wearing a white sleeveless dress-shirt with an orange sweater over, the bottom having blue shorts that go just above his knees and a dark shade of blue school shoes. His socks that reached up to his knees were a dark orange. Accessory-wise, Fumio was wearing a black wristwatch and big, rounded black glasses. And, finally, around his neck was a heart-shaped locket that obviously meant of importance to the man.

Before Minori could speak, Fumio wrote in his notepad, "Is it true you're an Ultimate Pseudologist?"

"Um, yeah." Minori raised a brow. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No. I'm just surprised there is such a talent." Fumio then stopped, pondering on his words before quickly jotting down his words. "Anyways, please leave me be. Thank you."

And like the rest, Minori was left all alone.

 _I guess I should meet the rest of the others._

Minori sighed to himself.

 _Alright, let's meet the rest of the gang._

* * *

So, that was the first part, and here we introduce the first set of characters and the protagonist! Alright, let me go ask a question- what is your impression of each of the character so far? Who holds your attention the most for now?

Anyways, I will meet you guys in the next part!


	4. Prologue - Part 1, Part B

I'm glad you all seemed to enjoy the introduction to half of the cast! Here, we will have the remaining cast...and much more. I hope you enjoy this part! Anyways, I'll go note this in, but Minori is observant and smart, but he isn't all-mighty and the Einstein of the world. He does tend to judge people correctly, but his thoughts do tend to be wrong at times... But which ones?

I'll mention this here, but you can see my progress with the current chapter in my profile! I will also be posting a lot of polls there that'll be for the free time events and others soon. Anyways, here are my comments!

 **keon9000:** "I hope you'll like this part too!"

 **Harukawa Ayame:** "Wow, I feel like blushing. I'm really glad you like the way I write! I was sure some people would prefer a more simpler writing that I tend to dislike writing in. Your first impressions of the cast so far have been positive, so that's good! I hope you'll like the rest of the characters too."

 **SoulfulGinger17:** "I'm glad! Some people don't continue to read because their character doesn't get in, but I'm glad you 're still following the story. Haha, I kinda knew some people will hate Kakuma. Hope you will like the other characters here."

 **Abitat Eco:** "Yeah, I've been wanting to post this as soon as possible because I wanted to get a feel for the story. Oh my god you didn't have to remind me about Teruteru XD I'm glad you're following this story too, so thanks! I hope you will like this chapter too."

 **zephryr:** "I'm seeing a lot of people liking Nezumi so far, which isn't a surprise to me since he's adorable ^.^ I'm so happy I did Fumio justice to you! I was worried I'd write him a bit awkward. I hope you will like this chapter too."

 **PoisonBanana:** "I'm so glad I'm meeting your expectations, and especially if I'm exceeding them! 0.0 I'm so glad you were able to imagine the scenes, and especially with the characters since I tend to be weaker decribing characters' appearances. I'm really glad I portrayed Kakuma well, and yes you're right- there needs to be some sort of drama for the protagonist and someone."

 **irwegwert:** "Aww, I feel happy you think of me as an excellent writer. I hope I will continue to meet your expectations as well. ^.^ Yeah, Nezumi seems to be the favorite here. I hope you will like the rest of the characters too!"

 **liammarklh88:** "Haha, I felt like posting it that day, so yeah. I'm glad you think of Minori as a good protagonist. I'm glad I portrayed Kaniza well! I hope you will like this next one."

 **TheBonetrousie22:** "He was an interesting character though! I hope you'll like the cast!"

 **DryBonesKing:** "I'm glad I'm able to engage you! I'm happy you are liking the cast members so far."

 **ToonGuy:** "Really glad you have good impressions on the characters so far, and I hope you'll like the rest!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Hooray for Saori! I'm glad I was able to portray her well since I was uncertain I wrote her correctly. A lot of people seems to like the nice guys, and I'm not surprised."

 **Agrael:** "I'm happy you think of me as a good writer! It gives me confidence. I'm relieved I did Fuwari (Fiona) correctly! I'm sure a lot of people will wonder who'll die first ^.^"

Anyways, let's get on with the story!

* * *

Minori continued his search to meet the rest of the following students. He found a girl who was to her lonesome, simply playing with her fingers and tapping her foot on the ground.

He approached her, moving into her line of sight to catch her attention. "Hey, may I ask for your name and talent?"

"Hm?" The girl instantly noticed him, and her lips creeped to a friendly smile. "Hello, my name's Amyto Uchida, and I'm the Ultimate Hypnotist!"

 _Well, that was easy._

The white-haired boy nodded. "Nice to meet you."

* * *

 **Amyto Uchida**

 **Ultimate Hypnotist**

* * *

Minori stared at Amyto, looking at her appearance. The hypnotist had wavy orange hair that reached down to her bosom, the left side of her head having her hair parting while parts rested on her shoulders. Her skin was a fair complexion, almost olive and yellow colored on the spectrum. Her face was round and ovalish that was complimented by her weak jawline and double chin. Her ears were at eye level and held no lobes, her eyes a greenish color of hazel and an upturned shape. Below her left eye was a small beauty mark, a mole to be more exact. Well, she was definitely overweight for her height, being a few inches shorter, but she was still curvy and voluptuous. However, it is evident considering her muffin top with a buldging round abdomen that was around two inches distended.

Amyto was wearing a lavender-colored long-sleeved blazer that was loose with a white short-sleeved blouse. She wore a tight black minidress as well which started just below her breasts and down to her kneecaps, her blouse tucked into the dress. Interestingly enough, her dress seemed to outline her body shape. It was as if she was trying to seduct the people around her, her body shape being shown well. Anyways, she wore jet black gloves and a golden circular locket around her neck. Pinned to the right side of her pocket was a pocketwatch. On the bottom, she was wearing whitetights and lavender sandals.

"Ultimate Hypnotist, huh?" Minori cupped his chin. He couldn't help but eye Amyto for a second, a thought in his head. A thought that said what she was wearing may be to seduct her prey, and that would include him. Minori inwardly shook his head. No, he shouldn't judge her so quickly. "Anyways, I'm Minori Watanabe, and I'm the Ultimate Pseudologist."

"Nice to meet you." Amyto smiled his way. "I like your name! And your talent sounds really interesting."

Minori frowned. "You think? I'm sure your's is much more interesting than mine."

The Ultimate chuckled, nodding her head. "Haha! That's probably true."

 _I wonder if she'll end up trying to brainwash me or something._

"I'm going to assume you don't know anything about this place like the rest?"

Amyto nodded her head in response. "Yup! I have nothing."

"Ah, should've known by now. Thanks though."

Minori waved her goodbye, moving on to the next person near his line of vision. It was a boy who was posing (more like showing off on how flexible he is) in front of another character. The Ultimate was grinning widely at the other who simply laughed, shaking his head out of embarrassment. He could hear the duo talking to each other, a friendly atmosphere surrounding them as Minori approached them with a less than friendly aura.

"You're so cool," the boy who was watching the posing Ultimate said, smirking with interest. "I mean, aliens are cool, don't get me wrong. But I'm surprised you're so flexible."

"It comes from my line of work. It's just my expertise." The other guy held his chin up high, proud of his accomplishment. "I'm glad you like my flexibility though!"

The other nodded, crossing his arms. "Maybe you're actually an alien? Theory-wise, aliens may be more flexible than us humans."

"H-huh? I'm pretty sure it's just because my work requires doing these sort of stunts." The Ultimate's eyes were widened by the other's suggestion. To even be considered an alien could be an insult as well.

"Hey..." Minori began, unsure if stepping into their conversation was ideal. He honestly felt like he was intruding. "I haven't seen you two yet, so I've been wondering who you guys are."

The duo perked up with interest, eyeing the Ultimate.

"Let's start with you!" The first guy said, his energetic personality instantly overwhelming the atmosphere. Minori swore he could see the sound in the room vibrating- soundwaves. "Who're you?"

"Eh, ah, right." The Ultimate coughed. "I'm Minori Watanabe, Ultimate Pseudologist."

The energetic Ultimate raised a brow, cracking his knuckles as he tilted his head. "Hm, pseudologist huh?" He nodded to himself. "That's a strange talent, but alright. I won't judge." He eyed Minori with a wide smile, suddenly throwing his hands up to the air. His chin was held high as his structure was straight and firm. He almost looked heroic in that sense- almost as if he was one of those Super Sentai characters from the television shows. "The name's Seiga Kosoku! Remember the name kid, for I am the Ultimate Stunt Double!"

* * *

 **Seiga Kosoku**

 **Ultimate Stunt Double**

* * *

 _I see. No wonder he was showing off his flexibility earlier. He does those crazy shit in shows that no sane man would do._

"Isn't it cool?" Seiga asked, eyes brightening with excitement.

Seiga was skinny, but he does have well-defined muscles. He looked agile to Minori's eyes, having a flexible build and fair complexion. His face was a pointed oval shape and his eyes were wide, a bright pink hue. That smile he wore was handsome, Minori had to admit. Those pearly white teeth and dimples were definitely fitting for an energetic, friendly guy such as Seiga. However, from by looking at his hands Minori could tell there were callouses. His hair was a spiky style, almost unkept and was a lavender color with a thin stripe of white down the middle hairline.

He wore a thin pink jacket that had red and lavender stripes pointed at the end, shaped like arrows as part of the design. It was almost zipped up, halfway more approximately, but underneath Minori could see a white shirt with a red circle in the middle with a line across it- technically a 'not allowed' symbol. On the bottom Seiga was wearing knee-high cargo shorts that were red and tattered at the end. There were pink sneakers with white laces on his feet. However, what was most noticeable to Minori was the white-stripped bandaid over his nose.

 _Definitely someone who'd have such a colorful personality would wear such pinkness._

 _Ah...wait._

"Haven't I seen you in that show?" Seiga frowned, confused. "I think it was the one with Raiden Shoumetsu in it? My little siblings like to watch that show a lot, so I'm just wondering."

"If you mean the guy who does the crazy stunts pulled in the show then- yup! - that's definitely me." Seiga puffed his chest up, showing his toothy smile before looking back at Minori. "My brother acts as him, but I do the awesome stuff. Those fight scenes your siblings flock over about was all me!"

"I... I see."

 _Well, I don't watch a lot of sentai shows, but I guess._

"Can I guess your brother looks a lot like you then?"

"Most siblings look alike, but yeah sure!" Seiga laughed to himself. "As long as we're the main protagonists of the show, it doesn't matter!"

"Hm, no wonder why Mr. Kosoku's so flexible."

Seiga chuckled, turning back to meet the other boy he was talking to initially. "Hey! Ryo, you'd be a great sidekick if you ever tried auditioning."

"You think? Well, I guess. I rather not risk it though." The boy turned to meet Minori. A kind smile escaped his lips, his voice becoming quite soft. "My name is Ryoichi Homura, it's nice to meet you mister! I am the Ultimate Extraterrestrial Investigator."

* * *

 **Ryoichi Homura**

 **Ultimate Extraterrestrial Investigator**

* * *

Minori nodded and examined the investigator. Ryoichi was tall, taller than Minori even. However, he carried a friendly atmosphere around him that generally broke the stereotype of tall people being bullies. The investigator was neat-looking, to start. He looked as if he was always ready and prepared for anything, even the worst to come. His coarse black hair was pulled back with a side-swept fringe. His eyes were a light brown, having the expression of determination behind them. However, his skin was pale and he was average- just thin. Though that didn't distract others from his appearance- he was a handsome man with a handsome and pleasing face.

Ryoichi wore a dark brown vest on top of a plain white dress shirt, though there were pins of a UFO over and said 'E.T. Investigator' on top of it. Over his vest was a coat that was light brown, definitely looking heavy and large. There were even numerous photos of proof that aliens exist on the coat, strangely enough. And from closer inspection, Minori could see a few books inside of the coat's large pocket. Minori frowned, he couldn't help but think all the things the Ultimate had was weighing him down. Under those clothes, however, Ryoichi wore brown dress pants and dress shoes.

"I didn't know such a talent existed," Minori began, curious.

Ryoichi simply nodded his head with a smile. "Well, Mr. Watanabe, I am more than happy to give you insight on my talent if we have time."

"I'm sure I'll have a lot to ask," the Ultimate replied, crossing his arms.

Ryoichi hummed to himself. "Ah, I see. I'm still wondering how long it will be until the headmaster shows up though."

"That's true." Minori frowned. "He is late despite telling us to come here."

The Ultimate sighed to himself, scratching his head. Minori had been talking to the others since he came, and he was the last to arrive as well. More than ten minutes must've passed, Minori was damn sure of that. How late could the headmaster be? Minori couldn't help but label the headmaster as irresponsible.

"I agree. He is rather late."

Minori turned around to find a somewhat muscular girl walking their way. Seiga and Ryoichi instantly seemed to know her, the Ultimate Stunt Double instantly calling her out. "Oh, hey there Asami!" He greeted, grinning. "You already talked to the others?"

The girl, Asami, bowed her head down. "Nice to meet you again, Seiga and Ryoichi!" She then pulled her head back up, noticing Minori. A ladylike smile escaped her lips as she approached him. "I believe we haven't met yet! My apologies, I was sure I met everyone here."

"It's fine." Minori nodded. "I haven't met everyone yet either. My name's Minori Watanabe, and I'm the Ultimate Pseudologist."

Asami took the time to step back, then bowing down in a chivalrous manner.

"It's an honor to meet you! It is I, the Ultimate Knight and vanquisher of darkness, Asami Karihime! If it pleases you, I would greatly enjoy working alongside you!"

* * *

 **Asami Karihime**

 **Ultimate Knight**

* * *

"Ultimate Knight?" Minori frowned. "I've never heard of such a talent."

Asami didn't take offense, simply nodding her head. "Many are the same as you."

Minori eyed Asami. She was definitely on the more masculine side, her face having a square jawline, but she was still recognizable as a woman. She also had a long scar that was reaching from beneath her left ear down, across her neck and to her right shoulder. However, this was clearly faded since the scar seemed to haven't happened for some time now. The knight had brown eyes and chestnut colored hair that was cropped in a pixie cut, though Minori would suggest she wore such a haitstyle because her work demanded such. She was quite pale in complexion, though there were several bruises that tend to make parts of her skin darker. Bodywise, Asami held muscle, especially defined on her arms and legs. She was stout in nature, but of course, more from muscle than fat.

Her talent suited her clothes as well. First off, she was wearing a shining breastplate, the outskirts of it being golden and the main part being white. There was also an emblem on it, that of an open lily with a large thorn sticking out. Under her breastplate was a long white double-breasted shirt with a pair of black gloves covering her hands, and on the bottom she wore scuffed yellow jeans and brown combat boots.

"I'm sorry." Minori forced a relaxing smile on his face. "I didn't mean anything with my remark."

"No, it's fine!" Asami shook her head quickly. Her eyes were wide. "I am sure you didn't mean any offense. People have questioned me about my talent, but I am confident they don't mean any harm behind their words. You're just genuinely curious."

The Ultimate shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

Seiga intervened into the conversation, a wide toothy smile on his face. "She just wanted to be a knight because she loves helping people. It's not that hard, right?"

 _No, I'm sure you can help others without being a knight. Wait, do knights still exist? Do they?_

Minori decided to agree anyways. "Yeah, you're probably right."

The Ultimate Knight nodded quickly, smiling before bowing her head down. "You have my utmost gratitude!"

Seiga laughed with a joyful expression. Minori could only eye the duo, then noticing Ryoichi in the background who simply smiled at him. The Ultimate sighed under his breath, leaving the duo to their conversation and moving to the next group of people.

The next group of people were three girls who were seemingly engaging in a conversation.

Minori felt guilty about wanting to eavesdrop in their conversation, but he intervened in anyways albeit nervous. "Um, may I introduce myself?"

The girls noticed him, silent. Minori instantly felt like death was coming his way until one of the Ultimates began to speak.

"Ah, another subject I have yet to see." The first girl to talk held a regal air around her, sounding sophiscated despite her cocky-sounding words. If anything, Minori felt like she was treating him as an inferior. "Kneel, subject, for you are in the august presence of Sheina Yakumoro the 12th, the Ultimate Egyptologist! I am the physical embodiment of Horus, Son of Osris, and the ruler of the Upper and Lower Kingdoms!"

* * *

 **Sheina Yakumoro the 12th**

 **Ultimate Egyptologist**

* * *

Minori blinked his eyes. Once. Twice. Three times. He felt his mind stopped, still and unable to think. A minute seemed to have passed until Minori was able to force a reaction.

 _What the hell did I just hear?_

"E-excuse me," Minori began, trying to force himself to say something. At least something. "But you're Sheina Yakumoro, right?"

"Yes." Sheina held her head up high, the regal air continuing to surround her. "Now! Introduce yourself, or the Gods may bring down wrath upon your sins!"

 _S-she's a chuunibyou... She's a chuunibyou, but for being an Egyptian Pharoah of some sort?!_

The Ultimate coughed, clearing his throat. "Um, I'm the Ultimate Pseudologist, Minori Watanabe."

"Ah, Minori Watanabe, huh." Sheina cupped her chin before nodding to herself. A confident smile appeared on her lips. "That's a fine name for you. The Gods have blessed upon you such a marvelous name, subject."

Minori was in awe of the woman. He was awestruck, unable to say anything, having to turn to the other two girls for an answer.

"She calls everyone subject," one the girls said with a small sigh. "Not only you."

 _A-alright..._

Minori decided to stand still, calming himself. He decided to take a look at the egyptologist.

Sheina was definitely on the tall side, only a few inches shorter than Minori. She had a lithe body with a moderate bust size, her skin having a bronze-like complexion that should be due to being in the Sun for most of the time. Her hair is a dark black and flowy, down to her waist. Her eyes were a chocolate brown hue and there were eyeshadow around, and even her lips held makeup, being a beautiful shade of red.

The girl was wearing a linen tight, sheath dress which reached to her ankles, a pair of leather sandals on her feet and a golden necklace of a hawk under the Sun around her neck. The necklace was definitely something to be valued, having been made with emeralds, sapphires, and rubies. However, Minori still had to wonder if the necklace held real gemstones or not, though he was now sure they were fake from the artificial shine. On her head, to add on to her attire, was the crown of Pschent (or, to make it easier to understand, the crown looked like white bowling pin sitting in a red chair).

If anything, she definitely looked like a Pharoah.

Minori honestly did not feel energized enough to continue speaking to Sheina, and so he merely nodded to her in acknowledgement and turned to the next girl. "So, what's your name?"

"Ah, right." The girl turned straight to the white-haired boy. "My name is Rin Hoseki, and I am the Ultimate Jeweler."

* * *

 **Rin Hoseki**

 **Ultimate Jeweler**

* * *

Minori smiled to himself. _I guess she's normal, basing this on her tone and expression._

Rin had straight dark brown hair that is lied up in a loose ponytail, her eyes big and her eyelashes long. Her face was round and she had a small nose, her lips also chapped. Her complexion was rather pale. She was rather small for her age as well, being around five feet and two inches tall. Rin was lean and short. There seemed to be a straight line of a scar on the outer side of her left upper arm, but Minori couldn't tell since her sleeve was covering half of it.

The jeweler wore a casual attire that was definitely a surprise to Minori. If anything, it was a rarity to see people wearing casual clothes, and although he's met a few who wore everyday outfits he's been met with people who wore either sophisicated or clean sort of clothes. Rin was wearing a designer white shirt under a baggy light gray vest, on the bottom wearing trousers that are patterned to be shaped alike to jeans. Rin held a small leather shoulder bag and a sapphire necklace around her neck. If anything, she was definitely wearing casual clothes.

"You guys seem to know each other well," the Ultimate said, trying to engage in a conversation with the jeweler. He was looking between Sheina and Rin, then also looking at the girl he has yet to talk to.

Rin nodded, looking disinterested. If anything, she seemed to hold a disinterested expression throughout the entire time. "Really? We just met, so we're talking to each other. Yeah..."

"Oh." Minori decided it was best to move to the next person, realizing Rin didn't like to speak much. "How about you?" He began, crossing his arms. He nuzzled against his scarf, trying to adjust his posture.

 _Shit. My neck is stiff._

"Here, let me help with that." The girl moved close to Minori, getting a bit too close into his personal space for his liking. He could only stand still, his cheeks blushing a faint pink hue as she loosened the scarf around him. Her hands were moving around the scarf, making extra sure to make it loose enough for Minori to move in. A few seconds passed. Once satisfied, she moved back with a small nod to herself. "Alright." Her eyes widened. "Ah, sorry about that. My name is Sagiso Hazuki. I know, it's a bit of an odd name. Don't mind it, I really like my name. I'm the Ultimate Psychogeographer."

* * *

 **Sagiso Hazuki**

 **Ultimate Psychogeographer**

* * *

Minori observed her silently, still a bit embarrassed from how close the Ultimate Psychogeographer was to him a few moments ago. Sagiso had auburn-colored hair that was flowy, running down to her back and styled in twin braids. Her eyes were upturned and light blue. Her complexion was slightly tanned, but was still a beautiful fair color. Her build was average, having a rectangle-shaped body and was a bit muscled from her lower body.

Sagiso was wearing a black and white stripped shirt that was covered by a black jacket with a white collar, on the bottom wearing a red retro car-patterned dirndl skirt that reached above her knees. She also wore black stockings and a pair of khaki ankle boots. Though casual, she was definitely wearing a classy sort of fashion.

"Have you introduced yourself to the others yet?" The auburn-haired girl asked, eyeing Minori with an observant look. "You should if you haven't."

Minori nodded. "I've met mostly everyone so far."

Sagiso nodded in return as she noticed Sheina and Rin looking at the duo. She saw the Ultimate Egyptologist and stood still, realizing the girl was about to speak. "I demand to ask where the headmaster is! It is a sin worth receiving punishment from the Gods for him to be late!"

The psychogeographer shrugged. "No one knows."

The pseudologist agreed without speaking, cupping his chin. "He is really late..."

"Hmph!" Sheina shook her head, frustrated. She was stroking her necklace. "Thrice-Damned Servant of Seth! May the Gods punish him for his sins."

Minori did understand where Sheina was coming from. Where was the headmaster? Why was he so late to the party? Minori sighed to himself and began to walk around in a circle, wondering what could be wrong before noticing the last face he did not recognize. He decided to approach the person, thinking it is better to not circle around and wander. His head will hurt if he continued to spin, after all.

He walked to the last Ultimate and waved to his way. "Hey, may I ask for your name?"

The boy turned to his way and nodded. "My name is Kamui Setsushi. I have been given the title of Ultimate Mortician." Kamui bowed. "It is an honor to meet you."

 _Wow, everyone is so polite these days._

* * *

 **Kamui Setsushi**

 **Ultimate Mortician**

* * *

Minori nodded his head in return. "And I'm the Ultimate Pseudologist, Minori Watanabe."

Kamui acknowledged Minori with a hum, him observing the Ultimate in silence. Well, it's not like Minori was not going to do the same and not scope him out.

The mortician, first off, was tall. He was taller than Minori. He was the tallest person in the entire auditorium, Minori could tell. Kamui was rather muscular to be exact, possibly due to him having been digging bodies at the funeral home. He had a slightly brown colored skin tone, callouses on his hands which were due to his talent. He had light brown eyes and long straight black hair that he wore in a ponytail.

Anyways, Kamui was wearing an unbuttoned black jacket over a white collared shirt, on the bottom wearing a pair of black pants. Around his collar is a dark-green and black checkered tie. There was a black watch around his left wrist, stud earrings on his ears to add to his attire. He also wore a satchel-like light brown bag that he seemed to carry all the time, Minori noticing specks on dust on the bag. Well, to put it simply, Kamui dressed in a way most people would dress like.

"So, you're a mortician huh." Minori cupped his chin, thinking on the talent. He wondered how one would work as a mortician, and yes, he was damn curious. "How is it for you?"

Kamui's eyes seemed to brighten, and he began to speak in his low, deep voice. "I respect the dead, so naturally I would want to become a mortician. A person's existence when they are dead is as equally important as they are when alive. All stages of life are equally important, after all. It is the responsibility of someone such as myself to become the person to treat the dead importantly."

"Ah, I see." Minori smiled. He couldn't help but smile. Although conversation about the dead may be a subject to not dwell on, Minori enjoyed how Kamui seemed to enjoy his talent. It was the opposite of him, after all. So, he couldn't help but envy Kamui, if only a little. "I understand where you're coming from."

"I am glad that you do." Kamui's lips creeped up into a small smile, if not subtle.

Minori smiled back. He was about to speak more to the mortician until he heard a sharp ringing surround the room. It was the sound of the microphone screeching, and the speakers that surrounded the auditorium caused that screeching sound to increase its volume by double, triple its amount.

The white-haired boy threw his hands to his ears, a cry escaping his lips. "Ow! W-what the hell!"

"What's happening?!"

"Sirs! Ladies! Get behind me!"

The screeching continued for a long while. In reality, it took only ten seconds till the screeching came to a halt, the Ultimates' ears ringing in pain as they looked at one another in bewilderment. Murmur escaped through the air, and whispers continued until a high-pitched, cartoonish voice cackled into the air.

"Upupupupupu!"

 _... What?_

"Upupupupupupupupu!"

And, as if on cue with Minori's confusion, something suddenly jumped from the podium and into an air.

A bear. No, a stuffed bear. A stuffed bear that was doing somersaults, spinning and posing as if it were in a gymnastics show.

"What is that?" Minori heard Ryoichi question. "Wait, is that an alien?!"

"Cool stunt, dude!"

"... That's definitely a spirit..."

Minori couldn't even speak, simply stunned as the monochrome bear finally fell back down to the podium. He stood up on its two tiny feet, face-to-face with the sudents. Silence. The bear chuckled to himself before raising his paws up. "Ahem! Hello, my beartastic students and welcome to the Reigning Academy of Ultimates!" His voice definitely matched that high-pitched voice Minori heard in the MonoPad. The Ultimate glanced at the MonoPad he had been holding, hand gripping tightly into it. "My name is Monokuma, and I am your headmaster for this school year!"

 _Him? Seriously? That lazily made mascot?_

"Excuse me," Minori heard Kakuma began from the left. He could see the wedding planner eyeing the bear, Monokuma, in disgust. "Are you serious? _You're_ the headmaster?"

Monokuma didn't seem fazed by how rude and disgusted Kakuma's tone was, instead nodding his head with a cheery expression (or so Minori would assume he'd looked like). "Of course I'm your lazyass tardy headmaster! A human headmaster will try to be in on time as soon as possible, but for a bear like me I'd like to be late and on fashion!"

"May the Gods forgive you for your sins," Sheina said underneath her breath. _She's still going on about the Gods punishing him? That's real dedication right there._

"Sins? Girl, if you're talking about me sinning I've done that a long time ago!" Monokuma laughed at his own joke, though the rest were less than impressed. Especially Sheina who scoffed in disgust, murmuring about how disrespectful he was being. "So, have you guys gotten to know each other well? Hmmm?"

Minori frowned. _So this bear's purpose in being late was so we can talk to each other? What a sneaky headmaster!_

"What is your purpose?" Asami asked, having put herself in front of the more shorter students. Her posture was defensive, ready to attack.

"What a lady!" Monokuma gasped, feigning shock. "I'm not here to hurt you! I'm not even allowed to hurt any of you guys!"

The wedding planner rolled his eyes. "Just tell us your purpose in gathering us here and why you're the headmaster."

"You seriously can't believe I'm the headmaster?" Monokuma sighed, shaking his head. "I've been the headmaster plenty of times, and although you bastards may not know it, I was an awesome headmaster! You guys are underestimating me too much!"

"Just stop beating around the bush and tell us your purpose!"

"Fine, fine, geez! Kids and their hormones..." The bear murmured underneath his breath before pointing to Minori. His voice became louder. "You!"

Minori gulped, frozen. "Me?"

"No, not you, damn protagonist and their egotistical attitude!" Monokuma's finger moved down. "I'm pointing to your MonoPad!"

"Ah, this..." Minori glanced down at his MonoPad. It wasn't working at the moment, having been shut down earlier. He frowned. "What's wrong with it?"

"In that will be the database on your fellow students and yourself. There will also be the rules that are set in place in this school!" Monokuma then stopped, silent. It was almost as if he was trying to cause the atmosphere to thicken, suspense riding on his words. "Also, it may be good to tell you now that you guys will be stuck here...forever."

The pseudologist's eyes widened. "What?"

As if on cue, the other students began to speak. The air had thickened.

"W-what do you mean 'forever'?" Nezumi asked, shaking in his feet. "B-but isn't this just a high school?"

"Hahaha, this is obviously fake!" Seiga cried. He was laughing admist the thick air. "This entire thing is just a play. It's obvious if such a cliched phrase is used it'll mean we're in some weird movie or something! So, where's the cameras?"

Kaniza frowned, shaking her head. "Yeah, this is just a prank. This Monokuma guy isn't even the headmaster, right?"

"Yeah!"

"No. He is." Minori looked straight at Monokuma, biting into his lips. His voice was shaky. "I would know if he was lying, no matter who it is."

"Of course he'd know," Kakuma muttered uner his breath.

Minori turned to meet Fumio who had scribbled into his notepad, the others having noticed him beforehand. "I think Minori's right."

"Really?" Nezumi frowned, sweat trickling down his chin. "No way..."

"You're just trying to scare me!" Haruko cried. "I won't fall for it!" He puffed his cheeks out, shaking his head. "Nuh-uh!"

"Are you guys done with your mental breakdown? I still need to finish my speech!" Monokuma yelled at the group, instantly shutting them down. He sat down on the podium, now swinging his legs to and fro. "So, there is one way to escape this place."

Amyto's head perked up. "Only one way?"

"Yeah," the monochrome bear chuckled. "The way to escape this place is...is to kill someone and escape the trial cleanly!"

 _What? No way._

Minori looked up at Monokuma.

 _No way._

He couldn't believe it.

 _He's serious._

"This is stupid!" Kaniza cried, objecting to Monokuma with the shake of a head. "What do you mean by kill? And trial?"

And, as if on cue, the echoing sound of a notification ringing resonated throughout the auditorium. Minori felt a vibration. He looked down, suddenly finding his MonoPad coming to life, the screen shining brightly. Everyone else who had their MonoPads were in shock as they quickly looked down, the rest looking to the closest MonoPad to eye the screen.

The name of the students appeared firstly, 'Minori Watanabe' on the Ultimate's himself. A few seconds passed before the name faded away, the MonoPad now showing a menu screen with boxes seperated into each title. The first which would be 'Classmates' which Minori assumed was the supposed database on the others and him, if Monokuma was truthfully speaking. The next was 'Presents' which seemed to hold nothing inside, a tiny box that said 'Zero GB' on it. Next to the 'Presents' was the school map, the title clearly saying 'Map'. Last and finally was the one that caught Minori's attention the most- 'Rules'.

Minori hesitated, gulping. Holding his breath, he tapped onto the box as a set of rules spread out from the screen, the first rule moving to the center and blocking out the rest. The set of rules seemed normal at first, but once Minori continued to swipe his finger did the rules become less than sane and more cryptic.

 _Rule 1: The morning announcement will come from 8 A.M, the nighttime announcement at 10 P.M. During the period between morning and nighttime are where restrictions don't apply. There will be certain areas that are unavailable before the morning announcement and after the nighttime announcement. The only times students are allowed to move to any area without restrictions applying will be once the morning announcement starts and before the nighttime accouncement starts._

 _Rule 2: Students are to reside within the school. Leaving the school will result in punishment from the headmaster as leaving is an unacceptable use of time._

 _Rule 3: Sleeptime anywhere other than the student's own dormitory is considered as sleeping in class and will result in punishment from the headmaster._

 _Rule 4: There is minimal restrictions in roaming around the school to explore._

 _Rule 5: Violence against headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited and will result in instant punishment. Vandlizing the school is prohibited as well._

Minori frowned to himself. Everything had sounded normal so far, yet it only became worse from there.

 _Rule 6: Any student who kills another fellow student will instantly become the 'Blackened' and will be able to graduate unless they are discovered._

 _Rule 7: When a student kills another, a class trial will commence. Participation in the class trial is mandatory and if this rule is broken, punishment is instant from the headmaster._

 _Rule 8: If the guilty party is exposed during the class trial, they alone will be punished._ _If the guilty party is not exposed during the class trial, they alone will not be punished and the others will be punished instead._

 _Rule 9: Students may only kill a maximum of two people. Any more than what is stated will result in instant punishment._

 _Rule 10: Lending your MonoPad to another student is strictly prohibited._

 _Rule 11: The guilty party, or the 'Blackened', must not tell others that they are the guilty party as it will result in a lack of a class trial and will be considered as cheating. This will lead to everyone being punished._

 _Rule 12: The headmaster may not kill or harm any of the students unless they have broken a rule._

 _Rule 13: The headmaster may add more rules or change the rules if needed._

Minori was speechless, only having someone like Asami speaking his exact thoughts. "What is this?" She asked, stunned. Her mouth was hanging slightly agape as her brows furrowed into a frown. She turned to Monokuma, angered. "This is unethical and I won't allow this to happen!"

"Nuh-uh-uh!" Monokuma chuckled, waving his pointer finger around. "Haven't you read the fifth rule? Violence against the headmaster is not allowed."

"You are definitely an evildoer," Seiga commented, nodding to himself. "He plays the role of a villain perfectly!"

"Are you stupid? This isn't a joke." Kakuma glared at the bear, biting into his lips. "What exactly is this entire class trial and what does it have to do with the guilty party graduating?"

Monokuma crossed his arms. "Well! It's obvious! If you killed your fellow students and make the others think you're not the culprit, then you can get out of this shithole scotfree! There won't be any jailtime for you because you already survived the class trial, after all! You'll be able to live your life in the outside world normally and leave the rest here to die!"

"But it's wrong to kill someone!" Amyto cried, shaking her head. "Right?"

"Of course," Fuwari was the next to speak. Her tone was still as soothing as ever. "I doubt we'd even harm each other, to be completely honest. The human mind is often very fearful of committing such an act. Especially for us teenagers who have been taught a plentiful of times that murder is morally wrong. Besides, victims of murders tend to stay in our world as vengeful spirits to finish their unfinished business. I advise it is best if we do not kill one another, ever."

"You said it, my fellow subject!" Sheina huffed her chest out, forcing a confident smile. She looked straight at Monokuma who tilted his head. "We will not bow down to your horrendous sins. May the Gods punish you for your selfish deeds!"

"Y-yeah, don't force us to do something w-we obviously don't like!" The Ultimate Thief cried as he hid in the crowd. "I-I refuse to do this!"

Monokuma was silent, watching the group agree to Amyto and Fuwari's words. He was laughing. Such students thought of themselves as well-beings? Such students aren't capable of murder? Monokuma had to laugh at the thought. "You say that right now," he began, the red eye beginning to glow. His tone was low, making the chattering stop as they eyed him in a mixture of hatred and fear. "But do you guys really know each other _that_ well to label them as non-murderers? Upupupupupu! Feigning ignorance to how scary the human brain is can be really dangerous, y'know? You guys will be stabbed in the back before you know it!"

Sagiso frowned at the thought. "What do you mean?"

"Upupupupupu! Don't you guys know? Some of the students here aren't at all ethical in regards to their talents!" Monokuma turned to Nezumi, scaring the teen. "He's a thief! How can you be sure that he isn't feigning that innocent personality of his?" He turned to Kakuma, earning a disgruntled scowl. "And his personality isn't at all angelic, right? He's the most likely to be a first-timer in murdering early!" He then pointed to Saori and Kamui. "And these two have a hand in dealing with the dead! Our dear, dear Fiona and Amyto as well could be likely candidates for murder!" Monokuma finally turned to Minori, a chuckle escaping his lips. "And, of course, our main hero."

Minori was silent, unable to do or say anything. He could only wither in fear as he realized those pairs of eyes looking upon him. That underlying fear of distrust that will most likely form between him and the whole cast.

"Minnie here is a pseudologist, isn't he?" Monokuma put his paws to his mouth, hiding his manipulative smirk. "He's a master of deceit and lies. What's to say his faking his entire personality to you guys? What's to say he won't form a friendship with you only to stab you in the end? Upupupupupu, do you stupid bastards really think you could be friends with someone of his kind? He's called the Ultimate Pseudologist for a reason, after all! You should care about it, especially now since you bastards will be stuck here until a murder occurs!"

"Oooooh, so that's what his talent's about." Haruko tilted his head, blinking. He clapped his hands. "Oh well!"

Nezumi eyed the pseudologist in shock, now backing a bit. "I-is that so?"

Minori bit harshly into his lips, feeling blood trickle. He couldn't believe he's been called out for his talent. He couldn't even fight back, argue that he was the exact opposite of how a liar would act. He wanted to argue that he despised his talent, but he was silent. He was frozen in fear.

 _Shit. Shit!_

Monokuma seemed to notice the fear residing in Minori's eyes, and that delighted him immensely. He threw his paws up as if he was celebrating his actions. "Upupupupu! That look on your face is beautiful, Minori! I was just being honest with you bastards! Who knows who'll kill who?"

Asami frowned, disgusted as she threw a hand in front of Minori. She was throwing her hand in a defensive manner, looking as if she was protecting the Ultimate. "Sir, stay behind me," she began, firm and stern. She threw a look at Monokuma, obviously labeling him as an enemy. "It is highly unethical for someone to treat someone this way, especially from someone of high status such as yourself!"

Minori gulped. He couldn't help but eye Asami, noticing the determined glare in her eyes. _She's defending me..._

"Minori doesn't look like a bad person, so I must agree with Asami!" Seiga jumped forward as well, standing next to Asami. He pointed at the bear in an accusing manner. Although it was highly likely Seiga thought they were in a play of some sort, it still shocked Minori to think that he was being defended. "Stop insulting my friend or else I'll really get mad!"

Monokuma was now stunned. He was silent for a while, watching the students closely. A sigh escaped his voice as he fell on his back on the podium, moving his head up to meet eye contact with the other students. "Some of you guys are such a pain, honestly. Still!" He continued to laugh. "It'll be interesting to see how far low you guys will go once the killing game starts. It's still a given most of you guys will be wary of Minori though!"

"It's obvious he's suspicious from the start," Kakuma said through gritted teeth. "Just stop. Are you just here to laugh at us? To mock us?"

"As your headmaster, I do need to tell you guys about the rules on the MonoPad and what you'll be doing here," the bear said, speaking in a monotone voice. "It's either stay here forever or murder and escape death. Isn't it thrilling? The killing game will be so much fun!"

"Why is an alien such as yourself trying to make us kill one another?" Ryoichi asked, speaking as politely as ever despite an apparent perplexed expression in his face.

Monokuma chuckled, eyeing the investigator. "I'm not an alien."

"W-wha- Really...?" Ryoichi instantly went pale.

Haruko frowned. "Why is he trying to scare us so much?" He turned to the students, mainly to Saori as she was the closest to him. "Isn't he a bully?"

Saori simply nodded her head, unable to say anything or having a lack of care to want to speak.

"Upupupupu! Well, you'll learn soon enough when I get the motive rounded up. For now, have fun trying to be 'friends' or that sort of bullshit!" The students eyed one another in bafflement, confused as Monokuma continued to laugh. His laugh even echoed through the air as he suddenly fell down from the podium, now gone from sight.

For a long moment, there was silence. Everyone was speechless, unable to speak. The air had grown thicker, a sense of distrust and hatred looming in the room. It stayed like this for a while, the students eyeing one another in doubt. In fear.

"So," Seiga began, trying to break the tension. He had continued to grin his toothy smile. "This is obviously fake. There's no need to worry! None of us would actually fall for this, right?"

Sagiso shook her head, cupping her chin. "I hope we won't."

"What Fiona said about us being able to kill one another is right too!" Amyto cried, trying to brighten up the room. She couldn't stand to see her classmates doubt one another. "Why do you think we could be capable of such acts?"

"Yeah, that too!" Seiga nodded to himself before turning to meet Minori. He eyed him worriedly, though his smile never escaped from his lips. "You alright there? The headmaster certainly treated you miserably!"

Asami sighed, frowning at the thought that a superior such as Monokuma would even call out on his own students. "Sir, if you have any trouble, please ask for my assistance!" She cried, bowing her head down to the pseudologist. "I will not stand for such acts that'll cause harm and misfortune!"

Minori was shocked. He honestly didn't expect anyone to care for him, especially if Monokuma was calling him out. He had been damn sure nobody would even care about him, especially since he was labeled as a liar. "Right..."

"B-but what if the game is real?" Nezumi asked from his position, continuing to shake and sweat.

Kaniza was shocked. "You actually believe in Monokuma?!"

Nezumi shook his head. "I-it's not that I don't like any of you, but w-what if he isn't trying to lie with us?" He began, shivering. "I-I'm definitely the easiest to kill! I'm the weakest link!"

"N-Nezumi!"

Kaniza couldn't call out to the thief as he ran away from the auditorium. Her face paled as she realized how afraid the thief was now at the moment. She looked back at the group, a sad smile on her face. "Well, I'm sure if we find the night sky the stars are aligned to tell us we'll be alright. Well... We should stick together at least!"

"It's fine," Rin began, beginning to walk her way out the auditorium. "I'll go search the area alone."

Haruko's eyes widened. "Huh? Is that really a good idea? But Kaniza just told us to stick together!"

Saori began to walk as well. "I prefer doing things my way. Excuse me." She moved her way around the chocolatier and walked out of the door after Rin.

"H-honestly, I need to have some alone time. I just need a quick time to process my thoughts. Sorry!" Ryoichi quickly ran out of the door without bothering to stop for a response.

Minori bit into his lips, then feeling a light tap on his shoulder. It was Fumio. The scholar had written down his want to leave the auditorium. Not knowing what to do, Minori simply nodded his head. "Ah, yeah, sure."

Fumio scribbled down a "Thank you." and moved out.

"But this game isn't even real," Seiga said, shaking his head. "Why are we falling apart so quickly?"

"It'll be fine," Fuwari began, explaining her thoughts on the situation. She was calm and relaxed, certainly keeping her mysterious reputation to a level. "As I explained, we are certainly incapable of committing such an act as murder."

"That's right!" Kaniza cried, nodding her head. "Why can't the rest realize that?"

Instantly did they hear a loud scoff escape the room. It was from Kakuma, the wedding planner who had been loudly defiant against Monokuma for the longest time since they first met. "This is stupid," he began, shaking his head. "Is it really that easy to trust others? I pity you guys. You really might get stabbed in the back like what that damn bear said."

Haruko frowned, puffing up his cheeks in a huff. "So you believe in the bear!"

Kakuma rolled his eyes. "Even if I hate that supposed headmaster of our's, it's obvious he isn't lying to us about this whole mess, but if you guys want to play 'friendship is magic' then go ahead." The wedding planner began to walk off.

Amyto stared at the wedding planner. "So, what are you planning to do then?"

He stopped, looking back at the group. "Why do you need to ask?" He began, tone still rude and standoffish. "I'm going to explore the school to look for a way out. And, just to be clear, I don't trust any of you. We will not be 'friends' and I will not yearn to be 'friends' with any of you."

Minori swore he could see Kakuma give him another disgusted look before he turned to leave, the door closing and slamming with a loud, echoing sound.

"Wow..." That was the only thing Haruko could say. "He's a jerk!"

Minori sighed inwardly. He knew things would go downhill with the relationship between the students, but he hadn't expected it to happen so horribly so quickly. Minori didn't mind exploring the school in a group or alone either, but he rather not worry about the Ultimates who would most likely be doubtful of the rest. Minori didn't know what to do, honestly. He couldn't even think about what to do.

"Does anyone else here want to leave?" Seiga began speaking in a loud voice, eyeing the others with a knowing look.

Sheina began to speak as well. "Subjects, I advise you it is much more safer to stick together in a group!"

"I don't have any objections with that," Asami said, nodding her head with a determined smile. Her posture was straight and confident. "It is better to be in a group!"

Kamui shrugged as he eyed the group. "I don't mind either way."

Minori noted that it was a fine plan. It was decent and effective, but he honestly doubted that the others would invite him into a group. Though he knew some of his classmates, most notably Seiga and Asami, did defend him in his time of need he could only assume their kindness had a limit. He didn't expect them to invite him into a group either, but he had to wait.

"We should at least explore the area in groups of two or three," Sagiso requested, cupping her chin with a small nod to the head. "I suggest it is much more effective that way."

"That sounds fun!" Haruko exclaimed and nodded his head up and down, hands up as if he was celebrating. "I'm curious if they have a dessert room around here!"

Kamui's brow raised. "We're in a school though?"

"Anyways, groups of two or three it is!" Amyto smiled widely at the group. "So, who's going to what group?"

* * *

Hello! And here is where we stop! I decided to stop here so I can give you readers more chances to change the story a little by who Minori hangs out with in this part and the Free Time Events (which will come later).

So, tell me what you think about the rest of the characters and what you think about their reactions so far? Don't forget to also tell me which two (or one) characters you'd want Minori to explore the school with! Just know that he can only explore with the students who did not leave the auditorium before they proposed the idea. There is also a poll on my profile on a different question, but it'll be interesting to see what you think ^.^

Also, you may notice that I post the introductory chapters really quickly. Well, I'll slow down a bit since it will be heavily plot driven and will require more time to work on. You will see updates on my profile though, so check that out if you're wondering how far my progress is!


	5. Prologue - Part 2

I'm glad I'm able to post this fairly early, and thanks to all the people who are telling me what mistakes I'm making in the chapters so far! It helps me a lot. I'm also glad that most of you seemed to like the direction it's heading as well. Nezumi seems to be a big favorite with you guys, Asami and Seiga too. Anyways, this part will be mostly exposition to the area and a bit of character interaction with Minori and the others. After this, however, will be where the fun starts and where the story officially starts to run from here. Let's also pray that Minori will be protected and get a bit more love from the other students.

Anyways, I'm surprised we already came up with a group name for Asami and Seiga such as the Minori Protection Squad guys.

 **ToonGuy:** "Any judgment is good judgment to me because it shows your mindset! I'm glad you seem to like most of the characters, and thanks for correcting me on one mistake! It's very much appreciated. Also, Seiga and Asami seem to be more on the extroverted side, so it's a given."

 **SoulfulGinger17:** "I just wanted to get a feel for the story and I didn't even expect myself to post this chapter so soon XD Yeah, Monokuma's pretty tricky to write correctly for a lot of us. I feel a bit iffy on how I write him too."

 **irwegwert:** "Haha, I didn't expect myself to update too! No one is willing to kill, and that's a bad thing for Monokuma. Hope you'll like this chapter!"

 **Writer's Block Abundance:** "Nah, you're fine! I'm usually slow, so I'm happy I have the motivation to post so quickly! Let's hope Minori will get some positive development. Thanks!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "I'm glad I did the last chapter well, especially considering that I'm a bit weaker when introducing characters and handling exposition well. Yeah, Monokuma is hard to write, I'm glad I was able to portray him decently at least. Hope you will like this chapter!"

 **Agrael:** "I'm glad you think so! I was hoping you'd love the cast, and to hear they sound as if they came the game altogether is a huge compliment. I hope you will like this chapter, and I'm seeing a lot of people liking Seiga and Asami a lot!"

 **hurgleplargh:** "I'm glad the chapters came as a great surprise to you! I'm glad you like Minori, and I'm glad you're liking a lot of the characters!"

 **Abitat Eco:** "Thanks! Asami does seem like the Sakura of the group..."

 **DryBonesKing:** "I'm glad you like the characters as a whole! I'm glad I portrayed Kamui greatly! A lot of rules are suspicious."

 **Kukasabe Swift:** "Well, I am happy you had the time to enjoy yourself with two chapters then!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Well, I'm glad I'm making everyone happy with my updates! Kakuma is definitely the rival to the main character, or from what is seen in the story so far."

 **Harukawa Ayame:** "Yeah, I love how colorful the cast is too! Though Kakuma can be a hate-able character, I like him a lot. ^.^ I hope you'll like this chapter!"

 **zephryr:** "You do have interesting takes on the characters! I love reading what you have about each character, and I like Kakuma too since he adds more drama into the story! Hope you'll like this chapter too."

 **mpjindustries:** "Ah, sorry! I'll go fix that! Hope you'll like this chapter though ^.^"

* * *

Minori watched as the others thought to themselves, eyeing each other in wonder. The pseudologist stayed still, not wanting to do anything. He decided to wait it out. He'll just wait for someone to force him into their group or wait for everyone to leave excluding him and whoever else was left out. He silently watched as the groups began to diverse, seperating into tinier groups.

Moments passed, and nothing happened. Nothing happened at all. Minori bit into his lips. He sighed inwardly to himself. _I knew nobody would invite me. I'll just go alone like the others-_

"Minori!"

The pseudologist turned around to find Asami walking towards his way. There was a bright, kind smile on her face. That approachable, knightly aura was still around her. Her chivalrous nature didn't even seem to end as she bowed her head down to him. "May I have the pleasure of touring the school with you?"

Minori's eyes widened, almost stuttering in response. "I-is that fine with you?"

"Yes, it's fine!" She saluted the white-haired teen, then stopping for a minute as she peered closely at him. "Sir, I am humbly worried that our headmaster has harmed you greatly! It will do me a great honor if I can care for you under my title as a knight."

The pseudologist inwardly sighed to himself, though it was more out of a great respect for Asami rather than from annoyance. He was shocked that Asami's chivalrous behavior can go a mile away. She was definitely a kind person like the other students Minori has met, but she was almost a God to him. "I guess it's fine," he replied, awkwardly scratching his head. "Thank you."

"Mhm!" Asami nodded her head. "It is no problem!"

Kaniza seemed to notice the two chatting, her lips forming into a friendly, wide smile. She had already paired herself with Haruko, the chocolatier skipping his way over with her. "You two gonna leave?"

"Yes!" The knight bowed her head to greet the astrophotographer. "May we excuse ourselves now?"

"Of course!" Kaniza giggled. "May the stars aligned with your success in finding clues here!"

Haruko waved his hands, jumping up and down. "Good luck! Don't forget to tell me if there's hidden chocolate around here!"

Minori inwardly frowned to himself. _I doubt there'd be hidden chocolate anywhere other than a kitchen or some sort._

Asami bowed her head for what seemed to be the hundreth time in a row. "Of course. I will keep that dully noted!"

Minori smiled as he and Asami walked out of the auditorium. The duo found themselves in an unknown area, though it wasn't highly unknown. They did have to walk through this way to reach the auditorium, after all. It was just that they haven't acquaintance themselves with the area yet fully.

They decided to start at the end of the hallways, moving to the two lonesome doors on their right. They walked to the first one nearest to them. There it was, a beautifully crafted wooden door with the words 'Classroom 1-B' next to it.

"I guess this is a school," Minori murmured underneath his breath. He knew they were students, high schoolers at that. He knew there was a headmaster inside of the school, no matter how antagonistic or stupidly cartoonish he looked. He was just doubtful that he was even inside a remotely built school that actually held classrooms inside of it. He had been sure there would be some stranger rooms such as a casino or such.

Still, he couldn't complain as Asami opened the door. From there stood a perfectly normal classroom. Yes, a normal classroom- if not for the windows that were barred and covered entirely with an iron platter. There was no way they could see from the inside to the outside. They were left alone in the dark, unable to know whether or not what was outside was their reach to escape. They couldn't even tell if it was morning or nighttime.

The holographic whiteboard caught their attention immediately though, the duo eyeing it with interest.

"This is pretty advanced," Minori commented as he placed his hand through the board, seeing his hand having passed through. He could see the machine in the empty corner of the room that had set the holograph close to the wall, the lens looking to his way. "I didn't know such a thing existed."

Asami smiled as she walked over to the machine. She looked for the power and turned it off. Her interest peaked. "I'm guessing this school works directly under the government? I would like to think this is a prototype and this school is using the machine for a test."

The pseudologist acknowledged her words with a small nod. "I honestly don't think it's likely, but I suppose it makes sense."

 _Hm, not like this is important to note._

Well, other than that, nothing else came to mind. Everything else was normal, if Minori had to put it all in one word overall. He saw the rows of desks being laid out, Asami looking underneath each desk to find anything special. The teacher's own desk held nothing of importance, only sheets of paper stacked atop to cover the view of the rolling chair. Even the speaker at the top of the corner to the left of the door wasn't particularly suspicious. It was just a simple classroom setting added with a hologram for a whiteboard...and barred, covered windows.

"This room is pretty clean too," Minori replied as they finished investigating the room. "It seems like the room had been cleaned up recently."

"Monokuma does seem productive in that case," the knight nodded to herself, keeping a note in her head. She put her hands to her hips. "I will give him my regards for that!"

Minori wasn't sure if Asami should really be complimenting Monokuma when he was the one who trapped them in this place and suggested them to kill one another, but he decided to stay silent to not taint her chivalrous behavior. If anything, he accepted anything from the knight. She was a nice and gentlemanly, ladylike woman and Minori does have to credit that for her purpose in defending him.

 _Oh. Right._

"Hey, Asami..." Minori eyed the knight with an embarrassed smile. "Thank you."

The knight eyed the pseudologist with a raised brow. "Hm? Might I ask what you are thanking me for, Minori?"

The white-haired boy felt his cheeks flushing a faint pink hue. He wasn't good at socializing at all, being highly doubtful of himself and being almost an overly polite person at times. He averted his gaze as he gripped onto his scarf around his neck. "F-for defending me against Monokuma. I want to thank you for it."

The knight eyed him for a moment. She was silent, but her smile suddenly appeared on her lips as she bowed her head down. "It's no problem!" She began, speaking in her genuine kind voice. "I believe it is natural for someone to protect another when they are being harassed. I find it heartbreaking that most of us were scared of going against the headmaster. People should speak up for one another."

Minori felt a sigh escaped his lips. He couldn't help but chuckle a little to himself. "Well, thank you." He finally composed himself, crossing his arms. "I really appreciate it."

Asami smiled, chuckling in return. "It's no problem! I just hope you'll be able to speak up for yourself next time."

"That's not possible..." The pseudologist murmured to himself, inaudible to the knight. Still, he was glad he was able to speak to Asami about his gratitude. He forced himself to nod. "Alright, I'll try."

 _Asami is so eager in helping me out... I kinda feel like I need to try._

 _Then again, this killing game is a mess. Everyone is already suspecting one another, if not some. There needs to be something all of us could do._

"Alright! Let's continue moving, Minori." Asami saluted the pseudologist who nodded in return.

 _Ah, right, I almost forgot. I also have to thank Seiga for defending me._

He silently noted that in his head. Seiga was definitely someone Minori could look up to as well. He definitely wanted to talk to the stunt double later, if not soon.

He and Asami decided that they were done with the room, and so they moved out to go into the last room at the end of the right hallway. The title of the room was 'Classroom 1-A', and from that Minori deduced that the room was just the same as the one they went into earlier. They decided to investigate anyways, Asami opening the door first and walking in.

As expected, the room was the same. There was another holographic whiteboard at the wall and covered windows that were barred. There stood a teacher's desk which had sheets of papers stacked on top and rows of desks lined up. There was the same speaker Minori saw a while ago, clean like the rest of the room. To be put bluntly- it was another ordinary classroom.

However, what wasn't normal was that there was another group inside of the room. Two people who were discussing with one another as they looked at the holographic whiteboard- it was the Ultimate Spirit Medium and Ultimate Mortician. It was Fuwari and Kamui.

"Hello, Fiona and Kamui!" Asami greeted with her infamous bow of the head. Her smile never faded from her face. Her determined, boisterous tone had caught the duo's attention immediately. "May I ask what are you two discussing about?"

"Ah, Asami." Kamui eyed her, noting her presence. He then noticed Minori and nodded his head. "Fiona and I are simply discussing why the windows are covered."

Minori cupped his chin. "Yeah, that is strange. I was thinking it was because Monokuma didn't want to give us any chance of escape. I mean, he did want us to be trapped here 'forever'."

Fuwari was next to speak. "I may be able to perform a seance to call for any spirit that is dwelling inside of this school but that will be hard considering the current circumstances. I am still certain there will be a lack of murder happening, but I am worried that the spirit of Monokuma may do something."

Asami tilted her head. "Is Monokuma a spirit?"

"I am most certain of it," Fuwari answered, a mysterious aura forming around her. "There is a lack of possibilities concerning how Monokuma is able to move so freely. There may be someone controlling him, but I know he is moving of his own free will. He is a spirit, I am certain."

The mortician nodded his head. "I do suppose it is better to not rule out any possibility, just to be extra certain."

"I mean, I guess..." Minori wasn't too sure about it, but he didn't want to speak. If anything, he didn't want to offend Fuwari.

The knight simply smiled. "Do not worry! If we work together, surely we can overpower Monokuma and his unethical ways!"

Kamui was silent. Minori could tell from his facial expression that he was certainly unsure of that. Even Fuwari seemed at the slightest bit doubtful, and Minori was as well. Asami was an optimistic person, that was for sure. Although some level of realism is needed in society, the group certainly needed Asami's optimistic and determined personality to keep them sane. Nezumi and the others did run off on their own, absolutely fearful of the group.

 _You and the other optimistic people are definitely needed here... Especially considering that damn Monokuma isn't lying about this whole 'killing game' shit._

"This classroom is the same as the last one," Minori began, noting to the duo who turned his way.

For a moment could Minori sense a bit of doubt. However, it was instantly ruined with Asami's loud voice.

"Yes, I saw this exact same room next door." Asami bowed her head down to the duo. "I and Minori confirmed it myself! The holographic board, the windows, the desks, the teacher's desk- everything is replicated perfectly here!"

Kamui and Fuwari eyed one another, silent. They both acknowledged the knight's words as they turned to meet her, nodding their heads. "I guess you are right," the mortician began with a small smile. "We haven't yet the chance to investigate the rest of the rooms, but it is highly likely the classrooms are the same."

"True," Fuwari began, then taking out her MonoPad and swiping her finger to the map. She frowned. "I am still uncertain to why there are only two classrooms in this floor though. Shouldn't there be more?"

Asami shrugged. "I'm going to suppose there would be more in the upper floors."

"I suggest so," Fuwari replied. "However, the stairs to the floor here seems to be barred if we are going with what this map is telling us."

The white-haired boy frowned. "Really?"

Minori decided to look into his MonoPad, tapping his finger on the map icon. Like Fuwari's, he was shown with the entire floor plan in the map. There, with each tap of the finger, the pseudologist could get an insight of each room. He tapped onto the stairs that were just next to the hallways to the dormitories, a picture zooming in of the stairway being barred.

 _Are we in a prison cell or something?_

Minori then decided to tap onto the two classrooms that were, of course, next to each other. They were exactly the same, almost as if Monokuma had taken one picture of the classroom and duplicated it. It was just exactly the same. It was a replication.

The students seemed done with their conversation, now the awkward silence looming in.

The Ultimate Knight didn't want this to continue. She quickly turned to Minori. "Anyways," Asami began, then bowing to Kamui and Fuwari. "We shall take our leave. It's been nice speaking to you, Kamui and Fiona!"

"Ah, right." Fuwari nodded her head, watching Minori waving to them and Asami heading to the door. She acknowledged their leave and the door closed.

Nothing followed. Asami and Minori took the moment to eye one another, the knight the first to speak. "So," she started with her usual perky tone of voice. "What room are we checking next?"

Minori eyed the MonoPad, noticing that at the end of the hallway was the double-doored library. He tapped onto the label, a picture of the library zooming in. "It's the library apparently."

"Oh, alright! Let's go!"

The duo strolled their way down the hallway, stopping to find the doors with the golden plate that titled the room inside as 'Library'. The duo opened it without a second to waste, then walking in to find quite the elegant surprise.

Of course, the room was filled with shelves that were filled with books. It was tidy, yet it didn't smell of old books. In fact, it smelled of a cologne that held the scent of spice. A lingering smell, if Minori had to note. The shelves were a beautifully crafted dark brown wooden shape, all sorts of books organized into simple categories. Each label on the top of each shelf held the genre of the books contained- horror, nonfiction, comics/manga, etc. There was a step ladder in the corner of the right room, the ground being covered in a colorful velvet carpet with golden patterns of diamonds. The walls were a forest green color as well. To add on to the extravagant, almost royal-like atmosphere, there was two couches that was in the middle around the middle of a round table. On the round table, in the middle, was a vase with a bouquet of roses inside. Definitely, definitely a royal atmosphere.

"Wow." That was all Asami could say as she walked further into the room, her head turning various angles as she looked through the room. "I'm surprised this room holds such an extravagant atmosphere to it."

"I honestly find it amazing," Minori said, almost entirely to himself. He was an avid reader, and seeing the plentiful of books around him made him want to bust out a smile. Still, he held it inside and continued to look around simply in wonder. He wasn't here to read, he was here to investigate and find a way out from Monokuma's psychopathic grasp.

"I am glad the headmaster is keeping these books in a protected place such as the library though." Asami smiled to herself, complimenting Monokuma whether intentionally or not. "I still wonder how long it will be till books can only be read from a phone or such. Then again, that'll not happen for a few centuries, huh?"

Minori nodded. "I'm pretty sure."

The duo decided to look at the round table, particular at the vase of flowers. Minori inspected it carefully, humming to himself his thoughts. "Are these flowers real?" He placed a careful hand on the flowers, feeling its life before noticing the water at the bottom of the vase. He moved back his hand and the duo decided to look through the books on the shelves.

Minori was first looking through the nonfiction, concluding there would be more evidence and clues in the shelf than those of fiction. Nonfiction would hold knowledge of anything in reality, and hopefully, information about them and the Reigning Academy of Ultimates. He looked closely through each book, trying to find anything. Any key words that could link him to this school. _Europe's history, world war one, martial art instructions..._ Minori frowned as he finished eyeing the last book from the shelf. _Is there seriously nothing on high schools or Ultimates?_

It was definitely suspicious. There were all sorts of nonfiction books on the shelf that ranged from casual topics to strange topics that Minori hasn't even heard of, yet there was nothing on a simple topic such as high schools or the universally idolized people such as the Ultimates? Definitely something was amiss here, and the pseudologist knew that.

He looked back, finding the knight who simply browsed through each shelf with a curious gaze. She obviously wanted to read at least ten of the books she had saw, but was holding herself back for the sake of the investigation. Minori inwardly chuckled to himself before calling out to her. "I found nothing," he said as he walked to her way, trying not to speak as loudly as possible. He wanted to maintain a mature and composed sounding voice, after all. He was not used to yelling nor speaking so refined like Asami did either. "We should check the other places for clues."

"Right."

Asami and the pseudologist headed out, closing the door behind them. Since there were no more doors in sight, the duo had to walk down the hallways into an entirely new area. Minori eyed the map, noticing they were in the middle of the whole floor. The closest room to them was the infirmary, a silvery gray door with the plate labeling it as such. They walked inside the room to find Saori inside, checking the tools in the drawer farthest from them.

Asami was the first to greet the body broker, bowing her head down. "Pleasure to meet you, Saori!"

The body broker didn't turn to meet her gaze, simply staring down at the medical tools and humming a quiet, almost inaudible "Mhm.". She didn't set her eyes away from the tools for one second, inspecting each one for a while before setting it aside and closing the drawer. She then continued to look through the next drawer, then inspecting the syringes inside. She didn't even spare a moment to even look at the duo.

"May I ask why you are looking through the drawers?" The knight began, trying to engage in a possible conversation with the girl.

Saori didn't turn, though she did speak. "I believe these could be dangerous if used incorrectly."

Minori frowned as he eyed the syringes. She was definitely alluding to the killing game. Even if Saori didn't want to mention the word 'kill' and 'game' and whatnot, it wasn't a mystery. It was obvious the body broker was speaking her worries about the killing game, no matter how doubtful she may be.

"I suggest you ask Monokuma to confiscate them," Asami replied, a small nod. "I do believe, however, that these are used to help the sick and weak! I do not believe it will be used incorrectly."

"Hm." Saori hummed and closed the drawer, moving to the next one. The next drawer held a bunch of yellow folders, but from Minori's perspective there were no papers inside of any of them. She still looked through them anyway, sighing quietly to herself as nothing was found. She closed the drawer and moved to the last one at the bottom, opening it up.

Once she opened the drawer, she found herself looking upon bottles. They were bottles filled with pills. Obviously, they were prescribed drugs. There were painkillers, stimulants, opioids, etc. However, what surprised Saori and piqued her curiosity were the black bottles. She took one in her hands, her eyes slightly widening to find the word 'Lethal' in bold, red letters. She eyed it carefully, inspecting it before grabbing the rest of the black bottles. To her expectation, the black bottles were definitely poisonous and lethal. It was poison.

Asami frowned once she saw the bottles, her head shaking. "I am disappointed that our headmaster would allow such chemicals inside of an infirmary."

"He is supposedly a mastermind who wants to kill us," Minori muttered. It was definitely a silent mutter that was heard only to himself though. He glanced at the bottles Saori was holding. "This is defnitely bad though. We should confiscate them."

Saori eyed the pseudologist. "How, though?"

"Maybe there's a furnace around here?" He suggested, quickly eyeing the map. He tapped through each room, expecting to find at least a fireplace or something- but alas, there was nothing. He sighed. "Maybe we should just throw them in the trash."

"I still wonder why Monokuma put these items inside the desk when this is obviously an infirmary," Asami said, scratching her head.

Saori shrugged otherwise. "Alright. I'll go find a place somewhere." She took the batch of bottles, keeping it close in her arms before scurrying her way out of the room. The door closed with a slight thud.

Minori and Asami eyed one another before deciding to take a quick look through the room. The ceiling and walls were a plain white, however, the ground was a lovely black color. A monochrome room, if Minori had to say. There was the infirmary beds next to them, two to be exact with fluffy pillows and white blankets. In their eyesight were the cabinets and desks which were next to the sink. Next to the sink were a towel folded to the side over a pole, the small green trash bin in the bottom. There wasn't anything else special, the duo already noting their findings from Saori most of all.

They headed out to the next room, the room next to the infirmary being the lab room. They were about to walk into the room until Asami turned the knob, the door clattering. She frowned, a brow raised. She continued to turn the knob, but it was locked. "It's locked," she said, stating the obvious. The knight turned to Minori. "Is there someone inside, possibly?"

"I'm not sure." Minori walked to the door, deciding to take his turn. He began pounding on the door, knocking rather hardly to gain whoever or whatever seemed to be inside the lab room. "Um, is there anyone in here?"

Nothing. The pseudologist frowned before continuing to knock on the door. "Um, hello?"

Nothing, yet again. Minori slowly retreated his hand as he eyed the pixie-haired girl. "I suppose it is locked," he said with a sigh. "I'm assuming Monokuma doesn't want us to go inside."

"That's suspicious for sure." Asami nodded to herself with a determined glare in her eyes. "Alright! We should ask him about it later."

"I doubt he'll even answer us-"

"I will, you bastard!"

"Aah!" Minori jumped back, Monokuma appearing in the middle of nowhere. It frightened him. He almost fell in response, Asami putting herself in front of Minori to protect him. The pseudologist regained his composure however, simply coughing to hide his embarrassment as he glared at the headmaster. "W-what're you doing here?"

Monokuma laughed to himself, mocking Minori's startled response earlier. "Upupupupupu! I love scaring my students to death like this!" He pointed his paw to the duo, then looking to the locked lab room. "You wanna know why the lab room is locked, right?" He smirked as the students nodded their heads. "Weeeellll... it's simple and brief. And it's because of plot reasons!"

Minori raised a brow, perplexed. "Plot reasons?"

"Upupupupu! You'll know soon enough!" Monokuma laughed, and before the pseudologist and the knight could say something, Monokuma disappeared from the ground. He was gone. He was nonexistant now.

 _That was the fastest hit-and-run situation I ever seen._

Asami turned to eye Minori. "May we move to the next room now?"

Minori nodded his head.

They continued to walk, heading downwards till they reached two closed doors that were reletively close to one another. They were also different in color, the nearest to them being blue and the other being pink. From speculations alone, Minori assumed they were the bathrooms. Well, it wasn't too big of a mystery to solve considering the door signs of a male and female respectively.

"I can't go into the girl's restroom," the pseudologist said in a matter-of-fact matter, eyeing Asami. "Are you going in? I'll be checking the guys' restroom."

"Of course! I have no privilege to go inside the men's bathroom either!" Asami saluted to the white-haired teenager, a big smile on her face. "I'll see you soon, Minori!"

Minori chuckled. "Sure." He eyed Asami with a humorous gaze. _It's not like we're going to some final destination or something..._

The Ultimate walked inside the men's restroom, not surprised to find it similar to a regular restroom. The walls were blue, the ground and the ceiling being white. There were three bathroom stalls and three urinals. In the side was the sinks, tons of towels stacked under the desks.

 _I wonder if there's anything in the girl's bathroom- No, stop yourself Minori. Don't think about the girl's restroom._

Otherwise, there wasn't anything there. Nothing special at all. Minori sighed and headed back outside, finding Asami who was already there.

"Oh, hello Minori!" Asami bowed to the pseudologist, nodding her head. "Did you find anything?"

Minori shook his head. "Nothing. You?"

"No. It is a regular restroom." Asami sighed. "Shall we move?"

Minori nodded. The duo moved to the next room, seeing the label 'MonoLottery Room!', added with the exclamation point of course. Even the door was special, the color of the door being painted in a fantasic gold hue. Shiny, gold color. Of course, the duo had to eye one another in bewilderment.

"What exactly will be in this place?" The knight felt inclined to ask, eyeing Minori for an answer.

"Well, let's find out."

Minori opened the door, allowing Asami to get inside first before he headed inside himself. First, he noticed the strange music playing inside of the room. Music that seemed to be normal for a carnival, music coming from a party. Other than that, the room seemed to be quite crowded with plenty of toys and vending machines, covering the playful yellow walls. Well, that also seemed to be because of the person who was currently investigating the area. The person who was the Ultimate Wedding Planner, Kakuma.

 _Oh god dammit, I do not want to see him._

Kakuma eyed the duo, a disgusted frown apparent on his lips. "Tch. What a coincidence, huh."

"It is nice to see you, Kakuma!" Asami didn't seem to care about Kakuma's tone of disgust, simply taking the courtesy to bow her head to him before continuing her investigation. She smiled at the wedding planner. "What exactly is this place, if I may ask?"

Kakuma scoffed. "Why would I assist you guys, exactly?" He then stopped as he looked around. A sigh escaped his lips and he crossed his arms, his posture still coming off as rude and standoffish. "This place seems to be the prize room."

Minori frowned. "Prize room? Why do we need prizes in the first place, let alone in a high school?"

"You think I know?" The wedding planner rolled his eyes. "I'm supposing Monokuma built this room for a specific reason. The room is called 'MonoLottery Room' after all, and I might as well add emphasis on it."

The pseudologist shrugged as he decided to take a look around the area. Kakuma was right, and it was quite obvious if not for the title altogether. There were various amounts of prizes stacked on top of shelves or on the ground, and there were plenty of vending machines surrounding the walls (or most of the walls), various items stored inside. Despite the reason being unknown for the purpose of the room, it was obvious the room was intended to be for the students. Maybe as a way of motivation, perhaps? There were plenty of prizes Minori seemed to adore, after all.

However, Minori didn't think much about it and continued to look ignoring the strange carnival music playing in the background. What caught his eye was the monochrome door in the corner of the wall to the right, hiding next to the vending machine and prizes laid on the ground. He walked towards it, a perplexed expression on his face as he tried to open it. The door clattered. It didn't open, and nothing happened after a few knocks on the door. Minori thought to himself, suspicious. _The color scheme of this door is the same as Monokuma... What does that mean?_

Kakuma noticed Minori cupping his chin. He eyed the door as well and nodded his head. "Guess you have some ideas about that door's purpose," he said, indifferent in his tone of voice. "Of course I have my ideas on it, but it's obvious I am not telling you. And before you ask why, it's because I am suspicious of you. We aren't companions nor are we friends, so I don't need to tell you anything."

Minori frowned, eyeing Kakuma with a shake of the head. "I understand if you hate me, but I would think it's better if we stay in a group first of all." He eyed Asami who looked at the duo, watching them carefully. Honestly, the pseudologist just doesn't want Monokuma's whole 'killing game' to come to life, and even if Fuwari was doubtful about it happening the tension between the group was obviously going to steer things downhill. "I think we should try to listen to Kaniza and the others."

The wedding planner coughed a laugh, though it was sarcastic. "Why should I trust someone with a talent like your's? Monokuma is right in one regard- and that is that a lot of people here aren't trustworthy. You're one of them."

 _That hurts._ Minori bit into his lips. He was used to this, sure, but that didn't mean he wanted to allow it to continue happening. And especially if he was in a killing game, he needed to try changing. Asami told him to, and he wanted to be someone who could protect others like her and Seiga did to him. He needed to start now, or there will not be a next time. He needed to speak up for himself, at least try. "I wouldn't judge people by their talents alone..."

Kakuma crossed his arms. "You think? Well, I-"

"Hey, I believe fighting is not ethical at all, especially if peace is an option! I also believe we should stick together in a group, but I won't pry, Kakuma!" Asami moved herself in the middle of the duo, obviously worried for their well-beings. She eyed Kakuma for a moment, silent before turning to Minori and acknowledging him. "I think we investigated here enough, should we move?"

The pseudologist was silent, almost embarrassed he needed Asami for a second time to help him. He was grateful however and nodded his head. "Yeah, we still have a few more places to go, after all."

Asami watched Minori move out the room, quickly bowing to Kakuma before heading outside to the white-haired boy. She closed the door behind her and eyed Minori who looked at his MonoPad, silent at the meantime. She simply smiled as she peeked over his shoulder. "The next room's the laundry, huh?"

"Ah, yeah." Minori closed the device, facing the knight. "We only have a few more rooms left until the dorms. It's the laundry room and the cafeteria."

Asami noted that and the duo walked down the hallways, easily finding the silver door to the laundry. They opened the door and walked inside, closing it behind them and taking a look at the area. The walls were a light green, the ground being a wooden color. In front of the left and right walls were the washers and dryers respectively, in the back of the room being the bleach and the other supplies (including the baskets and towels). In the middle of the room were bleachers, obviously meant for the people inside to rest and sit down in wait. A speaker was in the corner of the room as well. There was also a window in the middle of the back of the room, but, of course, it was covered and barred.

One thing instantly came to Minori's mind. _My clothes are all the same and I have like twenty of them... I'm just washing the same clothes over and over again in this room, aren't I?_

Well, other than that, there was nothing of interest in the room. The duo didn't take long inside before heading back out, now reaching their destination into the cafeteria. It was an open entrance, now doors nor anything blocking the way. Just walking inside, the duo instantly found themselves inside the cafeteria without stop.

"Oh, heeeeeey! Over here!"

The duo found themselves eyeing Haruko who was frantically waving his arms around, greeting the others as they saw Kaniza who had walked out of the kitchen. Asami quickly bowed her head to the duo, greeting them with her usual words, "It is nice to see you, Ko and Kaniza!"

Haruko smiled sweetly and giggled. "They have tons of chocolate bars inside of the kitchen! I wonder if I can melt them to make my own chocolate?" He then clapped his hands. "Ooh! I should make some and share with the others!"

"That'll definitely be shined upon by the stars." Kaniza nodded to herself. "I hope it'll calm down the others if you make some, Ko."

Haruko's smile widened. "Mhm!"

Minori took a look around the cafeteria. First things first, the room was spacious. Sure, there was a huge wooden table with velvet-cushioned chairs surrounding it in the middle, but other than that there were a lack of decorations aside from the statue of Monokuma in the right corner and a potted bonsai tree in the left corner. The door to the kitchen in the back was near the left side of the wall and was shut closed with the metallic door, a sign saying 'Open to Use' shown in the open. Of course, there was the same old speaker on the corner of the room. Afterwards, there wasn't much otherwise.

The pseudologist decided to walk into the kitchen, finding it to be more filled with decorations and items. There were a stove and oven in the back next to one another, the fridge and freezer next to the right. There was a gigantic sink as well, towels on the side and different sizes of butcher knives covered securedly on the wall. There were plenty of supplies and food in boxes to the right side of the room, canned foods inside some boxes and vegetables in others. There were also piles of snacks and chocolate bars on the table in the back of the boxes. The walls were covered with cabinets that held utensils and desks that were obviously to prepare the materials.

 _Well, this looks like a kitchen, obviously._

Minori walked back out, looking at his classmates who were talking to one another. Haruko seemed engaged in the conversation as Kaniza and Asami nodded their heads and provided their responses. The white-haired boy walked to the conversation, hearing the chocolatier speak. "Yup! So maybe I should shape the chocolate into animals?"

Asami smiled. "I would like mine to be of an eagle. Anything works though, as long as they aren't mice!"

"I would just like mine to be a star," Kaniza replied, shaking her head. "Stars are just a beauty to the eye, so I would love my very own star-shaped chocolate pieces."

Haruko simply chuckled and bobbed his head up and down. "Of course! Anything works with me, as long as it doesn't take for than a few days to make!" He then noticed Minori, his eyes brightening as he turned to him. "How about you? What shape do you want your chocolate piece to be?"

"Um..." Minori didn't really know. If anything, any sort of chocolate was good for him. "Maybe a bunny?"

The astrophotographer snickered, smiling at the pseudologist. "That's really cute of you! I'm charmed."

Minori instantly realized how seemingly adorable his choice for a chocolate piece was. He inwardly slapped himself on the head, groaning. _Oh god dammit. Now I'm embarrassed._

"Oh, that's really cute!" Haruko laughed to himself. "Now I have to ask the others! ... If I can find them! If not, I'll go ask them tomorrow!"

Minori sighed, shaking his head. He was still annoyed that he allowed himself to be the 'cute' one, but at the same time he was happy that Haruko was doing such a nice thing. For the chocolatier to take the time to ask the others on their supposed chocolate piece, it was definitely a kind and sweet deal. Minori couldn't help but adore how sweet Haruko was, both figuratively and literally.

Before Haruko could even start to move, the speaker began to sound. A ringing sound echoed throughout the entire floor after a short moment of static was heard.

 _Ding dong ding dong!_

Asami eyed the speaker in bewilderment. "Hm? What now?"

"It's nighttime, you bastards!" It was Monokuma, speaking from the speakers. "It's 10 P.M. now, so it's time to go to sleep! Numerous areas will be unaccessable at this time, so I suggest it's wise to go sleep in your dorms before a murder occurs! Upupupupu!"

The speaker stopped, now silence. There was nothing else to be said.

Minori frowned upon himself. _It's already 10 o'clock? Geez, I can't tell the time here, especially with the windows being covered._

"Daaaarrrnnn..." Haruko frowned, pouting. He was puffing his cheeks and slouching. "Now everyone's gonna go to sleep and I won't be able to ask theeeemmm! Geeeeez!"

"It's alright, we can ask them tomorrow at breakfast," Kaniza said, smiling at the chocolatier. "The stars aligned are definitely telling us of your good luck in your mission to make chocolate for the others!"

"Really?" He smiled widely and clapped his hands. "That's great!"

Minori nodded to himself, moving towards them. "For now, we should go to our rooms and rest.

"You're right," Asami replied. "It is highly advised that we rest in order to plan our escape tomorrow!"

Haruko tilted his head. "We're planning an escape or something?"

"Well, we need to do something about Monokuma's unethical assumptions!" Asami crossed her arms. "I will call the rest of the students to eat breakfast with us by banging on their doors repeatedly till they answer so we can plan a rebellion against the headmaster. I figure this will be the best way to approach the situation."

Kaniza nodded, an acknowledging gaze on her face. "I agree with that! I'll help."

"Huh, it sounds fun! I'll still make chocolate for them too!" Haruko clapped his hands again, jumping in place. He was obviously excited. "You guys could help me make chocolate too."

Kaniza smiled. "Sounds like a plan!" She turned to Minori. "How about you? You wanna help us?"

"Huh? Oh." Minori somehow doubted they'd ask him. He hesitated, but nodded his head. He did want to help, after all. "Yeah. I'll try."

"Alright, let's do this!" Asami threw her fist up, then stopping suddenly with a quick smile and laughed. "Hah, well we should rest first."

"Of course."

Minori and the others decided on their plan, nodding their heads as they headed down the hallways, reaching the dormitories. The halls were dark, only a dim light being shone down to the area. They stopped in the middle of the circular area. They eyed one another, waving to one another and wishing them good luck before heading into their respective dorms. Minori headed into his room, a yawn escaping his lips as he closed the door.

The pseudologist threw himself onto his bed, his entire body suddenly feeling heavy. His eyelids were heavy, and he felt limp even as he heard the MonoPad falling to the floor (luckily the bed wasn't too far off from the ground). Minori sighed. _Guess I'm more tired than I thought._ He stared up into the ceiling. _I guess Monokuma and my new classmates tired me out..._

 _I have to help Asami and the others tomorrow. We're supposed to meet the rest at the cafeteria at morning... I hope Asami can convince them to eat with us though. I have no idea what Monokuma is planning, especially if we aren't going to kill one another. He obviously wants us to antagonize one another, and it's working effectively, especially towards me. Shit, I'll just see what I can do tomorrow... somehow..._

Minori felt his eyelids closed. His breathing became slow, and he suddenly fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Hello! And here is the official end to the prologue. Now, we are moving into Chapter 1, and what will happen from now on? Well, you'll find out soon as the story continues. Anyways, if you haven't already seen, there is a new poll on my profile which will be important for the future- and, that, my folks, is the Free Time Events! Vote for who you want Minori to speak to in the Free Time Events!

So, my question would be have you ever made a Danganronpa SYOC or have you ever planned one yourself and what was the premise of your story?

Well, I'll see you in the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 1 - Part 1, Part A

Hello, and welcome officially to Chapter 1 of this story! I took longer making this since I wanted to make this long and detailed as possible, but it's also because I lost some of my progress... I got so mad at myself since there were like 7,000 words that went to waste, but well, at least I still wrote this chapter...

I am glad you guys are liking the story so far, and especially with the first chapter. Honestly, I am not that good at describing scenery and exposition in comparison to character development, so I am glad a lot of you seemed to like the last chapter! Since we are now finally where the story starts to accelerate, expect a lot of things to happen. Well, I have a lot of character interactions I'm planning, especially in regards to their friendships and possible romantic choices! Let's hope Minori gets some friends here.

I'm also seeing a lot of people liking Minori and Asami's interactions so far, and I hope you will like more of the character dynamics between some other characters as well! Don't forget to vote for who you want our protagonist to talk to in the Free Time Events on my profile!

 **liammarklh88:** "Glad you loved this chapter. I'm glad you like the character dynamics shown so far. Ooh, your stories sound interesting for sure."

 **ToonGuy:** "Haha, glad I made your day! You're pretty observant, lol. I'm sure you're ideas will be perfect for a Danganronpa setting, and I understand where you're going with the 'too many good OCs' dilemma. I had a hard time choosing characters for this SYOC too, so I understand completely where you're coming from!"

 **Agrael:** "Yeah, the setting of the story is definitely one of the most important parts to a story other than the plot and characters. Yeah, Minori is definitely someone in need of protecting and in need of character development. Your idea seems definitely interesting, and I would try to create an OC if the story wasn't already full of characters beforehand."

 **Tario Ed:** "Aww, I'm glad you think so! And it's fine if you didn't review, you're here now ^.^ I'm sure you'd be able to make a great Danganronpa SYOC story again, and I'm sure people are reading your's still!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "A lot of characters are too good for this game, in all honesty. Minori definitely needs friends. Lol, that's nice to know. I'm sure you'd create a masterpiece if you made one, and I'd definitely try to send in an OC if I could!"

 **irwegwert:** "Monokuma is definitely up to a lot of stuff. Lol, there's a lot of stuff that can used in a murder. Don't worry, I'm trying to blend all the characters out to give them a chance in the spotlight! I love character dynamics and writing them, so I'm glad you liked Minori and Asami's friendship so far! I'm glad you think of my story as good, so thanks a lot~"

 **zephryr:** "Your takes on dynamics and shippings are interesting, and it's nice to see your reasons why too ^.^"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "I'm glad I'm still considered to be quick! I want to keep you guys engaged in the story, after all! Asami was definitely the highlight of last chapter. Ooh, your stories definitely sound interesting. They're so original and unheard of too in this community! Kudos to you!"

 **Abitat Eco:** "Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you're liking the story, and I'm surprised Minori could even compete against Nezumi on who's the most adorable cinnamon roll! I'm glad you got your character accepted! Congratulations to you!"

 **Kukasabe Swift:** "Nice to see you like that chapter! Drawing attention to the setting is usually one of my weak points whenever I write ^.^ Yeah, a lot of character interactions are gonna happen in this chapter too. Oh, didn't know you were a part of that story! XD Good luck to you."

* * *

The speaker played.

"Upupupu! It's morning, you bastards! Get up and do something productive, or continue sleeping! It doesn't matter!"

Minori groaned, waking up slowly. His vision was blurry, and his body was stiff. He couldn't remember much about yesterday, his mind only asking him to rest for a while. Still, he stood up and walked slowly to clean himself in the restroom. He spent a couple of minutes inside the bathroom, cleaning his face after showering and changing his clothes (into a new pair of the same ones though) before a sudden thought ran through his mind.

 _Oh, right. Kaniza and the others made a plan for us all to eat together for breakfast. I should get going as soon as possible or else Asami will pound on my door. I wonder if she'll be able to convince them to join us though._

Minori finished brushing his hair, rolling his usual scarf around him. Making sure he was tidy and clean, he walked out of the restroom and looked around the room. He eyed the MonoPad which was inside the room for a moment. He walked towards it, turning it on in hopes to check the time. Unsurprisingly, the time had shown 8:10 AM respectively, and although Minori had to wonder why he hadn't seen the clock yesterday he supposed he was too busy investigating to bother. The pseudologist left the MonoPad on the table, sighing a bit after realizing he had dropped it yesterday, and moved out of his dorm room.

As he closed the door, Minori found himself staring eye-to-eye with Sheina. He raised a brow as he eyed her carefully. "You're awake already?" He asked, trying to ignite a conversation with the egyptologist. He then realized the woman was in front of his door and his conversation steered to that topic at hand. "Um, why're you at my door? Did you want to ask me something, possibly?"

Sheina didn't mind the question, instead holding her chin high and keeping her royal-like posture. "It is nice to see you, subject," she began, greeting him with the same burst of energy and quirkiness she had the last day. Minori was shocked she held the same amount of energy she held yesterday, and especially in the morning where everyone should be groggy and sluggish. "Khepri must have shine upon us this new day!"

Minori inwardly frowned. _Is Khepri another Egyptian God or something? Actually, the only Egyptian God I even know are Ra and Osiris..._ The pseudologist eyed her awkwardly. He didn't even want to mention that his head was hurting. He definitely needed to learn more about Egyptian mythology, noting how stupid he must've looked to Sheina. "So, why're you in front of my door, if I may ask?"

Sheina smirked upon herself. "I took it upon myself to help my subject Asami wake the other subjects. I do have the honor to bless my subjects with Osiris' well-being, after all."

"Oh. I see." Minori does have to admit- despite Sheina's obession with Egyptian Gods and her belief that she is a Pharaoh of some sort, she was still nice in her own way. Well, that was good on Minori's end. He wouldn't know what to do if the woman was psychopathic as well. "Are the others awake already?"

Sheina shook her head. "Well, my fellow subject, not all of them are willing to open the door so Asami is trying to get on their nerves as an attempt. I am glad you woke up early, subject, so may the Gods bless good will upon you. It'll give me more time to bring wrath down the subjects who don't follow their fate!"

The pseudologist instantly began to worry for the stubborn students' well-being. _What exactly is this 'wrath' you're gonna bring down upon them, Sheina?_

Minori could only watch in silence as Sheina began to go to Nezumi's door, beginning to knock on it while speaking as loudly as she could about her 'punishment'. He could only shake his head with a sigh, wondering what will become of the thief before he decided to walk into the hallways, waving to Asami who noticed him from her position before moving into the cafeteria.

Some of the students seemed to be there, well, to be more exact, more than half of them. Some of the Ultimates were yawning while others having conversation with one another. He decided to take a seat, the one nearest to him. From there, he noticed he was sitting next to Seiga and in front of Saori. His mind instantly rolled to what he had promised to do yesterday, and mustering up the courage, he caught ahold of the stunt double's attention. "Good morning, Seiga."

Seiga instantly turned to him, cracking his fists before widely smiling his usual toothy smile. "Hey! How's it going? Had a good night's sleep?"

Minori nodded. "I guess. I do feel better than I did yesterday." He bit into his lips, almost hesitating. He stopped, shaking his head. "Oh, um, I forgot to thank you yesterday for defending me against Monokuma. Thanks, Seiga."

The stunt double didn't seem to mind about Minori's lateness, simply nodding his head and chuckling. "It isn't good if a hero can't protect anyone in need of helping," he replied, giving the pseudologist a thumbs-up. "That bear's some damn antagonist, though! It's crazy to think he'd come up with such a cliched plot device like a killing game too!"

 _Are you sure we're in some play or cartoon?_ Minori shrugged, still glad that Seiga didn't mind him. "Well, we're supposed to talk about stopping Monokuma. That's why Asami and the others tried to gather us here."

"Yeah. I just hope all of us come here," the stunt double said, scratching the back of his lavender hair. He bit into his lips, almost peeling back the skin with his teeth. "It isn't manly for the side characters to just stay cooped up in their rooms. Even my brother would've shunned how unmanly the side characters are, that bastard, but he's too nice of a guy that he's so admirable!"

Minori felt himself blinking a couple of times. _Is he insulting his brother or complimenting him? I have no idea._

A few moments passed between the group. Minori simply twiddled with his fingers as he listened silently to some of the other Ultimates talking, not feeling the need to interrupt their conversations with his need to comment. He simply waited for time to roll by as slowly and slowly did the rest of the students came.

"Hello." It was Ryoichi who came inside first, walking to take a seat next down to Haruko and Kaniza.

Kaniza was the first to greet him, smiling brightly. "Hey! Glad you could make it."

"Thanks, Ms. Tsukitaiyo." He then listened to the others speaking, talking at times with his input. He was mostly speaking about aliens though, saying how aliens probably had a helping hand in the creation of constellations and how they must love chocolate. If anything, it was a ridiculous conversation, though a fun and lively one.

The next person who came into the cafeteria was the Ultimate Thief himself. He definitely looked uneasy, eyeing the group before beginning to speak in his usual stuttering, fearful tone. "S-sorry if you don't need me here... B-but Asami and Sheina told me to be here!"

"It's alright," Kaniza said, almost feeling worried for how scared the thief was. "Just take a seat and join us in our conversation!"

"A-alright..." Nezumi walked down to take a seat in front of the astrophotographer, stiff and uncertain. He listened to the plentiful amount of conversations surrounding the cafeteria, and although he looked eager to join, he was still figeting and moving about it place.

The next person to come in was Amyto who was yawning, stretching her arms and rubbing her tired eyes. "Mm, sorry guys," she began, groggy as she took a seat down next to the fearful Nezumi who jumped away from her. "I overslept. My bad."

Kamui raised a brow. "Wouldn't Monokuma's announcement wake you up, first of all?"

Amyto laughed before shaking her head. "I was too tired from looking around the floor yesterday. It's hard being a detective, geez!"

"Hello, sorry I'm late." Next to come in was Rin who was silent, walking over to take a seat next to Minori who scooted to give her space. She was then silent and watched the others who slowly continued to talk after realizing she wouldn't speak any much further. She was definitely a reserved person.

A few minutes later came in the Ultimate Scholar who had written into his notepad beforehand, showing it to the group. "Nice to meet you this morning," and then after waiting for the Ultimates to nod their heads he walked down to take a seat. "Who is making the food, if I might ask?"

Fuwari spoke from her chair. "Asami, Kaniza, and Haruko prepared the food for us in the kitchen. It is already cooked, but we are waiting for the others to join us so we can officially eat."

"That's nice," Rin murmured from her chair, nodding to herself.

Amyto clapped her hands together, applauding Kaniza and Haruko who was in the room. She was also applauding for Asami of course, but she wasn't present at the moment to see it. "Wow, how kind of them!"

"It's thanks to Ko for knowing what dishes we should cook though," Kaniza said, humble as she chuckled. She eyed Haruko who simply jumped up and down from his seat in excitement.

Finally, nothing came. Nothing came for a few minutes. Almost five minutes have passed and there was no sight of the Asami and Sheina. The Ultimates continued to speak. Minori frowned. _Are they having trouble bringing someone here or something?_ He wondered if he should check on them as ten minutes passed, wanting to stand up and move until he heard Sheina's voice booming through the hallways.

"The Gods will bring down wrath upon you if you continue disrespecting the Pharoah!"

"Sheina...?" Minori couldn't help but worry for the person she had frustrated, watching Asami who came in with an awkward smile. The knight bowed down to greet everyone before looking back. Minori looked back as well, watching Sheina who had an irritated expression on her face, the woman crossing her arms as the person that angered her entered the room. "Kakuma."

"I have told you two plenty of times that I do not want to eat with the others." He glared at Sheina for a moment before eyeing Asami, scoffing. He then looked at the rest of the students. "What are we here to discuss about? I'm guessing it's about Monokuma?"

Asami nodded her head. "Yeah. I want all of us to talk about how we can go against the headmaster and escape."

Kakuma shook his head. He crossed his arms with a disinterested stare. "Like that'll work? Monokuma is definitely not someone to underestimate, especially if we consider his status as the headmaster."

"It is just a title though," Amyto said.

"You think?" The wedding planner eyed the hypnotist for a moment, frowning. He then looked at Minori, almost disgusted before sighing. "Why don't you ask Minori instead of me? He seems to at least know what's happening here."

"I'm surprised," Fuwari began, eyeing the wedding planner with a monotone voice. Somehow, by just eyeing her, she seemed scarier than she did earlier. "I thought you would've said that Minori would lie to us if we asked him. It is interesting you suggested we ask him."

Sagiso agreed with the spirit medium, crossing her arms with the shake of the head. "I find it worst if we listen completely to what Monokuma says," she said, against Kakuma's lack of care for the group. "Are you that certain a murder will occur? Are you certain that Monokuma is doing this so easily as if we aren't in Japan, a country where murder is obviously illegal?"

Kakuma rolled his eyes. "Well, it's not like murder isn't possible and I doubt he'd lie in risk of his life. We are in a killing game, after all, and just from his facial expressions alone he definitely seems eager to befriend you guys."

"Excuse me?" Minori murmued, offended that Kakuma would speak about him so openly hostile in public. _His hostilality is much more open than what I'm used to, and it's definitely beginning to irritate me._

"Just sit with us at least," Asami said, eyeing the wedding planner who was standing still. "At least hear us out and give us your take on what we could do, please."

"Hmph. I'll hear you guys out then." Kakuma walked close to the group, pulling over a chair and sliding it to the corner of the room. He sat down, crossing his arms and legs. He eyed the group. "Might I ask if we have food prepared?"

"Oh, right! I'll be here with the food!" Asami ran into the kitchen. A few minutes passed by until the knight returned with the food, rolling down a small table that held the dishes at hand. She placed the dishes all on the table, surprising the Ultimates whose stomachs now grumbled with want.

 _Wow... This looks appetizing._

Minori took a long look at the dishes, not bothering to eye the utensils and plates being handed out. The dishes prepared were definitely of breakfast material, definitely fitting of the breakfast title. There were scrambled eggs on one platter, sixteen in total alongside sixteen pieces of hash brown as well. There were bowls of miso soup as well as bowls of fermented soy beans. On another plate were sixteen small bowls of rice, steamed and freshly laid out on the plate. There were also bowls of fruits as well, definitely for the healthy.

"This looks delicious!" Amyto cried, literally drooling from her seat. She couldn't believe how well people can cook. It was astonishing to her.

Saori eyed Asami who had skipped to her seat. The body broker had grabbed ahold of her plate and chopsticks, eyeing the food now. "May we eat now?"

Asami nodded with a kind smile, laughing. "Of course! Eat to your fill!"

Minori smiled as he looked down at the food, taking each dish from the middle of the table and bringing it to his side. He decided to start with the miso soup, taking a sip from the bowl before his eyes instantly brightened. _Holy shit, it's good._ Minori continued to eat to his fill, simply listening to the others converse and noticing Asami handing Kakuma his meal.

The group had a generally good time speaking to one another. Minori could tell Asami wanted to brighten the mood till she spoke on her plan, seeing how their classmates were conversing with one another. He could only listen and eat while listening to his classmates speak about various things- about each other's talent (though some were bragging otherwise) and sometimes talking about their hobbies.

It took around half an hour before everyone has completely finished their meals. From there, Asami stood from her seat. She eyed the group with a wide smile. "So, the reason why I have gathered you all here together is because I have a plan to rebel against Monokuma!"

Sagiso's eyes widened, her interest piqued. "The headmaster?"

Asami nodded her head. "Yes, but I need to know if any of you are not willing to participate."

"Hm..." Fuwari cupped her chin, her dark presence completely overwhelming the room. It certainly caught Asami's attention. "What are you planning for us to do against Monokuma though, if I might ask?"

The knight bowed her head to the Ultimate. "Excellent question! Well, I think it is best for us to go against Monokuma together. We should take him out in surprise and interrogate him about our situation. Since there are sixteen of us, I believe we have a chance of successfully catching the headmaster and getting out of this place." She then looked at the group. "Does that sound good?"

The group eyed one another before Kamui raised his hand. "I do think it is plausible," he began, nodding his head. "However, I believe it is more efficient for us to split into two groups. The first group could try to pursue Monokuma while the second could look for an exit. I think it's not only more efficient, but safer and quicker. We don't exactly see any way on how we ended up here in the first place, but it should be certain that there is a secret exit somewhere. Though it'll be good if we manage to capture the headmaster and pressure him into answering, I believe we should be extra certain our plan will work."

Saori raised her hand as well, gaining acknowledgment from Asami. She began to speak. "I agree with Kamui," she said, straightforward without skipping around the point. "We don't exactly know how low or high or chance of success are."

"I see..." Asami cupped her chin, thinking to herself. "Well, if everyone agrees with that, then it'll work too! It is a wise plan as well, much more efficient and well-rounded than mine. I believe we could do this. However, we need to know for certain if everyone will participate in this plan and help us. Quantity does play a role, remember?"

Seiga cracked his knuckles, a toothy smile on his face. "Well, of course the hero is gonna participate!" He cried, yelling into the open. "I will be part of the group that goes against Monokuma too. Me, Seiga Kosoku, will protect the rest of my group members!"

"Ah. I also see how Kamui's plan is effective," Sagiso said, putting her intake on the situation. "Our talents are more fitting for certain aspects as well. I believe I'd be much better finding an exit than to fight against the headmaster. I believe that our strength and wit does play a role in this plan too."

"Hmph!" Sheina puffed her chest up. Her haughty tone continued to escape her lips. "As the Pharoah, I will protect my subjects no matter the group I'm assigned to! However, I'd advise it's best to make me in charge of whichever group gains my blessing!"

Kakuma didn't seem joyful in the slightest, drinking into his cup of water before placing it down. He glared at the group. "I prefer if I didn't participate. I don't want to align myself with any of you, after all."

"Huh?" Kaniza eyed the wedding planner in shock. She thought for sure the Ultimate would cooperate, everyone else was seemingly fond of the idea, after all. "But why? Don't you want to help us and get out of here?"

"Of course I do want to escape from this accursed place," the wedding planner began, crossing his arms with his usual standoffish posture. "However, I'll do it in my own terms. Besides, are you guys that certain this plan will work in your favor?"

Minori eyed the knight, worried for her well-being. Even the pseudologist had to admit that Kakuma had a point. _How is everyone so sure that Monokuma won't 'punish' us if we fail, as said from the rulebook? We don't even know how powerful Monokuma is exactly... He is the headmaster for a reason and that confidence in his high-pitched voice doesn't come from nowhere._

Asami was staring at the wedding planner for a moment, staring into his dull blue eyes. She put her hands to her hips, her pixie hair bobbing in place. "I know everyone here is doubtful, no matter how little or how big it is. But it we do not do anything, then we will never get out of here. If we don't try now, then when we will we?" She then smiled at the wedding planner before eyeing the rest of the group. "I believe we should try. I believe that we will definitely escape from this place and stop Monokuma's whole 'killing game'! I'm sure we can do it."

Minori inwardly smiled to himself. Asami was definitely worthy of her title as a knight. She protected others, no matter mentally or physically she'd helped them from any sort of trouble. _Guess I'll lie to myself about my own doubts and help her out._ Minori counted to himself before beginning to speak, as loudly as he could. "I agree with Asami. I think the chances of us succeeding in stopping Monokuma is better than zero. There might be an exit we aren't even aware of, and I think if we look carefully we'll be able to find it." He then stopped, noticing everyone's eyes on him. His fair complexion immediately turned red and he hid himself under his scarf. "W-well, I think so at least."

"Hmph. Even you, huh." Kakuma murmured to himself, obviously displeased as he eyed the pseudologist. "Well, believe in what you want, but I will be doing my own thing. I do not believe wishes are granted so easily, after all."

Asami nodded, bowing her head down. "Thank you for your humble opinion, Kakuma! I apologize if I have wasted your time."

The dull-eyed Ultimate simply scoffed. Minori could only watch the wedding planner until he felt an arm wrapped around his shoulder. He was being dragged to the stunt double who was widely smiling at him. "You were cool there, dude!" Seiga cried, joyous. "Amazing speech."

"Haha, thanks..." Minori was definitely embarrassed, but he wasn't feeling regretful about his decision. If anything, he had helped Asami. He was only glad to contribute, after all. He was just happy everyone other than Kakuma seemed fairly warm on the idea of rebelling against the headmaster.

Asami chuckled, eyeing Minori in silent gratitude. Then, she continued to look at the other Ultimates. "Does anyone else wish not to participate in the plan? It's alright to speak up!"

Nezumi raised his hand, fidgeting. He didn't even realized he had stolen Kaniza's chopsticks, the items in his left hand. "U-um, how are we even s-splitting the groups up?" He gulped, paling. "I-I rather not fight Monokuma, e-even if I'm a thief..."

Kaniza eyed him with a warm smile, silently taking back her chopsticks without Nezumi realizing. "I'm pretty sure we have the liberty of choosing where we want to be!" She said, trying to ease his nerves. "The stars are aligned of their free will, and so are we free to do whatever we want!"

"I-I guess you're right..." Nezumi shrunk into his seat. "Sorry for asking... I-it was stupid of me to ask! I-I'm sorry!"

Amyto laughed. "Don't be sorry!"

"Yeah, you didn't do anything wrong!" Haruko giggled, throwing his hands to the air. "I don't care which side I'll be on though! Anything is fine with me."

"Me neither, honestly." Fumio scribbled into his notepad, gaining the attention of the others. He continued to scribble and show it to the group. "As long as I'm not a burden. I hope I'll be useful otherwise."

Kakuma was watching them in silence. He couldn't believe that people were so trusting nowadays. He grabbed ahold of his plates and bowls, bringing them into the kitchen before heading back into the cafeteria. "I'll be touring the school. Don't bother me while I'm searching," he said, not bothering to eye the group as he began to walk out the door. He didn't even bother to wave at the group as the doors shut closed.

The chocolatier's eyes widened. He then frowned, pouting. "I didn't get to ask him..."

Ryoichi's brow raised as he cupped his chin. "If Mr. Arakaki wanted to tour the school for a second time, he should've joined us." He frowned, now perplexed. "That's as strange as what an alien would do!"

"It's his choice," Fuwari said, answering the investigator. "He has a will of his own, whether we understand it or not."

Minori understood entirely what Fuwari meant by those words. Kakuma was somebody different. He acted and talked differently from the rest because of his background. They don't know anything about the wedding planner, and Minori knew that Kakuma had his share of problems. Was he afraid of people? Was he afraid of making friends? What happened to him in the past? Minori was honestly curious to a degree.

Asami sighed as she scratched her head. "Fifteen of us aren't a problem. Kakuma's lack of participation is fine, it isn't his fault." She then smiled at the group. "Let's desperate the groups. If anyone has a preference of which group they should go to, raise your hand."

The students began to sort things out, everyone having a say in their part and role to the plan. There were some who chose their group, such as Seiga, Assmi, and Sagiso. They planned the group's accordingly to their talent if needed, then putting those who held middle ground wherever it is needed.

And so, the groups were the following. The first group, that being to stop Monokuma and pry answers from him, were Asami, Seiga, Sheina, Saori, Minori, Amyto, Fuwari, and Fumio. The second group which would be to search the area for an exit are the following- Sagiso, Ryoichi, Kaniza, Nezumi, Rin, Kamui, and Haruko.

Minori honestly didn't care which group he was placed in. Just being a help to the team would be fine in his eyes, but he supposed the same can't be said of some others. Seiga and Sheina was obviously pleased that they were in the first team, eager to set things straight with that bear named Monokuma. Sagiso seemed quite content that she was in the second group, given her talent as a psychogeographer. Nezumi, on the meantime, was relieved that he wouldn't be charging against Monokuma. The pseudologist couldn't help but wonder how Nezumi was even a thief if he acted so delicate.

But, before the group was able to head out, Haruko suddenly threw his hand up and spoke loudly, "Hey! I need to ask you all something veeeerrrry important!"

Sheina huffed and turned to the chocolatier. "Speak now, or forever will the Gods shun you for wasting the Pharoah's time!"

Ryoichi frowned. "Most Egyptian myths are made by aliens though."

The egyptologist's eyes widened. "Excuse me-"

"Ummm, okay!" Haruko blinked a couple of times. The puny teen didn't seem fazed much by Sheina's extravagant personality, simply clapping his hands and grinning widely. "I wanted to ask you guys yesterday, but I couldn't find all of you except for Asami, Kaniza, and Minori! I wanted to ask Kakuma today too, but he already left...meanie. Anyways, I need to see what shape you want your chocolate pieces to be in!"

"Woah, Ko!" Seiga cracked his fists with a happy grin. "You're too nice man! Might I get my chocolate to be in the shape of a lion? Lions are fierce and determined like a hero, after all. Or maybe just go with a Sentai hero."

"Of course!" Haruko took out a piece of paper from his pockets, then scribbling down on the paper with a pen on the Ultimates' request.

"I would go with a dog," Fumio scribbled down, tapping onto the chocolatier's shoulder to get his attention. The shorter teen nodded and jotted it down, Fumio writing down his gratitude before leaving Haruko to his well-being.

Rin thought to herself before mumbling, only being able to be heard because Haruko was near her. "I think a bunny would be cute," she had mumbled this silently, but she didn't seem too embarrassed by her suggestion. If anything, she was just cautious and careful.

Haruko giggled as he wrote down Rin's request. "Bunnies are really famous so far," he said, nodding his head. "Minori also wanted a bunny-shaped chocolate piece too!"

Minori's eyes instantly widened. He instantly felt like his insides were going to burst, his face turning as red as a tomato as he buried his face into his scarf. _Oh my god why did you tell them oh my god are you doing this on purpose?!_

He even saw the jeweler stare at him, a subtle smile on her lips. Minori couldn't help but cry inwardly as those pairs of eyes began to look upon him. They were obviously shocked by his request, and that wasn't good for various reasons.

"That's so cute!" Amyto cried, nodding her head quickly as she clapped her hands together. "Maybe we should nickname you as Minnie too since you're acting so cute!"

Minori couldn't believe what he heard. _That's worse than just calling me cute!_

Saori eyed the pseudologist in bewilderment. Minori had to even wonder why everyone was looking at him as if he were a delicate doll. Even Sagiso was eyeing him with a small smile, the girls having looked at him in interest. Even his male classmates were eyeing him in shock and wonder.

"How manly," the stunt double said, teasing Minori as he threw an arm around his shoulder. He brought the white-haired man close to him. "Being able to flaunt your interests so casually."

"I-I only said bunny because I didn't know what else to get," Minori murmured. Instantly did he regret not thinking about dogs, cats, etc. No, he just had to think about a fluffy white rabbit.

"Bunnies can be real dangerous too, y'know?" Seiga laughed as he released Minori from his grip. "They don't eat wood for nothing. Surviving in the wilderness wouldn't be easy for the bunnies if they don't have a hint of predator-like instincts within them. It's like those shows where the nicest and quietest guys end up having the most awesome powers!"

Minori sighed inwardly to himself. He honestly didn't know why Seiga was trying to make him feel better, but he was glad the stunt double cared. "Thanks," he replied, forcing a small smile.

Haruko continued to get the requests from the rest of his classmates, some picking their utmost favorite while others lacked a care and simply wanted to try his chocolates. Some even decided to get their chocolate into the shape of a bunny, but Minori could tell they were doing so because they felt pity for the pseudologist. Minori could definitely see that awkward look Sagiso gave him.

"Alright, that's everybody!" Haruko stopped, then frowning. "Well, except for Kakuma...but I'll see if I can ask him later." He then smiled as he stuffed the pen and paper into his pocket again. He looked at Asami. "Are we gonna start the plan?"

Asami nodded, a determined smile on her face. "Alright, I must make this clear- are we all ready to initiate the plan?"

"Yeah!" Kaniza seemed excited to start.

Sheina smirked confidently as she crossed her arms. "May Osiris guide us to victory. Subjects, we must accomplish this without fail."

Haruko nodded. "Yeah! Failure isn't an option!"

Minori couldn't help but notice how optimistic the group was. They definitely seemed ready and determined to start, in one way or another. Though he could still feel that lingering doubt in the Ultimates' hearts, the thought of escaping this school definitely overcame that feeling for this exact moment. Minori himself was ready, having believed they could do this. He wasn't sure, but he believed in Asami anyways.

 _Asami, you are definitely worthy of your title as a knight._

Minori followed Asami and the rest of his classmates in his group out of the door. They walked down the hallways and passed the laundry room, moving down and down until they reached the door to the auditorium. From there, they stopped. Asami eyed her classmates as the pseudologist bit into his lips. "You think Monokuma will be in there?" He asked, quiet.

"We haven't seen him anywhere else while we're walking down the halls," Asami replied, eyeing Minori. "I doubt he'd be hanging around inside the other rooms too. I doubt he has a purpose inside any of the rooms other than the auditorium. He appeared out of nowhere when we met, so I'm guessing he has some sort of secret inside that room."

Minori nodded his head slowly, following the knight's words. He was still somewhat doubtful that the headmaster was inside the auditorium, his thoughts revolving around Monokuma. _He appeared behind Asami and I yesterday out of nowhere, and at the same time disappeared into nothingness for some odd reason. I don't know how he appeared and disappeared like that while we were searching the halls, but it might have something to do with a magic trick or secret escape route? Hmm... Well, guess we'll see if Monokuma's in there or not._

Amyto bit into her lips. "Sooo, do we jump him if he's inside?"

The stunt double grinned, cracking his knuckles. "I'm ready to pound that bastard. Just let me at him."

"We should act as if we wanted to ask him a question firstly," Fuwari said, cupping her chin. "The auditorium is spacious and big, so I doubt Monokuma would be waiting for us at the door altogether. We should approach him carefully instead."

Saori nodded. "Agreed." She turned to glance at Amyto and Seiga. "We should approach this carefully or we may end up getting in trouble."

"I just hope things will end up well. Should we just wait a while for the other group?" Fumio scribbled down into his notepad, a worried expression on his face. The scholar was definitely unsure if their plan will run smoothly.

"Hmph. Do not worry, fellow subject." Sheina stared at Fumio with a cocky expression. She was definitely not worrying at all in contrast. "Osiris blessed us with our chance of success. The Gods will surely damn Monokuma for his sins."

Asami was ready, her hand on the door handle. "Alright. Let's go."

The door opened, the group slowly walking inside. To Minori's surprise, the headmaster was right inside the room. Asami was right- Monokuma was inside the auditorium. The bear was drinking a martini from the pedestal, seemingly bored before he noticed the group of Ultimates walking to his way, the auditorium door closing.

Monokuma stood up from his seat, quickly gulping down his drink before setting it aside. He placed his paws around his back, giving him a sophiscated and leader like look. "What's up?" He began, his high-pitched voice still apparent. "You guys wanna ask me how to kill someone? I have lots of amazing methods! Upupupu!"

Asami was the first to walk up to the bear, having signaled the rest to wait for a bit. "Might I ask why do you want us to participate in this killing game so badly?"

Monokuma chuckled as he jumped down to face the knight, closer to her. "Upupupupu! Is it that hard to answer?" He had continued to laugh. "It's obviously because the killing game is so exciting and fun! It gives you a thrill to know you're participating in a game!"

Minori silently watched the knight. It was obvious she was disgusted with what Monokuma was saying, Minori himself feeling those emotions of hatred and disgust. He noticed Seiga and Sheina who were about ready to pounce, Saori and Fuwari eyeing them in an attempt to gesture them to calm down. Fumio and Amyto were obviously worried not only for themselves, but for the rest.

"Excuse me, but I am sure not all of us will feel this desired excitement you want us to feel," Asami said, shaking her head. "Might I also ask how are you allowed to do this entire thing?"

Monokuma frowned. "Do I have to answer that? Too many questions, bastard!"

"Hm. I see." Asami began to slowly adjust herself, her posture on the offensive. She threw her fists up, Monokuma confused as she began to speak. Her posture signified the start of the plan, and so the rest of her group members began to prepare themselves. "We will stop you! As a knight, I can't allow your unethical ways to continue onward!"

Asami threw her fists down, Monokuma quickly jumping back with a gasp. She continued to attack, throwing fists left and right until she kicked upward. Monokuma jumped high into the air, almost flying as he was jumping away from the knight who quickly turned to the rest. "Quickly!"

Seiga grinned and cracked his knuckles. "Gotcha!" He quickly readied himself, putting his hands down and using his foot to push him up, jumping as high as Monokuma who was starting to fall down. The stunt double chuckled to himself, confident as he brought his fists together, punching down on the bear's body and sending him to the ground, in the middle of some of the students who were surrounding him. Seiga fell down with a graceful step, brightly saluting Asami and the others.

"You're surrounded," Asami said, eyeing Monokuma who slowly looked up at the students. He could see Amyto and Sheina who was blocking the door, the rest having surrounded him and Seiga joining in the fray. There was no chance of escape, so it seemed. The knight crossed her arms, her pixie hair flowing side to side. "We want to ask you some questions."

Monokuma coughed. "Hmph! Did you have to beat me in the process?! I'm your headmaster guys! And I already told you I'm not answering anything! You guys just ruined my day too! I should just punish you all!"

Minori's eyes widened, his heart beating. He quickly thought of what to say. "If your punishment is what I think it is, then wouldn't this killing game be less interesting? I don't think it'll be wise to 'punish' us all. There is about half of us here."

"You know me well, Minori." Monokuma sighed, standing back up on his two feet. He eyed the group. "What? You guys wanna torture me till I tell you where the damn exit is? Well, it's fucking futile! It's useless to try!"

Before the group could respond, the headmaster suddenly turned red. Well, he was blinking red. The sound of beeping echoed into the room, seconds passing. Minori instantly knew what it was. "Hey, get back!"

Seiga quickly grabbed ahold of the bear and threw him up, the headmaster then exploding into pieces. A smoky smell wafted through the room and silence was heard. The broken pieces of the bear were nonexistant. He was gone.

"What was that?" Fumio scribbled quickly into his notepad, confused. "Did Monokuma kill himself?"

"D-does that mean we're saved?" Amyto clapped her hands together. She was ecstatic.

Fuwari frowned. She cupped her chin as she eyed the place where the headmaster had exploded. "I'm doubting it," she began, slow. Her dark presence was overwhelming the room. "We also didn't get his answer for where the exit is."

"Is that guy really dead though?" Seiga cracked his knuckles. He was perplexed. "Then why isn't the camermen and director coming out to congratulate us?"

Saori mumbled underneath her breath. "Do you really think this is a set up or something?"

Minori was doubtful, dubious. There is no way that the headmaster could do something so rash and abruptly, especially if he was excited about the killing game. _He can't just kill himself like that. Maybe someone's controlling him or something? There's no reason why he'd kill himself._ Minori turned to Asami and the others. "What now?"

"I believe Osiris has spoken to us," Sheina said, pressing her hands together as if in praying. She was smiling confidently. "We have been blessed with our success, my fellow subjects!"

Seiga threw his fist up. "Woo! We did it guys! That was a lame fight though."

"It can't be that easy..." Saori frowned, obviously uneasy with the entire scene. She glanced around the room, now suspicious. However, there seemed to be nothing in sight. She couldn't find anything no matter where she looked, only hearing that high-pitched voice-

"Upupupupu! Gotcha!"

"What?" Asami quickly turned her head back, finding that monochrome bear facing the group of students with his same, casual self. The knight's eyes widened and she quickly put her hand in front of her classmates, defensive. She was silent for a moment before she slowly began to speak. Minori could see that subtle look of fear in her eyes. "How are you still alive?"

"Yeah! Are you his doppelganger or something?" Seiga jumped to the front as well, fists up. "There's no way what happened was fake! You even got the sound effects and made that explosion look realistic."

Monokuma laughed. "There's like millions of me! I'm a replacement of the first guy you saw." He then put his paws to his mouth, a mocking tone in his voice. "Oh, don't tell me you guys thought you actually killed me? How unfortunate for you guys! If you had found the Monokuma factory and burnt it years ago, then you guys would never be here! But, that's too bad."

"But..." Asami shook her head. "It doesn't make sense."

"Does anything make sense when you're in a killing game?" Monokuma shook his head, now sighing. "Asami, everything is unorthodox in this place. A killing game inside of a school is unheard of! And a headmaster being a bear? It's crazy!"

Sheina scoffed. "You think this is funny? May the Gods punish you, for you are far from salvation!"

"Woah, scary!" The bear was obviously mocking fear, a chuckle still heard inside of his mouth. He then stopped, eyeing the teenagers before putting his paws up. Suddenly did claws appear from his fingers. "Anyways, I'm feeling generous today, so I'll just give you a warning- don't hurt the headmaster any longer. It's against the rules, after all. Oh, and if you really wanna know, there's no fucking exit in this school that you'll be able to reach easily. You're all stuck."

The group was in shock. "Huh?"

"Puhuhu! Your distressed faces are so satisfying to see! Well, I gotta go now. Bye, you bastards!" And with those words, the headmaster disappeared from thin air. He was now officially gone to who-knows-where.

There was a long moment of silence. That silence choked the atmosphere of the room.

Asami frowned, shaking her head and then slapping her cheeks. That harsh sound echoed into the auditorium, catching everyone else's attention. She sighed. "It's fine if our plan failed. We have other ways to rebel against Monokuma." A smile, a confident smile- that appeared on her lips. "We just don't need to participate in the killing game. Besides, we don't know if Monokuma truly telling us the truth about a lack of an exit. The others may have found one by now."

"You are right, my fellow subject. I'll be damned if I allow myself to be shunned by a sinner." Sheina's lips pursed in disgust.

Minori shrugged. He honestly wasn't sure anymore. "Let's go find them."

Fumio nodded and showed his notepad. "Sure."

The group decided to head out in search for the rest. They were moving into each room, looking for any sign of life in the area before moving into the next one. It didn't take long until they entered into MonoLottery!, noticing the rest of the students (exception for Kakuma though) eyeing the monochrome door that was locked. _Not surprised they're suspicious about it._

"Hey, what's up?" Seiga waved at the group who eyed them.

Ryoichi was the first to speak, perplexed. "Did you find Monokuma?"

"We did," the spirit medium said, straightforward in her answer. "Unfortunately he threatened us after we tried to attack him."

"Oh..." The investigator frowned. "I expected that, but that's unfortunate. I wonder if we could contact aliens and make them capture Monokuma?"

Seiga laughed, shaking his head. "I doubt it."

"Hm, but this door does worry me." Kamui bit into his lips, pondering for a while as he eyed the monochrome door. "This and the lab room are locked. We don't know what's inside either of those rooms."

Minori sighed. "Monokuma said the lab door was closed for 'plot reasons'."

The mortician frowned, looking at Minori in bewilderment. "What does that imply?"

"No idea." The pseudologist shrugged.

Seiga was the first to give a legitimate answer though, quickly throwing his hands up. However, his answer only seemed legitimate to him only. "It's obviously because we're in a movie or play of some sort! Monokuma is just breaking the fourth wall!"

"That doesn't make sense," Minori heard Saori murmur under her breath. He eyed her who is eyeing the monochrome door. She was helping investigate, the others dicussing how they might open it.

Sagiso cupped her chin, pondering. She wondered what could be done and eyed the thief who was silently watching the group. "Nezumi, can't you try finding a way to open the door?"

The thief jumped a bit, startled. "Um!" He eyed the psychogeographer for a moment before sighing, shaking his head. "If I could, I would've done so earlier... I didn't find anything that could be used to open it... I tried a lot of times too. S-sorry."

"Ah, no, that's fine." Sagiso frowned. "I tried to find any routes yesterday that could suggest an exit of some sort, but so far I've found nothing. It's possible that monochrome door has our way out..."

Rin murmured to herself. "I hope so."

"This is definitely our way out." Asami bit int her lips, nodding her head. "Monokuma told my group that there is no exit that we can easily reach. That must mean he has locked the exit from our sight. I believe this door is our way out."

"Hm." Ryoichi thought to himself. "But how do we open the door?"

"We need a key of some sort," Amyto peered into the doorknob. "See? There's a keyhole!"

Minori took a look into the key hole, eyeing the design. He frowned. _It's definitely gonna be hard to picklock this... The design inside the keyhole looks really complicated. What kind of key do we exactly need to find anyways?_

Haruko eyed his classmates with his usual smile. "Guess we should look around for a key then!"

"I don't think Monokuma will make it this easy though," Kamui said, trying to make the situation as realistic as possible. He quickly continued where he left off. "It is possible, but I'm just being cautious. I don't believe Monokuma will keep the key somewhere we can easily migrate to."

"Eeeh? That's true..." Haruko puffed up his cheeks, pouting. He then continued to smile. "Oh well!"

Kaniza laughed as she eyed the chocolatier. "Wow, you're so optimistic."

Haruko giggled in return. Fuwari looked to the other classmates. "Then what should we do?" She asked, frowning. Her dark presence was giving her more of a scary, almost hateful look. She obviously didn't seem impressed by how the situation was beginning to turn around. "Should we just leave and plan again in the cafeteria?"

Asami thought for a moment before nodding her head, slowly. "That sounds about right. Alright, let's head back for now!" She cried, catching the others' attention. She widely grinned at the others. "There are much more other plans that I have in mind."

Kamui nodded his head. "True. I suppose a lot of us can take a rest for now. I would estimate it's been about a few hours we've spent so far."

Minori watched the others following Asami out the room, the pseudologist following closely. Although they were still following her, Minori could see some hesitation and doubt now beginning to feel some of the students' heads. He himself was feeling those same feelings of doubt and concern, but he kept it quiet and faked a calm, sophiscated face. He was worried for them, but he was mostly worried for Asami. _Is this seriously alright?_

The group walked into the cafeteria, taking their seats. Minori took a seat to the corner, just next to Asami and in front of Ryoichi. From there, Kaniza was the first to speak. A smile was plastered to her face. "Is anyone thirsty?" She asked, looking around the room. "I could get us some water."

Ryoichi shook his head. "That's fine, Ms. Tsukitaiyo. I think we'll be fine."

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Saori asked, straightforward and to the point.

Ryoichi raised his hand. "I believe we should contact aliens and tell them to save us."

The chocolatier tilted his head. "Ummm, is that possible?"

"Of course not!" Sheina cried, a huff escaping her breath. "Aliens are nothing more than fiction that humanity has shamed us with. Thoth knows all, after all!"

Ryoichi frowned as he threw the egyptologist a look, then shaking his head once another classmate began to speak. "I suggest we should rest first before continuing to act," Kamui said, speaking for his classmates. 'I do believe we should start watching each other to be cautious of Monokuma's further plans for this 'killing game', but first off I think we should rest."

"You really believe someone would kill someone?" Amyto asked, eyeing the mortician. "It's not like we have a reason to kill someone too, after all. There's just no way."

"Who knows?" Kamui bit into his lips. "Monokuma doesn't get all this power for nothing. He must have influence over a big corporation or something akin to that. He might manipulate us in some way, and I think we should prepare for that."

"Maybe he controls the aliens instead?!" The E.T. investigator mumbled almost too loudly to himself.

Rin crossed her arms. "Are we going to discuss further plans tomorrow?"

"Of course!" Asami nodded, smiling widely. "Kamui's suggestion is right though. We should rest first while also watching each other. I will protect anyone from Monokuma's paws, feel free to ask me for help!"

Minori thought to himself. He was eyeing the knight closely. _Hm, she doesn't seem worried about any of us killing each other. She believes Monokuma will be the sole purpose of everything here. Well, it might be true._

"I could go for a rest right now too!" Kaniza said, stretching her arms up with a yawn. "All that investigating and stuff is really tiring me out. I could go for a quick nap."

The knight acknowledged her words with a nod. "Then let us do that! Let's meet up around the same time tomorrow as well. We will be eating breakfast here as well again, consecutively. And please tell Kakuma as well."

Amyto chuckled as she began to stand up, walking out of the cafeteria. "If I find him, I will! For now, I'll go sleep!"

The Ultimates began standing one by one, waving to the others as they walked out of the cafeteria. It continued until Minori was alone with the few people inside currently. Some wanted to nab a quick snack, some others wanting to talk to each other simply to deepen their relationship with one another. The pseudologist sighed to himself as he eyed Haruko who was speaking happily to the others. He could see the short teen throwing his hands up, hyped as he cried loudly, "Time to make some chocolate!" before he ran his way into the kitchen, the door closing with a loud, echoing thud.

"Guess he's making some chocolate now," Minori noticed Fumio who had written in his notepad. The pseudologist could only watch him in awe. He honestly didn't expect the scholar to approach him in an attempt to possibly befriend him. Fumio continued to scribble. "You aren't going to sleep?"

Minori shook his head. He eyed the clock on the wall. "Well, it's only a few hours before ten. I usually don't get sleeply so easily."

Fumio nodded to himself. "I see."

The pseudologist eyed the scholar for a moment before slowly realizing what Fumio was glancing at. "I'm guessing you like sweets?"

Fumio's eyes widened slightly and he quickly wrote into his notepad. "Yeah, I like sweets. Mainly sweet food in general. How did you know?"

"I just assumed since you seem impatient everytime you look at the kitchen door. I'm just assuming you're waiting for Haruko to finish making the chocolates." Minori scratched his head, awkward. He honestly didn't know why he even made that assumption, but he supposed it was that subconscious thought of him wanting to make friends. And, if anything, he was worried that with Fumio's lack of a voice, the scholar wouldn't be able to make friends too easily. "I'm not a huge lover of sweets, but they're definitely better than bitter food to me."

The scholar smiled. "I dislike sour food instead of bitter food though. Which bitter foods do you dislike?"

Minori chuckled. "Well, I never liked grapefruits ever since I was young. I don't know why, but they're just so disgusting to me. Even I eat them to this day I'm still not fond of them, sorry."

"I see what you mean." Fumio then scribbled into his notepad. "Are you waiting for Haruko too?"

"I don't even know how long he'll take to be honest," the pseudologist replied, laughing awkwardly.

Fumio nodded. "I just want to ask him, but I'm afraid I'll bother him."

Minori eyed Fumio, then eyeing the door. "Well, I assume you can ask him once he comes out. I don't know how long it'll take though."

"I understand. I'll just wait here for a while then." Fumio thought to himself, then scribbling into his notepad and showing it slowly to the white-haired boy. "Thank you for your time."

The taller teenager acknowledged Fumio with a simple, "It's not a problem," then watching the scholar walking over to take a seat down around the table. He was sitting far away from the other Ultimates, but nonetheless he listened into their conversation.

Minori waited for a while, deciding to listen to the Ultimates who were talking with one another. He didn't actively participate like Fumio (who left after an hour), only listening to the Ultimates laughing and speaking with one another. Though there were few Ultimates inside of the room- them being Seiga, Ryoichi, Kaniza, and Sheina- the group was loud enough to entertain the pseudologist. He was worried a bit when Ryoichi and Sheina had an almost heated argument about Egyptian hieroglyphics either being made from Egyptians or aliens, everything else went fairly comedic and well. The pseudologist was even taken aback in a fit of shock as he heard Kaniza talking about the numerous astrological signs and their meanings, the three other Ultimates somehow being able to follow her words. Minori didn't even know that time had passed by until he heard the speaker ringing, the announcement coming on.

"Ahem! It is officially 10 o'clock now, so it is nighttime! Go waste yourself to sleep or let the bed bugs bite!"

The pseudologist sighed, standing up from his seat. _Guess I'll go head out to sleep._ He eyed the kitchen door. It hasn't even budged, the pseudologist only hearing Haruko's happy cheers in the distance. _He seems like he'll be stuck for a while._ Minori decided to head into the dormitory, going straight into his room and placing his scarf on the table. He brushed his teeth, then washing his face and applying cream to it until he walked to his bed. He fell down to it, then closing his eyes.

 _I wonder what we'll do tomorrow. I hope we'll be able to do something before Monokuma decides to hammer us down till we kill someone._

* * *

And this is the end of this part! Sorry this took a while to write again, but I hoped you enjoy this so far. Here, I decided to focus more on character interactions first of all so we can relate more to the characters when the actual murders start :) I hope you can relate to the characters so far, if not some of them. Anyways, I've also been wondering if anyone is up for drawing some of the characters in the story. I'm just curious to how people view the characters in comparison to how I view them.

So, here is some quick, few questions to ask first of all- what motive do you think Monokuma will give out for this chapter? Should I write sidestories for some of the characters in the future? And, lastly, how was your day?

Well, I'll meet you guys again in the future! So long, bear well!


	7. Chapter 1 - Part 1, Part B

Thank you all for the reviews! I am really glad a lot of you are still reviewing and loving this story so far. You guys had a lot to go through with the character interactions last chapter, so I'm glad you're still here! Well, you guys all seem to want sidestories, so I'll start writing them once the plot thickens further. Also thanks to everyone who answered my question to drawing the characters. It'll be interesting to see your portrayals of the characters. Also, thanks for telling me the errors you came across in the story! I love your guys' help. Anyways, let's go! This will be where things take an interesting turn...

 **Writer's Block Abundance:** "Glad you liked the previous chapter! Have a nice day today too!"

 **liammarklh88:** "Thanks! It's fine! Take your time resting as well, and hope you do well on your studies! Glad you love a lot of the characters too. You have really interesting ships too. ^.^ Lol, hope you'll like this chapter."

 **PoisonBanana:** "Well, it is Monokuma they're up against, so yeah! Yeah, Minori and the bunny chocolate is definitely fitting. Yeah, that's the thing with sidestories, so that's why I'm asking everyone just to see their opinion. I want to focus on the main story the most of course."

 **ToonGuy:** "Sheina is definitely the famous one out of the entire cast yeah. XD Seiga is definitely the best for making these sort of foreshadowing stuff and jokes lol, but he's definitely an awesome character too. Have a great day today too, and I hope you'll like this chapter."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "I'm glad you like the direction so far! It'll make the murders all the more painful. Ooh, I can tell from your profile picture that you're an artist so congratulations to you! Thanks, and I hope you'll like this chapter!"

 **irwegwert:** "Yeah, Sheina is definitely the favorite here. There's a lot of good characters that I want to round up so well, so it's hard to evenly distribute character interactions! I love all of the characters XD Oh, well from the future me, happy belated birthday! Hope you had a good birthday party and all!"

 **mayurie:** "If it worked that easily there'd be no story XD Asami should be a cheerleader with how awesome she is. I'm seeing that Seiga and Sheina are becoming the readers' favorites other than Asami, interesting! Oops, mistake on my part! Thanks for noticing and telling me! XD Well, I hope you have a good day today and I hope you enjoy this chapter!"

* * *

The first thing Minori woke up to, unsurprisingly, was the morning announcement.

"Ahem! Students, it is officially morning! Wake up! I also have a special announcement to make inside of the auditorium! So, get your asses up and move it! ...because if you don't, you will miss out. Upupupupu!"

Minori groaned, having been woking up from deep sleep. He slowly gotten ahold of his conscious, moving up and sitting on his bed. He glanced up at the speaker, frowning to himself. _Monokuma said he want us to meet him in the auditorium... I don't know why, but this is definitely suspicious._

The pseudologist quickly brushed his teeth, eyeing himself for a moment until rewrapping the scarf around his neck and heading out. He closed the door behind him and walked into the hallways, noticing the figure of Sagiso who is walking down slowly. He decided to meet up with her, pacing to her as she heard his footsteps. She turned back to find him. "Hello," she began, crossing her arms before biting into her lips. "I'm assuming you heard the announcement too, right?"

"Yeah." The white-haired teenager didn't know what to make of the announcement. He only speculated Monokuma wanted to further the killing game or something akin to such. "What do you think he wants to tell us?"

Sagiso averted her gaze. "Possibly something about the killing game." She then eyed Minori for another time and frowned. "Is your neck still stiff?"

"No, why-" Minori stopped, instantly recalling their interaction with one another at the start of this whole situation. His face instantly turned into a bright red and he shook his head. "I-I'm fine."

The psychogeographer didn't seem convinced, moving close to the pseudologist's personal space. She didn't mind his blushing face, instead observing him from top to bottom. A frown was apparent on her lips. She placed her hands into his hair, then using her fingers to comb it. "You should really take care of your appearance," she said as she continued to comb his white hair. "I know your hair always looked messy when we met, but you should really take care about your appearance."

"I-I'm just lazy today, I think." Minori was frozen, his face now fully red. "D-don't you think we should go to the auditorium?" He asked, stuttering despite trying to calm himself down. His heart was beating, beating erractically.

"Yes, but let me comb your hair for a bit." Sagiso took a few seconds combing his hair, then moving back with a satisfied smile on her face. "You look cleaner now," she muttered to herself, complimenting the pseudologist unintentionally. "Shall we go?"

Minori slowly nodded to himself. He was honestly flustered at this point, unable to do anything as Sagiso began walking down the hallways. "Um, yeah. L-let's go." He quickly followed suit with the psychogeographer, following her down the hallways and straight into the auditorium.

Most of the students were there, when Minori and Sagiso entering into the fray the rest following suit afterwards. Haruko seemed sleepy, yawning loudly as he rubbed his eyes in comparison to Kaniza who apologized, saying she woke him up. Nezumi was still flustered, quickly moving to a corner and murmuring about Monokuma and their demise. He was obviously worried.

"What is this about?" It was obviously Kakuma who spoke loud into the crowd. He was eyeing Monokuma who was standing still on the pedestal, watching the group with a silent look. The wedding planner was glaring at the bear. "It's about the killing game, isn't it?"

Amyto frowned. "Hey! Y-you can't be so sure about that!" She cried, shaking her head. "Maybe he just wants to show us the exit or something? He might try to lecture us on our lessons or something!"

Ryoichi glanced to the hypnotist. "Do you seriously think he yearns to be a teacher?"

Kakuma wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush. He glared at the headmaster and crossed his arms, disgusted. "Just spit it out."

Fuwari looked at the headmaster, calm. "Is it about the killing game or not?"

"You guys seem eager! Just wait a sec, would you!" Monokuma put his paws to his mouth, laughing to himself. He eyed the group of Ultimates before adjusting the microphone on the pedestal to his level. He coughed for a moment before beginning to speak. "Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen, today I am here to give you guys a motive!"

"Motive?" Instantly did Minori have bad feelings. His stomach churned.

Everyone else seemed to react the same, worry filling their faces. They looked at one another in doubt, others genuinely confused as some were left frustrated by Monokuma's antics. "What are you talking about?" Asami asked, crossing her arms. She did not look pleased. "This better not be about the killing game."

"Of course it's about the killing game!" Monokuma cried, exasperated. A large sigh had escaped his breath. "You guys are boring me with your whole 'friendship is magic' shit! I mean, there is one goody-two-shoes who knows teamwork isn't the dreamwork-" He shot a look at Kakuma who scoffed under his breath. "-but other than him, all of you guys are just cowards! I just have to do shit like this to get the killing game rolling!"

"W-What are you planning?" Nezumi was trembling from his spot, trying to make himself as invisible as possible. Even his voice came off as a squeak.

Seiga cracked his knuckles. A confident, toothy grin escaped his lips as he jumped in front of the thief. "Don't worry! I'll protect you from whatever evil comes your way! You can count on it! Whatever motive this bastard lays out won't work against me!"

Monokuma sighed. "Just calm your asses for a sec, would you?" He shook his head, feigning disappointment. "Kids these days are so impatient. Well, whatever. It doesn't matter anyways. The motive I'm giving you guys will surely cause a murder to appear. Upupupu!"

Minori felt his face paled at that word- murder. Murder isn't a word that is taboo, yet it felt that way towards the students. They are supposed to be in a killing game, and so the word 'murder' felt highly taboo. Any mention of murder would rouse discomfort between the cast.

"Just tell us what this motive is." Kakuma bit into his lips. His tall structure made him stand out from the crowd, so it was easy to see those expressions on his face- that of hatred and unwanted anticipation.

Monokuma grinned. "Upupupu, you guys will be in for a blast!" He then threw his hands up, suddenly screaming into the auditorium. "The motive for this awesome soon-to-be murder case will be... a 'kill one or have everyone die in two days' motive!"

The pseudologist felt his heart stopped. "What?"

The headmaster chuckled. "It's either one of you bastards kill someone or let everyone here die!"

"Excuse me, but isn't it impossible for you to kill all of us?" Asami asked, frowning. She was glaring at Monokuma harshly. "Didn't the rule state that you don't have the will to kill us! You are forbidden from harming us!"

Monokuma didn't seem to care about Asami's worry, his smirk never fading from his mouth. "Puhuhu. I am not breaking any of the rules. If anything, I could just change that rule right now!" He then stopped, laughing. "Buuuut I won't do that. I'm not breaking any rules anyways."

"What?" Ryoichi frowned. He obviously did not believe that the bear was speaking the truth. "Explain."

Minori's eyes widened, his mind rolling on the idea. However, it seemed like Kakuma knew what Monokuma meant before the pseudologist could speak. "He isn't lying," he began, clenching his fists. "The rule of this motive is to kill someone in the duration of two days. If that spoken rule is broken, then we, the students, have broken what the motive is about and it'll allow Monokuma to..." He stopped, hesitant. "...to kill us."

The investigator's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Tsk. Adding rules of his own free will..." Sheina was displeased. She was glaring at the headmaster. "It's a sin to mess with us!"

"He is the headmaster though..." Kamui bit into his lips. He sighed to himself. "He has rule over us."

Monokuma grinned. "And that is exactly right!" He laughed to himself and eyed the group. "If you guys don't kill in two days, then you guys will all die by poison!"

Saori raised her brows. "Poison?"

"Y-you can't poison us!" Haruko cried, shaking his head. He was pouting, though his worry stemed more from a childlike care than anything else. "Wait, how will you poison us though? You don't make our food!"

"Who said I was gonna poison you with food?" Monokuma frowned. "I'm not gonna inject your food with poison. That's like sooooo cliched." He then grinned, putting his paw on his mouth. "The air will be your poison, if I have to speak."

Haruko's eyes widened. "H-how does that happen?!"

Fumio scribbled quickly into his notepad. His brows were burrowed, his nose having wrinkled in disgust. "I think he means that he will pollute the air with poison through the air vents."

"Through the air vents?" Minori looked up, noticing the air vent that he hasn't bothered to keep look at. Never would he have imagined such a thing to contain something dangerous- their motive. "How..."

Kakuma scoffed. "It's obvious he will pollute the air through the air vents." He glared at the headmaster. "But I have to ask- will you poison us the moment two days have passed or will you do it slowly?"

"Woah, what a question! You're such a buzzkill." Monokuma sighed, shaking his head. "Well, if you really want to spoil all the fun, then yeah. You stupid kids will be poisoned slowly. Slowly and slowly until you fall into insanity." That red eye began to glow, malicious. His tone became dark, deep. "It'll be fun for me to see if you guys will kill before you guys are consumed by the symptoms of poison or if you'll be caught by insanity. Upupupu."

"Taking advantage over our fear of death." Asami bit into her lips. "This is unethical. This should never be allowed in this world, let alone in a high school."

Minori eyed the knight, noticing the anger in her eyes. She was pissed. The pseudologist gulped, his face having paled from how intimidating the headmaster sounded. He couldn't even move with how the headmaster was honing in the fact about the killing game. Monokuma wanted this killing game, and he wanted it. He will utilize any methods available, and that was what scared him.

"You think I care what's ethical and what's not?" Monokuma huffed. "What a naive girl."

Asami frowned. "What?"

Monokuma looked to the knight's way. "You're so naive. Ethics don't matter to me. People love seeing drama, and I'm not any different. Killing games are fun, aren't they? The thrill of life or death... Upupupu! Isn't it exciting?"

"No." Sagiso deadpanned. She did not like this at all. "It isn't exciting."

"I agree!" Seiga huffed his chest out, hands on his hips. "This is exactly what a villain with say, but don't worry! I, Seiga Kosoku, will stop you! You better fear me, o blessed villain!"

Ryoichi shook his head. "I seriously don't think we're in a show, Mr. Kosoku."

"I-I really don't wanna hear anymore of this..." Nezumi was trembling from his place, cupping his hands. He couldn't help but shake. "Can I leave? H-he might be telling us the truth...but there's air vents everywhere... D-do we really have to resort to killing?"

Amyto's eyes widened and she turned to the thief. "Are you serious?"

Nezumi jumped. "N-no! I-it's not that I'm gonna kill someone or something! I-it's just that I'm scared..."

Kaniza smiled at the thief, placing a careful, kind hand on his shoulder. She was trying to comfort the thief the best that she could, yet Minori could tell she was sweating. "Like Fiona said, we would never kill each other."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Kakuma spoke and eyed the astrophotographer. He didn't bother to turn back to Monokuma who was watching the scene unfold before his eyes, a mocking smile on his face. "You don't know what's in people's mind."

The astrogeographer bit into her lips. "Yeah, but..."

Minori frowned. _Despite what he says, I want to believe in Fiona. Despite my gut telling me not to, I want to believe that we would never resort to killing. Never._

"Hey, don't worry girl! We'll be fine! As long as we continue to rebel against Monokuma, we should be safe!" Seiga convinced himself of his words, nodding enthusiastically to himself. He cracked his knuckles and grinned his usual toothy smile. "It's hella easy to stop Monokuma from poisoning us!"

"And how is it easy?" Saori mumbled to herself, unsure.

Ryoichi shook his head. "M-maybe we should block out the air vents!"

"Can we even do that? Will that even work?" Nezumi was shaking, his entire body trembling. He wasn't sure anymore. "I-it's definitely possible, right? Right?"

Asami bit into her lips. She was eyeing the group of students, worry expressed from her face. She wasn't sure of what to do, watching as the group suddenly began to fuss over the entire situation. She could see Monokuma from the sidelines, obviously amused. The knight clenched her fists. "Guys, calm down!"

"May the Gods end your sins!" Sheina glared at the headmaster, her voice echoing into the room. "This is highly unacceptable and I won't allow this to happen! May the Gods place a curse upon you for your foolish deeds!"

"We shouldn't worry over something like this," Sagiso said, shaking her head. She took a deep breath. "Let's all calm-"

"Guuuuuuys, we aren't gonna die, right?" Haruko was laughing from his spot. His smile never faded from his lips. "This is all just a prank! I'm sure this is a prank! Monokuma is just being a huuuuge meanie! He just wants to prank us!"

Fumio scribbled into his notepad. "How are you so sure of that?"

The chocolatier laughed. "He's just playing with us! Besides, if he really is gung-ho about this weird killing game, I think it'd be interesting!" He threw his hands up to the air, his eyes glittering in suspense. "It'll be like those video games where the player goes against the big bad boss and kills him! I think Monokuma wants us to do something like that. Yay, I love video games!"

Seiga nodded his head. "Hah! I'm just wondering when the directors will end this whole set. This is taking too long."

"Oh my god, we aren't in some setup! Shut up already-"

"Well, you bastards look like you're having fun, so I'll go take my leave now." The headmaster stood up from his seat. "Just don't make me wait too long! Two days or else you guys are all dead! And that wouldn't be fun for me or you, so let's get to it!" Monokuma chuckled to himself before falling down, disappearing from the auditorium and leaving the students to their demise.

Silence.

"We really need to calm down." Kamui eyed the group of Ultimates, displeased as he crossed his arms. "We're beginning to act out of our negative emotions. It's best to not let our emotions get the best of us."

"I honestly don't see why we're worrying about this." Fuwari shook her head, speaking from her position. "It is obvious that the human mind cannot handle the psychological idea of murder. We shouldn't worry so recklessly about this."

Saori frowned. "But what about the motive?"

"We will find a way to stop this." The spirit medium nodded to herself. She was convinced of her words. "I believe if we block the air vents, we would be able to stop the poison from ever spreading. We just need to find a way, and then after that we are safe."

Seiga shook his head. "Guys, you don't even need to worry about that. We're in some movie set, so why even bother doing all this hard work if the staff aren't gonna really kill us? It's unlike them to kill the hero, after all!"

Nezumi frowned. "B-but I doubt we're in some movie set."

"We aren't," Sheina answered, blunt. "Thoth knows all, and as the Pharoah I know we aren't in a lousy movie set. The Gods would've spoken to me if we were in some outlandish play, yet they denied such. As the Pharoah I know that we are here to fall prey from this sinner named Monokuma! We aren't in some act!"

"Are you sure?" The stunt double stared at Sheina, unamused. A frown was apparent on his lips. "Supporters are never aware of anything, only the heroes."

The egyptologist's eyes widened. Her lips curved into a frown as she began to step toward the Ultimate. "You consider me inferior to you? I am the Pharoah, and may I be damned if I'm not otherwise! Repeating your fabricated need of a false reality came from your selfish need of being the 'hero' is unneeded here! I do not stand to be disrespected like this!"

"Can we not fight?" Haruko asked loudly, pouting. He was puffing his cheeks out. "I'm veeeery uncomfortable, you know!"

"Do you always have to act so nonchalantly about this whole mess?" Saori sighed under her lips, shaking her head.

Sagiso bit into her lips. She couldn't stand to see the Ultimates beginning to fall apart. "Can we just try to discuss this instead of arguing?"

"You guys are so pathetic."

The group stopped in their tracks, turning to look at Kakuma who was shaking his head. Minori could see the frustration in his face. The wedding planner was tired and irritated. He could see Kakuma biting into his lips, those dull eyes showing slight anger. His posture was straight, yet it almost bent back as if he wanted to move away from the group. It was obvious to the pseudologist that Kakuma was tired of the whole conversation. Minori held his breath, fearfully anticipating the moment Kakuma would start talking.

"Pathetic?" Amyto stared at the Ultimate. "What do you mean?"

Kakuma shook his head. "Isn't it obvious? You guys wanted to cooperate and work together to go against Monokuma's schemes, yet here you are arguing and fussing over such petty things." The wedding planner forced a laugh, yet it was laughably superficial. "This is exactly the opposite of what you guys wanted, and this is exactly the behavior that furthers a murder to occur."

"Says the one who didn't even try to help us!" Haruko cried, pouting.

The wedding planner frowned. "I do want to escape from this place, but I'm doing things my way. I do not need to help anyone." He sighed to himself. "Honestly, this is exactly one of the reasons why I did not want to cooperate with you guys. Teamwork will only fall apart in the end given the circumstances, and this is exactly what leads to catastrophe. We're falling straight into Monokuma's hands."

"It's the same if we do not work together too." Asami crossed her arms. She was holding her chin up high, trying to convey her determination and confidence. "I believe we are still able to go against Monokuma's wishes and stop this whole killing game! We just need to believe."

"I'm not even sure anymore," Ryoichi murmured underneath his breath. "We should just focus on surviving and block the air vents. I think it's for the best."

The knight frowned, bewildered. "But what about escaping from this place?"

"I don't even care anymore." The investigator shrugged. "We just need to increase our chances of survival first."

"That is exactly the attitude Monokuma wants us to follow though!" The hypnotist cried, shaking her head violently. She was pointing accusingly at Ryoichi. "Don't say stuff like that!"

"He does have a point though." Saori nodded to Ryoichi's way. "I believe we should care about our well-being first."

Amyto sighed. "A-are you sure?"

"I'm honestly not sure what to do anymore." Fumio shook his head in silence, melancholy.

The knight eyed the group, averting her gaze after a second. She thought for a moment before nodding her head and eyeing them for a second time. "I understand everyone's opinion," she said, straightforward. "Let's rest for a bit and meet up later so we can discuss our thoughts on what to do for now. Let's see if we can come up with a plan to stop the poison from spreading and find a way out as well."

"Asami..." Minori eyed her worriedly. She was not taking this whole situation well, her tone slightly uncomfortable.

The hypnotist eyed Asami for a while, scratching her head awkwardly. "I mean, I guess that's fine..."

"Guess I'll go take a rest then!" Haruko giggled to himself, nodding his head and throwing his hands up. "Alright, I'll meet you guys later!" The chocolatier took his time as he skipped out of the auditorium, leaving the rest without sparing a second to eye them.

"Are you sure we should leave for now?" Sagiso eyed the knight worriedly. She was crossing her arms and biting slightly into her lips. "I'm worried."

"It's not like we're gonna die!" Kaniza cried, trying to lighten the mood with her perky voice. "Let's just stop focusing on that and talk about astrology!"

Fumio scribbled silently into his notepad. "Um, no thanks." He continued to scribble into his notepad before leaving. "I'll take a rest. Meet you later."

The astrophotographer's smile saddened as she watched Fumio leaving, then noticing the others following suit afterwards. She sighed to herself until looking back at the group (or what was left of them). "I'll go to the cafeteria to eat breakfast," she said as she scratched her head, albeit awkwardly. "Anyone wanna join me?"

"Ah, right." Kamui placed a hand on his stomach. "We haven't eaten yet."

"I'll take up your offer!" Amyto cried, raising her hand. "I'm always down for chow time!"

The knight thought for a moment. "Hm, I guess I'll join," she answered, a small smile on her face. "It isn't good if I worry about everyone, so I'll join you." Asami nodded her head, now genuinely smiling. "I'll help you cook!"

Minori silently watched as the group began to leave, the pseudologist shaking his head when Kaniza asked for his answer. He wasn't hungry as of yet, his stomach churning at Monokuma's words. He feared vomiting if he were to eat at the hour. The white-haired Ultimate sighed to himself before noticing Nezumi eyeing his surroundings, fearful and as scared as ever. "May I ask if you're alright?" Minori asked, unsure of what to do when the thief jumped.

"Ah!" Nezumi put his hands up, defensive before he noticed Minori. "O-oh, it's you... What do you want?"

Minori scratched his head. He was beginning to feel nervous around the thief, and whether that was from Nezumi's jumpy personality was unknown to him. "I'm just wondering if you're alright."

The thief nodded quickly. "O-of course I'm fine! I-I was just thinking for a bit..." He then slowly looked at Minori. "How about you though?"

Minori shrugged. "I think I'll be fine." He crossed his arms. "You're not going to eat with Kaniza and the others?"

Nezumi shook his head. His cheeks flushed a bright red as he averted his gaze. "I fear that if I eat I'll think about the killing game and vomit... It's not funny!"

 _I'm not even laughing, and that's my exact reasoning._

"Um, do you think a murder will occur?"

Minori eyed Nezumi. The thief was eyeing him, desperate for an answer. The pseudologist held his breath. Despite wanting to beieve a murder will never occur in the long run, he wasn't completely sure. However, he didn't want to scare the poor thief either. "I'm sure Asami will form a plan with the others so we can escape," he answered, faking a confident tone in his words. "We'll be fine."

"You think so?" Nezumi seemed to loosen a bit from Minori's words, a sigh escaping his lips. A sigh of desperate hope and relief. "You're probably right. I-I don't want to die, after all."

"No one does." Minori continued to stare at the thief, the sudden urge to comfort and protect the thief overwhelming his mind. He didn't know why Nezumi was the Ultimate Thief at the moment, the pseudologist only centering around how jumpy he was. No matter how Minori wanted to base logic over emotion, he wanted to make an exception and try to speak to the Ultimates on an emotive level. He needed to try, and he wanted to while basing those behaviors from the others around him. "You'll be fine, Nezumi."

The thief averted his gaze. "I hope so...but I'm worried about the motive."

"I'm sure Kamui and the others have plans to counter it," Minori replied, trying his best to comfort the figety man.

"Yeah, I guess... I should just rest for now then..." Nezumi sighed, a tired expression residing on his expression. "Thank you though." A shy smile escaped the thief's face as he quickly scurried out of the auditorium, leaving Minori alone.

Minori was silent. He shook his head and inwardly sighed to himself. _I should probably rest too for a bit. I'll go eat later._

* * *

The pseudologist was sitting silently in his room, stretching his arms. He had woken from his nap, and as he looked at the time it was currently eleven in the morning. It was damn well close to hitting twelve.

 _Shit. I should get up and move. I should help find a way to stop Monokuma's motive and... Yeah, I should eat too._

Minori sighed. He was relieved that was no one was around, inside of his room, to hear his stomach grumble as loudly as ever. He couldn't even imagine what he would do if someone were to heard him. He decided to move out, making his way into the dining hall and into the kitchen. There, he found prepared meals of rice and teriyaki chicken on the round table. _Did Asami and the others wrapped this for us?_ Minori smiled to himself as he took a plate and headed to the dining hall, taking a seat down.

The pseudologist took the time to eat, savoring the taste of every bite. Minutes have passed by until he heard the footsteps of someone behind him. Minori turned around to find Sheina making her way towards him.

"Fellow subject!" She started, haught and confident as ever. Her hands were on her hips and her head was held high. "Eating at this time is hours too late to be considered 'breakfast'! Thoth would know, as he have told me such!"

 _Just what I need to feel energized._ Minori nodded his head as he took the last few bites from his meal. "Hello, Sheina. Have you eaten yet?"

Sheina laughed. "Of course I have! I have seen you walking in here a mere few seconds ago, so I was curious and decided to see if you were safe." She then pointed down at the Ultimate. "You should be honored the Pharoah, I, cared as much as to check on you!"

Minori listened to her, silently acknowledging her words. "Well, thanks."

The egyptologist smirked and she took a seat next to the Ultimate. "Now, fellow subject, you shall have the honor of me watching over you!"

The pseudologist thought to himself. He had already finished his food, and although he knew Sheina wanted an excuse to get along with him, he wasn't entirely sure if he would be interesting enough to a chuunibyou like herself. If anything, he feared he was too docile for her to talk to.

 _Still... I don't want to just outright say no._

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Sheina?**

 _ **Why not? |**_ No way, Jose!

* * *

Minori just nodded his head, deciding it was best to at least try to get along with the strange woman. He simply drank into his cup of water as he listened to Sheina's strange ramblings, those which were mainly about how Sheina was a proclaimed 'Pharoah' and her calling Minori and the others her 'fellow subjects'. It wasn't anything out of the norm for someone such as Sheina.

 **Sheina:** So, my fellow subject, do you have any questions you want to ask me? I am free to answer any question you may desire!

 **Minori:** _Hm, well, since she is asking..._

 **Minori:** I do have a few questions for you.

 **Sheina:** A few? I suggest it is better to ask only one!

 **Minori:** Um, yeah, sure... There are a lot of things you mention that I don't have complete understanding of. I am not intelligent in your area of Egyptian history, so I am very much curious to these Gods and Goddesses you tend to speak of.

 **Sheina:** Ah, what a fine question to ask! You, fellow subject, very much appreciate the history of our Egyptian Gods! The Pharoah must thank you for not wanting to stay ignorant to the glory of Egyptian history like some foolish subjects!

 **Minori:** Ah, right...

 **Sheina:** Which God do you want me to speak of first? There are many Gods that I can call upon. There is Osiris, the God of Death, for example. There are also Thoth, Isis, the Amun-

 **Minori:** Um, why don't we start with the God of Death first then?

 **Sheina:** Ah, of course! I am more than happy to speak about my father!

 **Minori:** _Is Sheina that obessed that she'd call a God her own father? ... Yeah, probably._

 **Sheina:** Osiris, as you know my fellow subject, is the God of Death. As the Son of Osiris, I have complete knowledge on him. Osiris is not only known as the God of Death, but as the God of life, resurrection, afterlife, the underworld, and the regeneration. He is known as the God of everything that includes the cycle of life and death, and because of that he is considered as one of the most famous Egyptian Gods throughout the subjects in this world.

 **Sheina:** Story wise, he is considered to be the brother of Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus the Elder. He is the father to Horus the Father. He is a merciful judge of the dead in the afterlife, but he was also such in the underworld agency which granted all life. Being the merciful God he is, Osiris would resurrect the fertile flooding in the Nile River and is connected to the Egyptian Kings, even in death.

 **Sheina:** And that, my subject Minori Watanabe, is why Osiris is my father! We are connected in spirit and blood, as I am a Pharoah, after all! He has blessed me throughout my entire life, and I await the day I will die with my Father by my side.

 **Minori:**...

 **Minori:** _That is a lot of information to take in, even if Sheina was nice enough to tell me the basis my head still turns._

 **Minori:** I must admit, the things you're telling me are very interesting. It makes me want to study the Egyptian Gods myself.

 **Sheina:** Of course, my fellow subject! The glory of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses cannot compare to real life itself! As the Pharoah it is my duty to guide the subjects of this world to the path of what my father Osiris wishes. I am pleased that a subject such as yourself would be so openly willing to have our Father humble you under his light.

 **Minori:** Yeah, I guess.

 **Sheina:** Wait!

 **Minori:** H-huh?!

 **Sheina:** I'm curious, do you want to me a son of Osiris? Is that why you're asking me?

 **Minori:** What? N-no! I was just asking because I'm curious! B-besides, Osiris is only associated with Egyptian kings, right? It's impossible for me to become associated with him, right?

 **Sheina:** Ah, that's true. ... Yes! You are absolutely right! I am glad you seem to understand that! A subject like you should know their place, after all!

 **Minori:** Y-yeah.

 **Minori:** _I am so confused right now. Help._

 **Sheina:** Anyways, it is a pleasant surprise to find a subject who is willing to come astray from the ignorance of the world! I am joyfult hat you asked me about Egyptian Gods and Goddesses! I will be more than glad to hear more questions from you, fellow subject! You have my complete permission, as you are someone who is willing to be glorified by I, the Pharoah!

 **Minori:** Yeah, sure.

 **Minori:** _Is that what she calls it?_

 **Sheina:** Well, fellow subject, I must take my leave for I am in need of a quick rest!

 **Minori:** Ah, right. Nice speaking to you.

 **Minori:** _Sheina seemed content speaking to me. I find that a miracle. I was sure she would've been bored of how I am, and considering her personality I was certain she would've mocked how boring I am._

Minori watched Sheina who left the dining room. The pseudologist felt his energy being sucked from his body, yet somehow he felt more knowledgable than ever. He sighed to himself as he took his dish to the kitchen, washing his dishware before heading out into the hallways and moving back into his room to take a quick, small break. From there did he notice the MonoPad which was shining brightly. Bewildered, the pseudologist moved towards the device and opened it up, finding himself looking at Sheina's profile.

* * *

 **Sheina's Profile Card: 1/1**

 **Note: Sheina is very knowledgable about Egyptian history, most particulary on Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. She considers herself to be the son of Osiris, the God of the many cycles of nature. She considers herself to be on a path to make people (subjects) follow the path of Osiris.**

* * *

Minori sighed. It was about two in the afternoon, and Minori supposed he was bored. He didn't know what to do, simply staring at the MonoPad for about less than ten minutes before finding himself staring at nothing. _I should go out and talk to someone, but who...?_

The pseudologist thought to himself, cupping his chin before deciding to move out of the door. He decided it was best to talk to Asami, noting that she was one of the people he was most closest too. And, also, considering what had happened beforehand with Monokuma and the mentioning of a motive, Minori had to admit he was worried about the cheerful knight. He just couldn't help himself as he walked into the dormitory and moved towards her door.

He took two knocks on the door before waiting. A few seconds passed before the door opened.

"Hello?" The knight blinked a couple of times, confused. However, Asami's eyes brightened then as she noticed Minori. "Ah, Minori! How could I help you?"

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Asami?**

 _ **Of course! |**_ No thanks.

* * *

Minori smiled to himself, albeit nervous. "I was just wondering if you were okay."

Asami smiled brightly in return. "Ah, I'm humbled! I am fine. It's nice of you to ask!" She then crossed her arms and eyed the pseudologist. "How about you? Are you doing okay?"

Minori nodded, the duo exchanging words as they decided to talk right outside Asami's door. The duo were talking about their hobbies, the basic ideas on what strangers usually speak about. Minori was able to learn a bit about the knight's likes and dislikes, and from there the pseudologist was having a pleasant time with her.

 **Minori:** I'm not surprised you partake in such tiring exercises. Your talent as a Knight do require some form of training.

 **Asami:** Well, I believe anyone could exercise! I mainly jog around areas and lift weights. Disappointedly, I do not partake in tasks such as sudo wrestling, weaponry training, and most tasks that interest people around me. However, I believe what is most important for a knight than fighting is to keep their code of honor!

 **Minori:** Code of honor... Yeah, that is important to many people throughout the generations. Knights, samurai... They all have their own code of conduct.

 **Asami:** Yes, of course! I wouldn't have been a knight if I didn't have my own code of honor. Knights should protect people as their first priority, after all! If I cannot act upon this simple task, then I am not fit to be a knight.

 **Minori:** Do you still exercise in here though? We are currently stuck inside here, after all.

 **Asami:** Yes! It is quite the shame that the school here doesn't provide a gymnasium or weight room, but I cannot complain. I can adjust and walk around this school as excercise. Other than that, I could partake in push-ups, sit-ups, and all the essential exercise routines in my room.

 **Minori:** Ah, I see.

 **Asami:** How about you, Minori? Do you exercise?

 **Minori:** Oh, um...

 **Minori:** _God damnit. She might laugh at me._

 **Minori:** N-no, I don't. I'm just...um, well, lazy.

 **Asami:** Is that so?

 **Minori:**...

 **Asami:** That is perfectly fine! People can choose what they want to do, although it is in my best interest that you try to excercise! I don't want to see you harm yourself when time boils down to your stamina and strength, so I suggest you should at least take routinely walks and push-ups. You should talk to Sagiso or Seiga. I think they are best fitting to help you train!

 **Minori:** I mean... Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll try doing that. Thank you for worrying about me though.

 **Asami:** It's not a big deal! As a knight, I find it in my best interests to help people as best as I could! If I can't do that then I am a failure as a knight.

 **Minori:** You really are fitting as a knight.

 **Asami:** Oh, you think so? Thank you!

 **Minori:** _Asami does hold her values as first priority. She motivates people wherever she is and whoever she is with. I wish to be someone like her. Her code of honor to protect others as her first priority... I wish I was someone as selfless as her._

Minori and Asami waved to one another, the knight having told the pseudologist that she wanted to take some time to herself. He watched as she closed the door and he left walking down the hallways, eyeing the time on the clock. It was around six o'clock, a few minutes after.

* * *

 **Asami's Profile Card: 1/1**

 **Note: Asami excercises daily. Contrary to what people may think, Asami partakes in exercises anyone could do. Her very first priority, however, is to protect others no matter the cost. She is selfless in that regard.**

* * *

Minori walked into the dining room, finding the people inside were less than ever. Some people were there, as expected, them being Asami, Kaniza, and Haruko. They were others whom the pseudologist was relieved to find, them mainly being Fumio and Nezumi. The others whom Minori noted were currently in the room were the following- Kamui, Amyto, Sheina, and Sagiso.

 _Seriously? Almost half of us are gone._ The pseudologist bit into his lips as he took a seat down. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's fine!" Amyto said, smiling to herself as she bit into her chocolate chip muffin. She really seemed to love food. "Not everyone's here, so we were guessing the others didn't want to participate."

Asami shook her head. "It is fine. We cannot blame them, only Monokuma who has brought these thoughts of worry and fear onto them." A frown appeared on her lips as she crossed her arms. "I am certain they are figuring out solutions to this problem themselves."

Sagiso sighed. "So, we are here to discuss what we should do against Monokuma's motive."

The egyptologist smirked and raised her head high. "I suggest we block the air vents! As the Pharoah, I command you subjects that this is the best option."

"The only air vent I could reach is in the kitchen." Amyto frowned. "There's others that are like high up! How do we reach them?"

Kaniza smiled widely. "Oh! There was a step ladder in the MonoLottery room hidden in the back of some of the prizes. We could use that!"

"What if the air vents is our way outta here?!" Haruko jumped up and down, now suddenly excited. "Aaah! I can't wait to get out of here and run to the chocolate factory!"

"If it is our way out..." The astrophotographer's eyes widened, starry-like shapes appearing in her eyes. "Then we could go stargazing!"

Nezumi cupped his hands together and bent his head down. He was suddenly speaking in a mantra in the background, Kaniza and Haruko squealing their sudden joy. "Please let that be our way out, please let that be our way out..."

"Let's hope we are that lucky," Fumio scribbled into his notepad, shaking his head.

"Fumio is right." Kamui sighed to himself. "We need to be realistic at least. Monokuma may have a backup plan in mind if this motive doesn't work to his favor." He then eyed Kaniza. "So, are we going to use the stepladder to enter the air vent? If so, is there anything that can be used to block the vents? Something we can easily use to block them?"

Kaniza raised her hand. "There are some sheets of metal that can be nailed to the vents in the lottery room too."

"Wow." Haruko's eyes widened. "That room is really useful!"

Minori raised a brow, cupping his chin. "Why would sheets of metal be considered a part of a lottery prize...?"

Sagiso frowned. "So are we gonna go cover the vents tomorrow with the metal sheets?"

"Yes, and I've heard from Kaniza that there are plenty of tools inside the MonoLottery room!" Asami nodded her head. "We shall try this tomorrow. For now, we should eat first and rest. We should still inform of this plan to the others and hear their opinions on this idea. No matter how little the percentage of accomplishment this plan may seem to you and the others, we have to try."

"Alright, so tomorrow!" Haruko continuously jumped. "Oh my god, I can't wait!"

"I'll be in charge of getting the metal sheets," Kamui said, starting to stand from his seat. "Can you handle the stepladder by yourself, Asami?"

Asami chuckled. "Of course!"

"Alright, let's go."

The group, firstly, decided to eat. They held small conversation with one another and laughed at each other's jokes. They continued to eat their food and dessert, leftovers being left in the kitchen's fridge as Asami and Sagiso decided to wash the dishes. The rest decided to either leave or stay to help. Minori did wanted to help, but considering the girls had enough help for now he headed back into his room after waving to the others. He decided to wash himself in the shower, then brushing his teeth before heading into bed. He sighed, then closing his eyes.

 _Let's hope we can successfully block the air vents._

* * *

Hello, and sorry for taking so long to post this! Finals are coming up, and I am in need of a stress reliever. Anyways, the free time event poll will be closed and a new one will be posted. The new poll will be very interesting for me to see...

Anyways, the motive is here! I have no idea if you can consider this motive unique or just ordinary, but it doesn't matter. We have a motive, and this means a murder will come soon! Sadly, someone does have to die soon... Well, this will be the question for the chapter- which dynamic would you like to see more of or hope to have? We have plenty of dynamics shown throughout the chapters, especially Minori and Kakuma's antagonistic relationship. However, I am interested in what dynamic you would like to see shown in the next chapter or throughout the story.


	8. Chapter 1 - Part 1, Part C

Hello, and thank you all for the reviews~ I would like to thank you all for being patient, and that I'm happy that the new year is just starting! I hope you guys didn't wait too long for this chapter to come out. After finals and all that, I went with my familly on a trip, so maybe that's why I took longer than usual to write this. Anyways, I got the surge of energy to write most of this after I've received Danganronpa V3 as a present! Now I get to pull all-nighters and worry about school after!

 **liammarklk88:** "Thanks! Yeah, the motive is similar to V3's first motive, huh. Everyone seems to like those three mainly, especially Ms. Sheina. I'm glad there's someone who tickle your knowledge of Egyptian history then! Minori and Asami do seem to be everyone's favorite bond, but that's mostly because they're the main one I've written so far. Well, you either love Kakuma or hate him!"

 **ToonGuy:** "Yay, glad you liked the previous chapter. Too many parental figures then, I suppose. Glad you liked the motive at least! Yeah, the thing is you either love or hate characters like Kakuma. Hope you like this chapter then!"

 **Agrael:** "Thanks, I needed that! I'm surprised it's still a bit unique to you, at least! Glad you're loving a lot of the characters, and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!"

 **Abitat Eco:** "No, it's fine! At least you reviewed the last chapter! Yeah, motives kill me. I was thinking it would be better to write out the free time events akin to Danganronpa's. I find it much more better on the eye and more engaging that way. Aww thanks!"

 **zephryr:** "Your reasons for your top three victims are understandable. Very interesting!"

 **Kukasabe Swift:** "Yo! Nice to see you again! Haha, I'm glad I'm putting at least a twist to it. Thanks!"

 **irwegwert:** "Haha, false sense of hope. Well, can't judge a book by its cover, huh? A lot of these characters do seem to hold important roles! Most likely, considering I want to make the story as Danganronpa-esque as possible!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "Yeah, the most boisterous people can be the most knowledgeable. Yes, time does play a role in every motive. I do wish this were not a Danganronpa story and that all the characters are safe and sound. Yeah, I wanted the FTEs to be more engaging and less detailed so we can focus on the dialogue and not the area around the characters."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "I guess you're right in that remark, so I suppose it is unique in that perspective. Lol, hope you'll like this chapter!"

 **mayurie:** "Sure, the Holy Trinity will officially be canon now! People start making the memes and pictures! Aww. thanks a lot! Seiga definitely is someone who hates reality, like me. Hm, a lot of people seem to love Sheina, I find that really interesting as I've always said. Alright, thanks for looking out for errors though!"

* * *

Minori, as always, had been awoken by the morning announcement. However, mixtured into the announcement was the loud banging of the door. A groan escaped the Ultimate's lips as he lazily wrapped the scarf around his neck. _Hm? Who could that be?_

Minori walked to the door and opened it, surprised to find the lavender-haired man eyeing him. The Ultimate didn't seem bothered by the white-haired Ultimate's surprise, however, smiling a toothy smile. "Yo, bro! Had a great sleep?"

"Seiga?" The pseudologist felt a yawn escaping his lips. "Why're you here?"

The stunt double cracked his knuckles before beginning to speak. "Asami told me you guys had a plan to stop this whole motive shit, right?" Seiga didn't wait for Minori to answer, instead continuing where he left off. "I just wanna know if you're gonna be fine. It isn't safe if the hero's not there to lead the whole mission, but I have a plan of my own so I can't help you. You're gonna be fine, right?"

Minori nodded his head slowly. "I'll be fine. Why aren't you joining us though?"

"I was thinking of fighting the villain himself right this morning." Seiga laughed, holding his chin high. "I just wanted to be extra sure that my awesome man here's gonna be fine without me!" He then stopped and suddenly stared into Minori's eyes. "You seriously think we're not in some reality tv show or like that?"

"Well..." Minori instantly knew what Seiga was worried about. He had argued with Sheina for a moment the last day, after all. Seiga had continuously believed in his own fantasy, and when Sheina had knocked him down did the stunt double began to retaliate. Seiga was worried, whether slightly or not. "Don't worry much about it. Let's just focus on stopping Monokuma."

Seiga eyed the pseudologist for a moment, but quickly smiled with a huff. "Yeah! You got that right, bro!"

Minori nodded for a bit before eyeing the stunt double. A shy tone escaped his lips. "Are you going to eat breakfast with us at least?"

"Like I said, I was gonna head out and continue to do my plan." The stunt double laughed. "I just wanted to check on you, like I said! Don't look so sad about it! I assure you, as the hero, that you'll be fine."

The pseudologist could only watch as Seiga waved to him, leaving into the hallways as the door to one of the dorms opened. Minori looked to the left to find Haruko opening the door, yawning and stretching his arms as dramatically as possible. The chocolatier groaned before noticing the taller Ultimate, his lips turning into a wide smile as he skipped over his way. "Heyo!"

Minori nodded his way. "Hello, Ko."

Haruko chuckled as he continued to wave his hands around. "You're gonna eat with us, right? Right?"

"Yeah." The pseudologist crossed his arms as he walked down the hallways with the chocolatier, moving into the dining hall where the meeting people from yesterday are. They acknowledged the duo's presence as they took their seats, thanking the meals passed to their side. It was from there did Asami began to speak.

"We all agree to the plan formed yesterday, right?"

Kamui nodded his head, the others agreeing in silence. The mortician was to reply with his usual calm tone. "We need to gather the supplies first of all. Kaniza, you did double check to see if the supplies are in the lottery room, am I wrong?"

"Of course I checked!" Kaniza replied. She was as cheerful as she could ever be. "They're all there, safe and sound."

"Good." The mortician mentally noted in his head. "We shall move as soon as possible."

Haruko laughed and stuffed another spoonful of rice into his mouth. "Yeah, but I wanna finish my food first!"

Amyto smiled brightly. "Agreed wholeheartedly, my dear Ko!"

Haruko and Amyto laughed to themselves and proceeded to stuff their mouth with food. They seemed to have fun indulging themselves in their delight, gigantic smiles on their faces. Minori, in the meantime, sighed inwardly and ate politely. He looked at Asami who smiled to herself. "We're doing this after we eat, Asami?"

The knight nodded her head, confident. "I believe it is necessary to do this sooner than later. I believe we have prepared ourselves enough. We just need to replenish our energy and have the right mindsets to proceed forward."

"I will punish any subject who is foolish enough to hesitate!" Sheina cried, boisterous as ever. She looked firmly at Minori and pointed to his way. "You better not give up, subject, for I will punish you in the name of my God if you were to fall under Monokuma's influence!"

Minori's eyes widened, suddenly feeling anxious. "O-of course."

The psychogeographer inched towards the pseudologist, eyeing him up. She was silent for a while before tilting her head. "Minori, did you clean yourself up today? You need to take better care of yourself."

The white-haired Ultimate instantly felt babied as he eyed Sagiso. "Ah, right. I just forgot to."

"You can't forget something so important like that." Sagiso sighed under her breath. She continued to eat before eyeing Kaniza. "Do you need help bringing the supplies later?"

Kaniza shook her head. "No thanks. I already have Asami helping me, but thanks for asking! I bet the stars out will fortell a huge fortune coming towards your way!"

Sagiso nodded. "I suppose." She then noticed Nezumi who continued to shake from his seat, her lips curving to a frown as she turned to him. "You need to calm yourself, Nezumi. It isn't good if you continue to stress yourself out."

"I-I'm just worried...that's all." Nezumi gulped, cupping his hands. He shakily drank water from his cup, taking deep breaths without realizing he had drank from Fumio's glass. "I'm worried about Monokuma, b-but I guess I shouldn't worry about him..."

Fumio scribbled into his notepad with a silent sigh. "That's my glass, Nezumi."

"Ah! S-sorry!"

Fumio could only shake his head as Nezumi continued to fluster over the glass, the others noticing the scene and wondering what to do. Minori sighed and continued to eat, listening to Asami and Kamui talk. It seemed like Kamui was speaking his worries.

"How do you think Monokuma will pollute us with poison in the air vents?" The mortician asked, almost in a murmur. "I'm worried he won't initiate his plans till the very next day as his way of irritating us. I'm also worried that if we block the air vents we will shut off our air supply."

Asami nodded her head as she listened to Kamui. She was attentive and understanding. "I believe it is better to do this instead of worrying. I'm sure Monokuma isn't so keen on skewing his own rules. I'm also supposing he will place bottles inside of the vents and fan them into the open. I also believe Monokuma will be slowly poisoning us instead of killing us instantly on the due date." She then stopped. "That is... Well, that's how twisted he is. I believe that."

The mortician cupped his chin, rubbing it. "Yeah. You're right. It's better to try now than fail later and completely lose against him. It is definitely best if we go inside of the air vents to find the center of this supposed poison instead of blocking the vents in hopes for the best." Kamui then noticed Minori, turning to his way. Asami looked towards Minori as well afterwards. The Ultimate frowned. "Are you worried as well, Minori?"

Minori shook his head. "N-no. Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

"We're just talking about precautions." Asami chuckled as she smiled brightly at the white-haired man. "We'll be fine. Don't worry."

"Yeah, and after we're done smacking Monokuma's butt we can eat the chocolates I made for you all!" Haruko chimed in with a gigantic smile, waving his arms back and forth. He was jumping in place. "You'll love them! I promise!"

"Oh, that's right!" Kaniza walked to Haruko. "When will the chocolates form, Ko?"

"About a week." Haruko laughed to himself. "It isn't that long. Usually the chocolates I made are done in a week. It won't take any longer, I'm sure! I'm preeeeeety confident in my estimation, Kaniza!"

The astrophotographer rolled her eyes playfully and ruffled the chocolatier's hair, smiling. "Yeah, sure. I believe in you! I don't know anything about making chocolate anyways."

"I can't wait to eat them!" Amyto cried through gulps of food. "Especially mine."

"I'm not surprised you're excited about it," Fumio scribbled, almost sarcastic and mocking to an extent.

Haruko giggled to himself. "This'll be fun!"

Nezumi cupped his hands, rubbing them together. "I-I'm still nervous..." He then shook his head quickly, then forcing a courageous face. "I-I'll try though!"

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Amyto pumped her fist up, cheering in the open.

It was then did the group followed, all cheering and brightening up without hesitation. Even Minori felt like smiling to himself, almost feeling completely relieved and fine from how optimistic the atmosphere was. _Let's hope this ends successful. Let's just hope._

The group took their sweet time to eat before deciding to start their mission- the mission to rebel against Monokuma. Minori hoped that they would be successful, and he prayed silently as they left to their positions. Kaniza was the first to leave alongside Asami, leaving to the MonoLottery! room to get the supplies. Kamui already told the group where to meet up, the mortician leading the rest into the laundry room.

"You see that?" Kamui said, pointing to the ceiling. The group looked up to find an air vent atop, the vent seemingly to run across the entire floor plan and fitting for the people inside. The mortician bit into his lips. "We should get through there."

"Hm, that makes sense." Fumio scribbled into his notepad. "This place is the smallest other than the MonoLottery! room and the shortest in terms of height. It should be fairly easy to us to reach inside as well with a stepladder."

"Hmph! God has surely aided you well!" Sheina held her chin up high, almost as if she was praising Kamui. "I shall lead you all to end this disgraceful game! Let us do this with the Gods watching over me."

"That's smart of you," Amyto commented as she looked around the room. She eyed Kamui with a bright, albeit lazy grin. "Great! This'll make our job easier!"

"That might be true-" Minori stopped before he continued, his words still speaking inside of his mind. _But you probably just wanna get the job done so you can rest and eat more food later, huh._

"I should've helped Kaniza and Asami earlier with the supplies. They might need help carrying all of the supplies." Sagiso sighed underneath her breath. She looked up at the air vent before eyeing the group. "Is it wise if all of us crawl into the vents? I suggest it is better to also keep an eye out for Monokuma."

"I wanna crawl into the vents though!" Haruko cried, waving his arms to and fro. "I never tried crawling into vents before! This'll be so fun!"

"I-it doesn't sound like you're serious about the consequences..." Nezumi continued to shake from his position, his eyes darting back and forth. "I wonder if Monokuma will really come out and stop us."

"Don't worry about it, fellow subject." Sheina grinned to herself. "Monokuma is nothing but a sinful puppet who cannot harm the prosperity of the Pharoah!"

 _I don't think that'll calm down Nezumi though._ Minori eyed the thief who slowly nodded, still on edge. As expected, the egyptologist's words did not help Nezumi much. Not at all. Minori bit into his lips and coughed. "I suggest we could split the group for extra caution then. One group will enter into the vent to either find the poison or block the airways and the other will look around for any sign of the headmaster."

"Perfectomingo!" Haruko laughed loudly. "That sounds so smart of you, Minnie!"

Fumio nodded his head, scribbling. "I agree wholeheartedly with the idea. I don't want to risk meeting Monokuma in a vent, after all."

"Sorry it took long!"

Minori and the others turned around, finding Asami and Kaniza walking in with the supplies. Sagiso quickly came over to carry the tools, the other two Ultimates walking in with the stepladder. Kamui walked over to close the door as he crossed his arms, watching the girls put the ladder close to the air vent. As expected, and miraculously, the ladder was high enough (perfect at that point) to reach the vent.

"Asami, Kaniza." Kamui crossed his arms. "Minori and the others suggested we should split into two groups. One should go into the vents while the rest should look around for Monokuma. Is that alright?"

Asami grinned, eyeing Minori before giving a thumbs-up. "Of course! I believe in you guys, after all."

"I was thinking that too." Kaniza smiled shyly, waving masks from her hand. "I tried to find some more air masks from the lottery room, but I was only able to find four. I guess the stars didn't align too well in this regard. Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine." Amyto chuckled. "I guess it gives us all the more reason to split up!"

"O-oh, right. I-I totally forgot we would be going into the air vents." Nezumi frowned, averting his gaze. "Definitely forgot that there would be the risk of poison spreading through in there..."

Haruko frowned, pouting. He glared at the thief. "Hey, it shouldn't be too strong! We aren't even sick yet or whatever! Besides, maybe Monokuma will spread the poison tomorrow instead of today! We're just gonna ruin his chances of starting that! Humph!"

Nezumi was stunned. "Y-yeah. Sorry."

"So, who's gonna be staying out?" Fumio tilted his head, confused. "I think I should stay back since I doubt I'll be of much use inside the vent."

Asami nodded her head knowingly. "If you say so, it is your choice." She looked up at the air vent, thinking for a moment. She then took a deep breath and smiled, pounding her chest with her fist. "I'm more than willing to go into the air vent first! If anyone else is willing to follow, please step forward."

"Nezumi, you should go."

Nezumi's eyes widened, suddenly jumping at Kaniza's touch. "H-huh?! Why me?!"

"Well, my talent isn't useful in this situation in comparison to your's." Kaniza scratched her head with a meek smile. "You're a thief, so you should know how to get your way into these sort of places... U-um! I don't mean that in offense though! I'm just saying they could use your help."

The thief eyed Kaniza for a moment, then averting his gaze with an unsure expression. He was looking down at the ground, hesitant and deep in thought. "I mean..." He gulped. "I guess it's better than to meet Monokuma now when he realizes we're trying to stop him."

"Nice." The astrophotographer smiled brightly, then turning to meet Minori. She walked closer to him. "You should go too."

"Um..." Minori honestly didn't know what made him so well off to join Asami's group. _Why does she look so sure of this decision? Why me? I'm not that useful in this sort of thing. If anything, I'm better off looking around for Monokuma._ Still, he couldn't complain. "Sure."

Kamui watched the group for a moment before nodding his head. "Sagiso, I think you should join Asami's group. Your talent as a psychogeographer will be best suited with Asami's group than our's. We don't exactly know the route hidden inside the air vents, after all. You may be lost if Monokuma made the airway plan complicated."

"I see what you are saying." Sagiso tapped her foot, nodding her head. "Yeah. I think so too. I'll go."

"So that's four." Kaniza sighed, handing Asami and the others their air masks. She watched the group put them on and then handed the knight the tools. "Alright. Good luck! May the stars align with you until then! After this I'll definitely teach you all about astrological signs and their compatibility with each other!"

Nezumi shook his head. "S-stop! You sound like we're gonna die! And don't sound so happy about it!"

Haruko chuckled. "Remember to not block the air vent in this room! This way will be your way into the vent and out. Just give a holler if you need help!"

"Alright." Asami nodded to herself before stepping onto the ladder. She had her tools with her, unscrewing the bolts to the passageway. She slowly brought down the blockage before telling Sagiso to grab the metal sheets, then moving into the vent as the rest went inside. Sagiso was the last to move inside, Minori and Nezumi having followed right after Asami.

"I seriously hate crawling in these sort of places..." Nezumi murmured underneath his breath, shaking his head.

Minori bit into his lips, following after Asami. He already felt tired from just crawling in the vent, feeling less and less safe. The thought of the darkness closing in on him intimidated him, but with the people behind him moving he had to follow Asami. He just hated closed spaces. The very thought of being trapped in a closed space was fearful.

"So," Asami began, trying to start up a conversation as they continued their journey to block the air vents and find the root cause of what would be the motive. They had blocked one of the vents so far with the metal sheet and had continued down. Minutes continued to pass. "How is everyone doing so far?"

 _Ah, leave it to the most basic question to save the silence._ Minori decided to speak first, wanting to end the tense silence as quickly as deemed possible. "I'm still a bit stiff. I haven't stretched much."

"That's why I told you to start exercising!" The knight cried in response, a laugh hidden within her voice. "How about you guys?"

Sagiso shrugged. "I'm feeling fine. I am a psychogeographer, so walking and exercising isn't much of a pain. I find it relaxing."

Nezumi nodded. "Well, I'm not tired yet. I just hate crawling in tight spaces..."

The pseudologist instantly felt pitied upon. He shouldn't have even bothered speaking if he knew he would be betrayed in the end. _You guys are mocking my lack of stamina, aren't you? Well excuse me for not being as energetic as you guys!_

The group continued to crawl.

"You think Kaniza and the others are fine?" The thief sounded worried. Minutes had passed as Sagiso passed down a metal sheet to the front of the line, Asami now working on covering one of the pathways with the metallic sheet. "Monokuma..."

"Don't worry about it, sir!" The knight hammered the nails to the sheet. "You mustn't worry about such things or you may grow up bald."

"W-what?!" Nezumi was genuinely shocked by Asami's words.

"Anyways," Minori began after a few more minutes passed. "I haven't seen any trace of any bottles of poison anywhere."

Sagiso frowned. "Yeah. Me neither."

"Shush!" Asami bolted the metal sheet on the passageway. "Don't worry about it! Let's continue bolting these metal sheets before worrying about finding the motive Monokuma mentioned."

"Yeah. I guess so." Minori sighed inwardly to himself. He couldn't do anything and continued to follow the others, Asami then stopping to cover another pathway. He bit into his lips as he eyed the area. It was tight, dark.

Minutes passed. About an hour passed until Asami finished bolting the metal sheet on the last passageway. She then ordered the others to turn around, Sagiso helping lead them back to the entrance. They were easily able to find their way across the pathways, Sagiso utilizing her talent to her advantage. Asami mentioned about the poison bottles or such being nowhere seen after half an hour, and the group can only suggest the poison would be passing on inside of the vent in a different matter. Though doubtful and worried, Minori kept silent and followed Sagiso and the others out of the passageway.

They can hear a voice from nearby. "You guys are back already?"

Sagiso and the others instantly noticed the voice. The voice belonged to Haruko, and so the group crawled towards the opening. Noticing the stepladder near the end, Sagiso started her way out and climbed down, the others following suit to find themselves eyeing the bright light. As the group was down to meet the rest, Asami stopped near the middle of the stepladder and began to place the metal sheet near the passageway. She then began to bolt the nails onto the opening. After a minute, the passageway was now locked and the group took off their masks.

"So, how was it? How was it?" Haruko was jumping from place to place. He was obviously ecstatic, his smile wide. "Was it a gigantic success? A huge success? A victory? Victory? Victory?"

The knight smiled at the chocolatier, crossing her arms in a confident manner. "Of course! We have blocked all the air vents successfully. I can safely say it was a huge success, Ko."

"Hooray!" The chocolatier threw his hands up. "We did it! Woohoo, let's go party!"

Kaniza chuckled as she ruffled the short Ultimate's hair. "You're so happy, huh."

"As expected of my subjects!" Sheina huffed and held her chin up. She was laughing boisterously. "Failure is never an option."

Nezumi didn't seem to care about the egyptologist's words. He was cupping his hands and darting his eyes back and forth, looking around nervously as he held the mask in his hands. He was worried, asking, "Um, did Monokuma come here to, um, stop us...?"

Fumio scribbled into his notepad. "No. He hasn't come here ever since you guys went in the air vents."

"O-oh, that's a relief." Nezumi sighed underneath his breath. A small smile escaped his lips.

The pseudologist inwardly frowned to himself. Fumio's words definitely worried him. _Strange. Certainly he would have come if we were planning something like this._

Amyto rubbed her eyes, yawning. She seemed to have recently woken up from a nap, or something similar to that. "I guess we're safe now?"

The chocolatier nodded, tilting his head. "Preeeeeetty sure."

The hypnotist frowned. "We better be, or I'll be pissed!" She huffed and puffed, shaking her head. She then looked around. "Sooooo, we're done for now?"

Asami nodded. "Yeah, I can safely say our job is done as of now. I think we should rest."

Minori eyed the group as they began to scatter, Sagiso helping Asami and Kaniza put the tools back in the lottery room. The pseudologist watched them in silence, then eyeing the others. Nezumi worriedly looked at the covered air vents before leaving, Kamui thinking to himself as the rest passed by. They all left, and Minori was left thinking to himself. _Will this really work? We blocked all the air vents and the way to the second floor's blocked as well..._ Minori bit into his lips. He took a look up at the vent himself, staring at the metal sheet that was nailed to the passageway. _There's no other way to spread the poison throughout the entire school, right? If Monokuma were to fan poison into the school, he'd be spotted in no time._

Minori frowned. He wondered what the rest were doing. He knew that despite the unity in the group having been broken the Ultimates were trying to find ways to cope with the entire situation. He was sure the others were trying their best to escape- in their own way unique to them.

Well, he decided not to worry about that. The stress was getting to his head. To think Monokuma would throw a motive such as poison to pressure someone into killing. It was scary, but that motive would be very effective if time ran down. Minori felt his heart race, and he immediately took a deep breath. He couldn't worry about it. They were supposed to be fine. Everyone's trying their best, after all.

He had to calm down. He decided to take his time walking back into his room, falling flat on the bed as he took a short rest. His eyes closed, and hours passed before he had woken. It was about four in the afternoon, and the first thought that ran to the Ultimate's head was to wash himself. He quickly took a bath and changed into his clothes (though, alas, it was the same outfit), dried his hair, and decided to walk out.

* * *

Minori's stomach was grumbling and he found himself walking into the kitchen to fetch a quick snack. He looked inside of the fridge, finding plenty of delightful snacks and food hidden about and beyond. He reached for a strawberry-flavored yogurt, then taking out a bottle of milk before heading to the dining hall, eating. He was happy that his stomach seemed to enjoy the quick meal, the yogurt tasting very well in his mouth. He gulped down the bottle of milk and politely threw the empty items into the trash. He continued his way.

He was taking a stroll down the floor until he found himself eyeing a familiar person who was doing the same exact thing. Minori thought to himself. He did love to be alone, but considering the motive and the whole entire situation Minori couldn't help but feel obliged to talk to others. Besides, he was sure that Seiga or Asami would urge him to be more open. And considering how strange and unique some people were, those being, for example, Nezumi and Sheina, he was more than happy to find someone who was at least normal and quiet.

Minori decided to scoot his way over until he was walking right next to the Ultimate. "Um, hello." The white-haired man inwardly slapped himself across the forehead. He had no idea why he was speaking in a formal tone. He quickly catched his breath, trying to make himself act casual. "You're taking a stroll too?"

The Ultimate he was talking to was Rin. The jeweler eyed the man in silent bewilderment, surprised to find someone trying to speak to her. She didn't show much shock on her face though, trying to keep a levelheaded expression. "Yeah, I am."

"O-oh, I see." Minori had forgotten how blunt the woman could be. Still, he noticed that slight look of disdain that was written on her face for a brief moment. Instantly did Minori realize what the problem was, and he was instantly reminded of the judgement that he's received from his title as a liar. He inwardly frowned and tried to promise himself to try being friends with the quiet woman. "Might I ask if it's okay I walk with you?"

Rin's eyes widened slightly. Yes, she was definitely caught off-guard. "Well..." She was silent for a moment, hesitant. She then let out a small sigh, almost as if she had been defeated. "If you are fine with it, sure."

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Rin?**

 ** _I'm ready!_** / No, wait!

* * *

Minori couldn't help but grin. "Alright."

He walked alongside Rin, touring the entire school for the next couple of minutes. Despite Rin not speaking much, Minori enjoyed her presence. The silence was relaxing and peaceful to him, and from what Minori could tell the jeweler was joyous that he was a silent pedestrian as well. However, the strolls they took (which was only the duo walking around the school for about five times) didn't take too long as the duo decided to take a break inside of the auditorium, their stop having been just right outside.

Well, that silence Minori enjoyed was not at all soothing. Now that the duo had stopped, the silence looming inside of the whole room was tense and awkward. Considering how the duo were the only ones inside of the room and that they were fairly close in proximity, Minori simply was dying from the thick atmosphere. He just had to stop it. He had to put an end to it all.

 **Minori:** Um, Rin? I'm interested in your talent as a jeweler. I mean, I know that being a jeweler is to craft and refine adornments, but I don't know much about jewelry. I was wondering if you could help me.

 **Rin:** Is it because you're the only male in the family?

 **Minori:** Huh? Um, no.

 **Rin:** Well, do you know which gemstone you want to learn most about? There are plenty of gemstones that are used to craft the adornments people wear today.

 **Minori:** Hm... If I had to choose, I'd suppose I'd say sapphire?

 **Rin:** Sapphire is a beautiful stone, after all. Sapphires are typically blue, which is what most people in the world associate sapphire with, but these gemstones can be naturally yellow, purple, orange, or green as well. Jewelers and other people would call these types of sapphires "fancy". There are also parti sapphires which would show two or more colors instead of typically one. Sapphires are a part of the two gem-varieties of corundum, the other being ruby.

 **Minori:** _... Wow, she's very informative!_

 **Minori:** _Wait, that should be obvious. She is a jeweler, after all. Still, she still looks bored just talking to me about it. Is it because that information is obvious and I'm just that dense?!_

 **Minori:** Corundum... that's the crystalline form of aluminium oxide, right?

 **Rin:** Correct. Sapphires are mainly mined in East Africa, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, Madagascar, and in the eastern part of Austrailia. However, there have been a few specific cases where sapphire was found in North America, most of them being found in Montana.

 **Minori:** That's very informative. Do you craft sapphires then?

 **Rin:** I have. It is common practice to heat sapphires in order to enhance their color and clarity. When high temperature is used to heat the stone, the sapphire loses all inclusions and should become clear under magnification. Diffusion treatments are also common as well. Typically I'd diffuse beryllium into the sapphire under high temperature. However, I always have to keep note to not raise the temperature too high that it'll touch the melting point of the gemstone.

 **Minori:** Oh, I see. That makes sense. I can see why you're called the Ultimate Jeweler. You're so informative about gemstones and you sound like you're a professional at your work.

 **Rin:** Gemstones are my specialty.

 **Minori:** I'd love to hear more about your work and the different types of gemstones.

 **Rin:**...

 **Minori:** Um...?

 **Rin:**... I'm sorry, but were you saying something?

 **Minori:** _Of course I was!_

 **Rin:**...

 **Rin:** Sure. I don't mind.

 **Minori:** Really?

 **Rin:** Yeah. But can we stop for today? I'm getting tired.

 **Minori:** O-oh, of course! Sorry!

Minori watched Rin who was rubbing her eyes, a yawn escaping her lips. She seemed much more lazy than ever, her expression the same bored look she always wore. She looked over at the pseudologist, eyeing him for a moment. She then waved before taking her leave, walking without Minori.

The pseudologist sighed to himself. He wondered if he could consider it a mission success.

* * *

 **Rin's Profile Card: 1/1**

 **Note: Rin has crafted various types of gemstones before, making her a professional in her line of expertise. She seemed to know the ins and outs of gemstones, being highly informative of the techniques used to perfect a stone and of the stone's background.**

* * *

Minori decided he wasn't too tired yet, then moving out of the auditorium to walk down the area. He wondered how many strolls he had taken with Rin, and can only question how long it'll take to rest if either Sagiso or Seiga were in the mix. Still, his body was still riling with energy, and he could only assume that was from how relaxing his walk with Rin was. He honestly had to thank her, sooner or later.

And now that he was thankful, he suddenly realized what a mistake it was to think he'd keep his energy inside of his body. He was thrown aback in fear as he realized he was charging straight towards him.

"Minnie!"

Minori let out a cry as he suddenly felt arms around him. The tiny man was hugging him tightly, excited giggles escaping his lips as Minori was left flustered. His face was a bright red as he tried to make out the situation. "K-ko?!" He had no idea why he was crying out Haruko's name in such a desperate fashion. His voice had almost cracked at that point. "W-why're you-"

"I'm just happy we stopped that Monokuma from his evil scheme!" Haruko chuckled as he released the pseudologist. He was smiling brightly at him, moving about to and fro. Yes, he was definitely joyful. "Since we beat the final boss' scheme, we could just rest and eat chocolate all day, right? We could eat sweets all day!"

Minori realized he was sighing. He was a fan of sweets, sure, but Haruko was blasting away from him. Well, Haruko was a chocolatier, so Minori supposed the young man had a right to speak so delightfully about them. "I thought you said it would take around a week to get the chocolates done?"

Haruko frowned, now suddenly pouting. "Yeah, I said that! But maybe we could just eat the sweets in the fridge? Maybe there's a lot in the boxes as well!"

Minori did not want to note how it was probably Monokuma who afforded them their supply of food.

"Let's go party, Minnie! We need to throw a huge chocolate party for our friends." Before the pseudologist knew it, he was being dragged by the chocolatier straight into the dining hall and right into the kitchen to look for sweets.

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Ko?**

 ** _You're being forced to anyways!_** / No, please!

* * *

Minori could only watch from the sidelines as Haruko dug into the boxes. Honestly, it was funny to see the Ultimate digging underneath the supplies and cans. To see his legs and feet sticking up was simply comedic. Still, Minori couldn't laugh and walked over to help the chocolatier up. He could see the chocolatier frowning, pouting and puffing his cheeks out. The man slowly walked out of the boxes, saying, "Guess Monokuma's the type of person who treats his students like they're on diets."

Minori thought to himself. He did realize that when he had sorted through the fridge that there were mainly fruits and low-fat snacks. The only things the pseudologist would consider sweet were the cookie dough he found lying on the table and the bags of sugar and cocoa powder from the shelves. The pseudologist had to admit he was shocked that the headmaster would care so much about their health- especially if he considered the group were forced to participate in a killing game.

 **Minori:** Ko, what made you become a chocolatier?

 **Haruko:** Hm? Um, weeeelll... I guess it's because I'm the youngest of three? People are soooo mature when they get older, so since I'm the youngest I feel obliged to just like everything kids would like!

 **Minori:** _I can definitely see that being a reasoning on his side. I wonder how his older siblings and parents handled him when he's such an energetic ball of chocolate goodness. They must spoiled him sweet- okay, mind, stop._

 **Minori:** Anyways, do you have a favorite kind of chocolate?

 **Haruko:** Huh?! Well, I suppose it isn't too kid-friendly in my eyes, but it's really, really, reaaaaalllly good! My dad used to make this dark chocolate which had rum, raspberries, and peanut butter in it. It's suuuuuuper tasty, but I don't know why everyone hated it!

 **Minori:** _... Honestly, it sounds disgusting to me!_

 **Minori:** So, I'm guessing your dad's a chocolatier too?

 **Haruko:** Huh? Yeah, but it's not that important! Hobbies usually pass down from generation to generation, but luckily enough his love for creating chocolate passed down to a fanatic like me! Woohoo!

 **Minori:** _Hahaha, yeah, I guess so._

 **Minori:** Well, other than chocolate, is there anything else you like?

 **Haruko:** Anything else? Well... I like playing outdoors!

 **Minori:** _Not surprised there._

 **Minori:** What do you do outdoors?

 **Haruko:** I usually like to do the normal stuff people likes when going outdoors. Walking, running, playing at the park, everything! I mainly like to play games with other people. I think it's much more fun if I'm with somebody! I don't like to be alone and look like the odd one out from a crowd, hah!

 **Minori:** You sound like you're having the time of your life. I'm happy for you.

 **Haruko:** Aw, Minnie, you're so cute!

 **Minori:** H-huh?! W-what?!

 **Haruko:** Ahahaha! See, you're so cute that it's fun to tease you!

 **Minori:** W-well, excuse my rudeness, but please stop!

 **Haruko:** Hahaha! Nope! Not unless you give me a piggyback ride!

 **Minori:** What?

Minori couldn't believe he fell for Haruko's trick. He hated how easily flustered he was and how innocent Haruko loved to look. The pseudologist was then forced to throw the chocolatier onto his back, giving him a free ride around the school. About half an hour passed with Minori's energy being drained and Haruko laughing about the wind blowing against his face.

Minori almost fell straight onto the table head-first as they finally entered back into the kitchen.

* * *

 **Ko's Profile Card: 1/1**

 **Note: Ko is the youngest of three and became a chocolatier because of his father. Other than that, Ko seemed to gain other hobbies which most kids enjoy, such as playing outdoors, in the park, etc. He also seemed to love pulling pranks on others.**

* * *

The pseudologist groaned, keeping his head down on the table. He wanted to enjoy the darkness looming into his eyes as much as he could. He instantly regretted having kept his scarf on, the fabric now sticking those droplets of sweat against his skin. He had no idea why he was so tired, only having Haruko to blame. The man was simply out of his world. He was a much more animated man than Minori would've expected.

So, to hear a loud thud definitely frightened him. Minori's head jerked up as he quickly looked around for the source. "Ko, did you hear tha-" Haruko wasn't anywhere to be seen from the pseudologist's eyes, and Minori quickly stood up to find himself looking down at Haruko's unconscious body. "Ko!"

The white-haired man ran over to the chocolatier's side, picking up his tiny body. "Ko, are you alright?" He began, trying to nudge the man awake. He nudged and moved, but it was to no avail. Minori could hear the Ultimate's shallow breathing. The pseudologist's eyes widened as he realized how hot the man's body was. He quickly moved his hand to Haruko's forehead. _He's hot!_

"Tsk!" Minori knew he was tired, but he couldn't care less as he threw Haruko over his back for the second time. He quickly charged his way out of the dining hall, heading straight into the dormitory. It wasn't until then that he found Saori eyeing him in shock.

"Another one...?"

Minori's eyes widened as he ran over to the body broker. "I think Ko's sick. Can you go to the infirmary and look for some medicine, please?"

Saori bit into her lips. She looked at the pseudologist for a moment, then eyeing the chocolatier. The chocolatier's cheeks were an unhealthy shade of olive, his breathing shallow and hitched. She felt her throat drying, her lips pursing. "Minori," she began, trying to sound as calm as possible, "I don't think he's sick."

"What?" Minori felt his heart beating. "Then what could it be?"

"Mr. Watanabe!"

Minori turned around to find Ryoichi running straight towards him. Behind the investigator were Seiga and Amyto, the duo desperately holding onto Kakuma who was walking sluggishly down the halls. "What...?" The pseudologist was shocked. "What's happening?"

Ryoichi shook his head. "I-I don't know! I was just walking into the lottery room and then I saw Mr. Arakaki fainting! And is that Mr. Yoshikawa?!"

"Ryo, dude, calm down." Seiga grinned at the investigator as he and Amyto carefully walked Kakuma into the dormitory. The stunt double looked straight at the investigator. "They won't die. It's just some stupid prank."

The body broker bit into her lips. "I just moved Fuwari and Fumio into their rooms. Now Ko and Kakuma are down..."

"Guys, what's happening?!" Nezumi had opened the door to his room, confused by the racket outside. He then noticed Kakuma and Haruko's state, now startled as he jumped and hit his head on the door. "Ow!" His legs began to shake. "W-what's wrong with them?"

"I-it's definitely the poison!" Ryoichi cried, shaking his head. "It's definitely the motive that Monokuma gave us!"

"What?" Amyto frowned. "But we covered the air vents!"

Saori averted her gaze, then looking at the dorm rooms. "We should lay Ko and Kakuma down first."

"R-right." Minori quickly walked into Haruko's room, not bothering to eye the decor as he laid the chocolatier down on the bed. He walked out of the room, closing it as Seiga and Amyto walked out from Kakuma's.

"It's definitely Monokuma," Ryoichi murmured. He was shaking from his spot. "He's trying to get us to kill one another!"

"N-no way! Don't think like that!" Amyto cried, shaking her head. She couldn't help but shake herself however, her voice shattering. "Are you saying that Asami's plan didn't work?"

"Nothing's gonna work!" The investigator continued to spit out. "What should we do? We should all lock ourselves in our rooms!"

"Hey, we aren't gonna die." Seiga laughed. "Dude, there's still plenty of things we could do!"

The thief eyed the stunt double. "There's more things we could do?"

The stunt double smirked, cracking his fists. "There's the lab room and the door inside of the lottery room! Don't you think there's a reason why they're locked? That damn bear must've left them locked in order to hide some crazy shit from us! Maybe those places hold the key to defeating him!"

"But how're we gonna open them?" Saori asked.

The stunt double chuckled, holding his chin high. "There are plenty of shit inside of the lottery room, so I got myself some sturdy wire and molded it into a key. I think we can use it to open the lab room."

"Woah!" Amyto applauded the man. "That's cool, but lockpicking? You're sooo heroic there, Seiga."

"Hey! Don't insult me like that!" Seiga scoffed.

Minori inwardly smiled. He was right that the others were trying. Despite the unity being broken and cut off, Minori knew everyone had the same mindset of leaving the school. Still, his heart wavered. _Is it just me, or does it feel like Monokuma's giving us these chances? It's like he's purposefully toying with our emotions. Besides, the contens of what might be in the lab room and what might be in that locked room... I'm worried._

"Still, we have to act quick." The hypnotist suddenly frowned, dead serious. "I'm worried that the poison is slowly going to spread through all of us."

Ryoichi screeched. "Gyaaaah! Don't say that!"

"What's in that lab room though I wonder..." Amyto cupped her chin, thinking for a short moment before shaking her head. "Well! I guess we'll figure out tomorrow! You're gonna tell the others about this, right?"

Minori had wondered the same thing. _Besides, Monokuma doesn't look so worried if he isn't checking up on us. He can easily appear from below the ground, yet he hasn't yet appeared... Is he trying to give us these false hopes in order to break our trust in each other? What is he up to?_

Seiga eyed the hypnotist for a moment before cracking his fists. "Yeah, it's a hero's duty to save everyone from the evildoer. I'll never let the evildoer have his way, after all! I'm the hero."

"Alright, alright, you wannabe Superman."

The group nodded to themselves as they headed back into their dorms, the nighttime announcement coming within minutes of Seiga's proposal. Minori washed his face, brushing his teeth. He could just imagine that high-pitched laughter echoing into his head as he laid down on the bed. Nervous, Minori stressed himself to sleep.

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter. Phew, sorry again that this chapter came out late. I was wondering if I could change my outline a little as well to not only balance the characters, but to juice up the plot as well. Anyways, the motive has come into play and the role for victim and murderer is soon coming... Who will be the first to die? Who will be the murderer?

Anyways, since we're coming close to the murder and all that, I want to say that all your reviews and comments are the main motivation that helps me write this series! I want to give a huge shoutout to the people who have continuously commented on every single chapter thus far. You guys are the real MVPs!

Feel free to leave your thoughts on this chapter. I want to know how I'm writing the characters, if I'm fine with the Free Time Events and if I'm portraying your character well so far. I also want to know your thoughts on what might happen in the future. Well, I'll go give out my few questions of the chapter- do you have any New Year's resolution? Did you have a great Christmas or Christmas Eve?


	9. Chapter 1 - Part 1, Part D

Again, thank you all for your kind reviews! I'm glad you are loving the story thus far, and I hope I will be able to impress you when things go downhill. I'm glad everyone seemed to have a nice Christmas in one way or another too. Again, thank you all for the support!

 **ToonGuy:** "Yeah, but there are a lot of beautiful mother figures in this that it's likely they won't survive... There is no positive side to anything the students do considering they are in a killing game! I'm glad I'm keeping you in suspense. Guess that means I did my job as a writer correctly so far! To be honest, I love all the characters and I hate to kill some..."

 **liammarklh88:** "I'm glad the FTEs are very informative! I was scared I'd make it bland. Haha, the first case is going to come... Oh no! Don't worry, I'm sure you and your family will be fine! I'll cheer you guys on if it makes you feel better!"

 **Writer's Block Abundance:** "Hello again! I'm glad you are following this story, you are a great person to interact with (well, through reviews that is, but still!). Aw, but then your username would be gone! Your username is very unique too, but yeah, writer's block is a huge pain in the arse."

 **AmaryllisGreen:** "Hello, nice to see you! I'm glad my story is well enough for you to get excited over the updates! I'm glad Rin's free time event was convincing! I was afraid I'd make her a bit too talkative or blunt. Don't worry, I believe in you! And thanks ^.^"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Nice to see you had a great Christmas! Monokuma is discreet about many things, huh. I'm glad I'm doing Saori well! Thanks ^.^"

 **PoisonBanana:** "It's fine! All your reviews are very well-informed and detailed! I always love reading them. Oh no! Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have a fine time this year at least!"

 **Agrael:** "Aw, I'm glad you liked this chapter! Haha, I try to raise death flags for mostly everyone. I want to make the deaths a surprise at least. Oh, I'm completely shocked you love the cast! Thanks! Yeah, good for you ^.^ Haha, I know most of what happened during the game, and I found it enjoyable!"

 **Kukasabe Swift:** "Oh, hey! I'm glad you were able to learn more about the characters in the last chapter. I'm glad I'm depicting your character wonderfully! Yeah, there should always be someone who doubts whatever the rest are doing, so Minori is doing that role. Well, at least you had fun!"

 **irwegwert:** "Haha, well, poison can run through someone's body slowly over time. It varies between person to person, or so Monokuma would absolutely want. I want to blend in nice and serious moments, since we are close to Chapter 1's case. Interesting theories. Haha, I have Xenoblade Chronicles 2 myself. Their songs are awesome, though that's possibly because the composer is known for making awesome soundtracks."

 **DryBonesKing:** "It's fine! At least you're reading the story! ^^ I'm glad you're enjoying the story and my style of writing, I would hope the story is engaging so far! I am glad you are loving the characters so far. It's interesting to see your comments and what you predict in the future. Those are really interesting ideas and theories, and they are intruiging as well! I hope you will like this chapter, and I hope you have a great day!"

* * *

The morning announcement had rang, yet with Monokuma's usual laughter and notification did he continue.

"Upupupu! As you bastards may or may not know, the deadline is today! You guys better get going and kill one another, or else the poison will kill you all! And, since I'm so beaaary nice, I'm gonna kill the lights off just half a day before the deadline! That means the lights are closed in late afternoon! Haha! It'll be easier to kill that way, though it could be a bit harder? ... Well, whatever you bastards do is up to you! Upupupu!"

The announcement had been shut off, and Minori was left shocked. He suddenly felt his heart beating, beating faster than ever. Never would he have expected to be thrown in such an incomprehensible situation, nevertheless that situation being a killing game. He didn't want to die.

Still, he would never kill someone either. Minori bit into his lips as he showered and changed his outfit. Although it was the same attire as always, he couldn't bother. He hated the sweat touching his clothes, then sticking to his skin. He hated it.

Minori opened the door as he saw a nearby door from the girls' side opening as well.

"Oh, Minori." It was the Ultimate Hypnotist. She was rubbing her eyes, a yawn having escaped her lips. "You just woke up too?"

Minori nodded. "Yeah. I am heading to the dining hall."

Amyto chuckled. "Of course. We all are-" She then stopped, then awkwardly laughing and scratching her head. "Well, not _all_ of us. I don't think the rest could move with the poison and all."

The pseudologist nodded, grim. He decided to walk into the hallways, down into the dining hall. There were less people than ever despite everyone being present other than him and Amyto. He took a seat, noticing the four empty chairs as Amyto took her's. Kaniza passed the duo their meals. It was chicken noodle soup, a classic dish. Minori sipped into it and watched Seiga who began to cough.

"Ahem!" He spat out, cracking his knuckles. "We're gonna stop the evildoer!"

Asami was determined, nodding her head. A confident smile was on her lips. She was not deterred in the slightest bit at all. "Of course. What do you propose then, Seiga?"

Ryoichi raised his hand. "Mr. Kosoku, I don't mean to be rude, but nothing worked. None of the things we planned worked!"

"Hey, don't be so negative!" The stunt double frowned, shaking his head. "As the hero, I won't tolerate this!"

Sheina scoffed. "Exactly. You should shut your mouth, subject. You know that we are fine, right? The Gods are on our side."

Ryoichi rolled his eyes, but stayed silent.

It was then did the knight took a deep breath. "Alright! Let's all pay our respects to Seiga and listen to his proposal."

"Thanks, girl!" Seiga grinned widely at the knight, cracking his fists. He then reached into his pocket, taking out a piece of wire that was bent to the shape of a key. He showed it high and proudly, everyone taking a look at it. Some were confused, others gasping in shock and the rest nodding their heads knowingly. Seiga chuckled for a moment. The stunt double then coughed for a short second. "Ahem! I think we should try opening the lab room with this fake key I made! We only have today to do something, right?"

"True..." Sagiso nodded to herself. "Four of us are down already, so I think it's best to act now."

Amyto bit into her lips. "Yeah... I guess..." She slowly crept up a smile, eyeing Seiga. "I'm really glad you and Asami and everyone else are around. Everyone here is so optimistic, and it's really addictive! Honestly, I would've given up if I was alone..."

"Well, don't worry about that!" Kaniza laughed cheerfully as she patted the hypnotist on the back. "The stars have always been aligned in our favor, we just have to continue acting till the time comes when we are completely aligned with the star's glow!"

"I-I mean, we have nothing left to do..." Nezumi shook his head, having been fidgeting ever more than before. He was definitely afraid. He was definitely scared. "B-better to do something than nothing, r-right...?"

"Let's get started right away," Seiga said, now frowning. "We don't have much time left, right?"

Saori raised her hand. "Wait. May I speak?"

"Huh?" The stunt double turned to the Ultimate. "Yeah, girl. You don't need to ask."

The body broker nodded slowly. "Alright. I believe that we should check the infirmary. I have thrown out the poison bottles a few days ago, however when I was walking earlier I saw that the bottles had been restocked. I believe that Monokuma is restocking them."

"Oh, right! I remember you throwing them out." Asami cupped her chin, humming to herself. She thought for a moment. "Maybe Monokuma is restocking the bottles because of the motive. We should try throwing them out again, or at least drain them down the sink. Okay! We should check the infirmary out first."

The thief bit into his lips. "Um, a-are we gonna do something with the other people? Y'know, Ko and the others..."

Kaniza smiled brightly. "Oh, don't worry about them! I'm going to give them their food and medicine later."

"Woah, you're too kind!" Amyto laughed happily. "I wish I had a mother like you."

Minori turned to the knight. "So, we're going to check the infirmary out first then the lab room?"

"Yeah, but we should make sure all of us are fine so far and if Ko and the others are healing fine." Asami eyed the pseudologist with a kind smile. She was staring at Minori with a determined glare. That expression of genuine determination and optimism honestly scared Minori. He was simply stunned by how strong she was. "We have this entire day. We should be able to do this and prevent Monokuma from this whole killing game."

Minori was honestly jealous of it. Asami continued to try and try, and so did the others. Everyone continued to try and try despite failing. It was shocking to Minori, and he honestly wanted to do the same. He had to, for everyone's sake. He just had to believe in them. _But, with how this entire situation is playing out, this feeling of doubt in my heart is continuing to overwhelm me... I can't help but feel like Monokuma is just watching us._

"Well, I'll go prepare the meals and bring the medicine for the others," Kaniza said, standing from her seat. "I'll be back."

Minori watched Kaniza moving into the kitchen, wondering about Haruko and the other three sickened- Fumio, Kakuma, and Fuwari. Four people have fallen unconscious, sick and faint. The pseudologist worried about them and the others, and he worried for his own safety. He didn't want to be a part of this. He didn't want to be in this. He didn't want to have anything to do with this. But, he had been forced to.

As Kaniza rolled down a plate full of drinks and meals, she left the room to the others to finish eating. Everyone was left to finish their foods, to continue to talk and speak and laugh.

However, it was obvious the conversations were forced. These conversations, the laughter, the words, the smiles- they were all forced. The Ultimates have been talking to one another in order to mask those feelings, those negative feelings of fear and doubt. Fear to the end of their lives, this killing game. Doubt to if the plan would be accomplished, or if it would fail. The Ultimates having been talking were merely to enforce the normalcy that had been in the room since days. Everyone had been masking their fear. Although some didn't hide their fear through their emotions and gestures, Nezumi and Ryoichi for example, it was obvious they were trying to listen to the voices of others. The others who had been talking to others, smiling and laughing- people such as Asami, Seiga, Kaniza... Everyone had been forcing that sense of normalcy.

Everyone had been hiding their fears. Yes, even Minori himself. Of course he had been lying to himself. To lie that he would be fine. To lie that everything would go well despite his initial thoughts- he continued to lie to himself that everything would be fine. He wanted to believe that.

The Ultimates waited for breakfast to be finished, then waiting for Kaniza who returned back safely as Sagiso and Kamui decided to wash the dishes. Minori silently sat from where he was, waiting for the duo to finish the dishes as he watched some others leave. Asami had left to check on the sick alongside Sheina and Amyto, the others either staying behind and speaking softly or worrying in place. The room was tense. The atmosphere was dense.

"Is this seriously gonna work?" Ryoichi had asked to himself, however he was near Nezumi and Saori who were eyeing the area. The investigator bit into his lips as he shook his head. "This won't work... We're gonna die."

Minori could hear the murmurs of worries continuing to spur inside of the room. He hated it. Those words of doubt resonated with him. He had to ignore it. He forced himself to ignore it.

The stunt double was laughing as Rin and Kaniza eyed him. "Haha! No, no, I don't know shit about the stars and whatnot!" He cried, cracking his knuckles. "But yeah, I'd love to go to those stargazing festivals you mentioned! Rin can join too!"

Rin eyed him in bewilderment. "Um, why me? I'm not interested. I'm usually busy shaping jewels-"

Kaniza had cut off the jeweler within miliseconds, her eyes sparkling. "Oh, do you guys want to know the best astrology couple? In my opinion, I think the love of Aries and Aquarius is soooo cute! Then again, there was this Virgo and Pisces couple that I really love~"

Minori was genuinely shocked to see the trio laughing so freely. Well, at least two of them. If anything, Rin looked like she did not want to have any say in the conversation. It didn't take long before the conversation finished, and then that was the time Kamui and Sagiso came out from the kitchen. It was also the same time Asami and the other women walked back into the room.

"How are the others?" Sagiso asked as she eyed the women. She had been drying her hands on a paper towel for a moment, then throwing it perfectly to the trash bin. "Are they all fine?"

Sheina smiled widely, huffing her chest out. "Hmph! Of course, since I, the Pharoah, was in their presence! Fuwari and Kakuma have woken up and are currently eating. My subjects Ko and Fumio did wake up, but they wanted to rest a bit more."

"Oh. Alright." Sagiso nodded as she eyed the Ultimate Egyptologist.

"Well, since everyone is all here, are we ready to move out?" Asami eyed the group with a smile. A wide, determined smile. "We're gonna go check out the infirmary room first per Saori's suggestion, then we are going to do what Seiga planned. Is that fine with all of you?"

There were murmurs in the room. Murmurs of worry and doubt. They worried, but nonetheless they agreed to her words. If anything, they wanted the killing game to end as soon as possible.

Asami smiled. "Alright! Let's go check the infirmary first then."

The group moved, heading down the dining hall and moving over to the infirmary. The students spoke to one another down the way, Asami stating her worries about the sick. Nezumi wondered if they would become sick soon, the more extroverted people stating him to not think so negatively. They continued to walk until they reach the infirmary, from there Saori opening the door and the group heading inside.

"Huh. Everything here looks the same. I wouldn't have expected that Saori dumped all the poisonous bottles out." Amyto eyed the shelves, looking at the bottles of poison. "Wow, there's a lot of poison here. So Monokuma really is restocking them?"

"Not to be mean," Kamui began, coughing. "But you are not lying, are you?"

Saori frowned, but seemed to understand his suspicions. She nodded her head. "I'm not," she answered, blunt and straightforward. "I have Asami and Minori to back me up."

"Oh, right. She's right." Minori smiled awkwardly at the mortician who nodded slowly. The pseudologist eyed the shelves as he looked at the poison bottles, eyeing the labels. He could faintly see the contens inside of each bottle, everything seeming to be filled to the brim. None have been used, he would think.

Ryoichi bit into his lips, grabbing ahold of a bottle and eyeing it. "You think Monokuma is using these for the motive? If he's able to restock them, wouldn't that mean he has a plentiful of them?"

"Oh shit, that's right!" Seiga's eyes widened. He took ahold of one of the bottles for a moment, but he then laughed and quickly shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so. None of them seem to be used. Besides, I remember that Ko and the others' symptoms aren't the same as what's said on a lot of these labels."

"Huh? Really?" Ryoichi raised a brow.

The stunt double nodded. "Yeah, dude. The labels behind the bottles said so."

Minori decided to take a look himself, taking ahold of one of the bottles. 'Type B Poison' was the name of the bottle he took. He eyed it for a moment. No, it didn't seem like it has been opened, whether recently or not. The contents inside of the bottle were the same, nothing had been used. He then looked at the back, eyeing the labels. From there, he saw a list of ingredients and warnings. _Let's see..._

Symptoms were the following- enlargment of the pupils, excessive drooling, increase of heart rate... Although they seemed to be the common symptoms of a horrid tragedy, the symptoms were vastly different from what happened with the sick. Minori realized that while the symptoms from the Type B Poison included the decrease in temperature, Haruko's body was different. Symptoms from the Type B Poison was different from the sick's symptoms, and once Minori took a look at the other bottles of poison, he realized that Seiga was right- Monokuma wasn't using the bottles for the motive.

 _What's more interesting is that the contents inside of the bottles are only in work if taken directly. They cannot be fanned or whiffed, strangely enough..._

"Okay, I see..." Ryoichi slowly placed the bottle back into the shelves. "Maybe Monokuma's actually using some sort of alien drug?!"

Sheina shook her head, deadpanned. "No."

"So, Monokuma isn't restocking these simply for the motive." Sagiso cupped her chin. "Then is he restocking them simply to give us a means of killing? Is he restocking them to give us an easier oppurtunity to kill someone?"

Rin frowned at the thought. She couldn't help but eye the shelves full of poisonous bottles, disgusted. "He's sick..."

"Actually, where is Monokuma?" Nezumi continued to fidget from place, unaware that he had stolen a bottle of pills. He didn't even realize when Kaniza took it from him, placing it back from where it was. "Where does he sleep? Is he watching us from somewhere...?"

Amyto shivered, shaking. "Oof. That's a scary thing to think about." She forced a giggle. "Well, let's just hope he doesn't watch us when we shower!"

"I assure you that I am not thinking about that," Kamui replied, shaking his head. He thought for a moment, then looking back at the group. "I have a suggestion."

The hypnotist tiled her head. "Hm? What's wrong?"

"I want to know if we throw the bottles away in the trash again if Monokuma will restock them within hours. I want to see how exactly does he appear and restock them, and if he does appear if we are able to ask him questions." He looked towards Saori. "Have you actually seen him restock the bottles, Saori?"

Saori shook her head. "No. When I was walking I have already noticed that the bottles have been restocked. I'm not entirely sure when he had restocked them."

Seiga grinned widely, cracking his fists. He grabbed a handful of the poisonous bottles and embraced them tightly. "So all we have to do is throw that shit away, right? So let's just throw them in the trash!"

"I'll help," Sagiso said, walking over to take a handful of bottles. "Where should I throw them?"

Saori thought for a moment. "I threw them away in the trash can in my room. However, I think throwing them in the dining room's trash can would be faster."

The stunt double nodded proudly. "Alright! Let's go, Sagiso!"

The duo headed out, Seiga running down as Sagiso strided by. The group was left eyeing the room, some continuing to eye the poisonous bottles as others murmured to one another. Minori eyed Asami who focused on her work, looking through the medicinal bottles.

"What are you doing, if I may ask?" The pseudologist moved next to the knight.

Asami turned to him with a smile. "Oh! Hello, Minori." She had grabbed one of the bottles, eyeing the labels. "I am making sure Monokuma is not tricking us. I am making sure that these bottles are actually filled with medicine and not poison. I mean, I am not sure that these pills are medicine or not, but it's worth a look."

"You are really dedicated," that was all Minori could say as he watched Asami.

The knight chuckled. "It's no problem. I prioritize the safety of my friends, after all."

Minori nodded slowly, now watching the knight continuing to eye each bottle. He was silent as time passed by, hearing murmurs and the tapping of the feet sound off in the room. They were waiting for Seiga and Sagiso to finish, but before the duo was able to return, something miraculous happened.

A bright light flashed inside of the room, blinding everyone. Screams and gasps were heard, but within seconds did the flash disappear. Everyone was left confused and bewildered, blinking as they spoke in place. They didn't know what had happened, only speaking in dabbles until Asami's voice resounded.

"What?! The bottles... They've been restocked!"

Everyone quickly crowded around the shelves, looking to find that the poisonous bottles have been restocked. The poisonous bottles that should've been thrown out by Seiga and Sagiso were now inside of the shelves. It was shocking. It was mindblowing. _How can this happen?_ That was all Minori could think as the door was slammed open.

"You guys alright?!" Seiga asked, worried and sweaty. "I heard screaming!"

Sagiso rushed into the room. "You guys are all fine, right?" She then moved her way into the crowd, then eyeing the shelves. Her eyes widened. "Huh? They've been restocked already?"

"Really?" Seiga quickly took a look. "Woah, dude! That's sick! Did Monokuma appear from thin air or something?"

The E.T. investigator was the first to answer, his voice falling flat. "No, it was the work of aliens..."

The stunt double frowned. "Huh?"

Sheina scoffed. "No, subject, it was the work of the Gods themselves!"

Seiga slowly turned to Minori, bewildered. "Can I ask for an explanation, bro?"

Minori sighed. Although he was as shocked as anyone else was, he couldn't believe the words of Ryoichi and Sheina. He wondered if aliens and Gods were an explanation to everything, though he supposed their reasons weren't at all stupid. Considering Monokuma and this whole situation, he couldn't exactly blame them for their eccentric reasoning. "I'm honestly not sure," he answered, making Seiga frown. "There was a bright light that flashed and blinded us, and after a few seconds everything inside of the shelves have been restocked. Monokuma wasn't anywhere to be found."

Seiga cupped his chin. "Huh. Really? That's really weird."

The body broker herself was confused. "So Monokuma doesn't restock the bottles?" She thought to herself, pondering. She was deep in thought, her eyes brimming in concentration. "How does this work? This isn't a case of technological advancement, right?"

Kamui shook his head. "I do not think there would be a teleportation device somewhere. Well, at least we are sure that Monokuma himself isn't present when the items are restocked, albeit how they are restocked is a bit strange."

Saori nodded. "Alright."

"I guess we should check the lab room now." Asami crossed her arms, deciding to not think too much on what had happened. She walked over to the stunt double's side. "Do you have the key?"

Seiga nodded, reaching into his pockets and taking out the molded key. "Yup. Let's go then. I'll lead the way!"

With Seiga leading the way, everyone headed straight to the direction of the lab room. It didn't take long before they reach their destination, just a few steps away from the infirmary itself. The stunt double quickly inserted the wire into the keyhole, manipulating it silently before he heard a clicking sound. A victorious grin escaped his lips as he turned the doorknob, the door creaking open. Seiga turned to the group of Ultimates, proud and mighty.

"Thank me, for I have opened the door!" Seiga laughed boisterously for a few moments, but then cleared his throat, abruptly stopping. "Okay, let's go."

With the rolling of the eyes, the group headed inside. Within seconds did the pseudologist realize that something was off.

"Holy shit!"

Those words completely conveyed Minori's expression at the moment.

Seiga couldn't help but laugh in complete shock. He strided over to the center, looking down what seemed to be a staircase leading into a tunnel. It was deep inside, almost endless as the flight of stairs continued even admist the dark. The stunt double shook his head, unable to believe what he was seeing. "Monokuma's been hiding some secret lair!"

"No way. That can't be possible." Amyto was bewildered. She herself walked towards the center of the room, eyeing the flight down the stairs. "You think Monokuma's hiding in there?"

Minori silently shook his head, thinking to himself. Pondering. _No way. It can't be this easy. Monokuma can't be hidden just down these flight of stairs. I doubt he'd make himself available so easily, especially if he's the one conducting this game. Is Monokuma trying to lead us somewhere?_

But before the pseudologist could speak his doubts, Ryoichi began to speak. "Hey, what about the door in the MonoLottery room? Maybe he's hidden there?"

"Well, the door can't be open with just a key. You need a code." Seiga scratched his head. "I mean, I'm not some code genius, am I?" He then eyed Ryoichi for a moment, then throwing a huge smile as he slapped him upon the back. "Dude, calm down! We're gonna go down this obviously suspicious flight of stairs and stop the villain! I'm not a hero if I can't even assure that."

"Then we don't know anything about the other door..." Ryoichi murmured underneath his breath.

"It looks really dark down there though," Kaniza said, speaking her thoughts. She was walking around the room, eyeing the line of tables which held desktops in front of each open seat. She took a seat down one of the rolling black chairs, curiously tapping onto the mousepad to the side of one of the computers. "You think there's light down there?"

"Never hurts to try," Asami answered, smiling brightly. "Besides, this room is bright enough. I think we should be able to make this work as long as we're close to one another."

"S-so all of us are going down there..." Nezumi chuckled nervously, shivering. "A-alright. I'm just worried there's some monster down there."

"I'm more worried about spiders," Amyto admitted. "Just thinking about spiders crawling on my back gives me the shivers! Eep."

Nezumi frowned. He eyed Amyto silently. The thief then tilted his head, confused before quickly averting his gaze. He whispered under his breath in an almost disappointed sigh, "I like spiders though..."

"Alright, so we're all gonna go in and investigate what's below!" Seiga cried as loudly as he could, trying to gain the attention of everyone. "We should also keep a look out for the evildoer Monokuma. He might try to attack us down below, so be careful! Just holler at me if you need help, I'll happily save you."

Asami cleared her throat. "It may be best to tread carefully, like Seiga has mentioned. We are going to face this problem directly and stop the killing game, and how the headmaster may have poisoned Ko and the others may be different to what he may try to do now. I believe he may try to influence our bodies as we tread down as well, so we should also keep in mind of each other's well-being!"

Nezumi's eyes widened. "W-wait, what happens if we end up getting sick then?"

The knight thought for a moment. "I think it is best for whoever has fallen to call for assistance. I believe we should tread together as a group and not go ahead or stay behind in order to look after each other. If someone does end up falling, it is the responsibility of whoever's close by to help them as soon as possible."

"O-oh. Alright." The thief nodded despite trembling. He was obviously worried.

"I think it is best that Sagiso should be one of the people leading the group," Kamui suggested, looking at the psychogeographer. The Ultimate nodded her head as the mortician continued to speak. "Seiga, you're going to lead the way as well, if I have to guess?"

Seiga chuckled and cracked his fists. He was pumped. "Yeah, of course. I'll face any terror that comes your guys' way!"

Kamui hummed in response. "Asami, you should handle the back for extra precaution. Hm..." He looked at the group, looking through each person for a moment. He thought for a moment, then nodding to himself. "Sheina, can you help her?"

"Hmph!" The Egyptologist huffed, haughty as she always was. "Of course! I will embrace her with my presence as the Pharoah!"

Kamui didn't seem to mind how Sheina spoke, most likely used to her by now. He simply acknowledged her words and looked to Seiga for the go signal. The stunt double decided to take the first step, gesturing Sagiso to follow. "Alright," the stunt double began as he was heading down slowly alongside the psychogeographer. "Everyone behind me! Stick close!"

"Remember to stay at the back," Kamui reminded, looking both at Sheina and Asami. The two understood their roles well and waited. The mortician headed next down the flight.

"Guess I'll head down next! Hope I don't trip down the stairs, haha!" Kaniza laughed and smiled at the group. She winked at them before heading down, almost as a way to reassure them that they would be fine. They would be fine. They would be completely fine and safe- Kaniza had assured herself of that. She walked down after Kamui, speaking out to the mortician to prove her status as being the one behind him.

The E.T. investigator frowned to himself. "I seriously hate the dark," Ryoichi mumbled. He was just about to head into the stairs after the astrophotographer before a sudden crackling sound was heard.

 ** _Crackle!_**

The lights were flashing on and off. The sounds of electricity sounded off, seconds passing by each segment of crackling. The Ultimates were left in terror and wondered what was happening, the lights finally shutting off. It was now dark. Completely, a hundred percent dark.

"Aaaaaaah! This can't be happening! What's happening?!" Ryoichi screamed, his voice shaky. "Is this some prank?! Aliens?!"

"Hey, the lights aren't turning on!" Amyto cried from a distance, most likely close to the door. The sound of clicking was heard. The hypnotist was trying to turn the lights on, but to no avail. "Why aren't they working now?"

Asami was heard close by. "Someone open the door!"

Amyto, having been the closest to the door, quickly searched for the doorknob. She creaked it open, however, it seemed like nothing had happened. Everything continued to be dark, completely dark. Nothing was to be seen. No, nothing at all. "I can't see anything!" The hypnotist cried, fearful. "Why is it so dark?"

Minori realized instantly what this meant. "The morning announcement!"

"Guys!" Kaniza called from down the stairs. "What happened? Why is it darker all of a sudden?"

"We're halfway down the deadline," the knight answered, calm as she could force herself to be. Her voice was firm. "Monokuma said from the morning announcement that all the lights would be shut off when we're halfway down the day."

"Are you kidding me?!" Ryoichi groaned. "This is the stupidest-"

 _ **WOO-WOO-WOO!**_

"Thrice-Damned Servant of Seth!" Sheina cursed, angry. "I can't hear with this blasphemous sound! Who's damning the Gods?!"

 _ **WOO-WOO-WOO!**_

"Why are sirens blaring off?!" Nezumi cried, sounding more fearful than he had ever been. The slightest sound of his teeth clattering was heard, although it was barely audible with how annoyingly ridiculous the sirens were ringing. "W-what's happening?!"

"I think this is Monokuma's doing!" Minori cried, trying to explain the situation as loudly as he could. He swore his throat was already burning. "I think he's trying to drive us insane alongside the darkness!"

"What?! Why?!" The thief sounded desperate. "He didn't even tell us in the morning announcement!"

"Hey! We still have to keep moving!" Saori yelled, moving her way as she cautiously moved down the stairs. She gained Kaniza's attention as she bumped into her, the astrophotographer shocked. The body broker was yelling from the stairs, Minori realizing she had moved down. "We have a few hours left! Let's go!"

 _ **WOO-WOO-WOO!**_

"S-she's right! Let's just hurry up and go!" Minori decided to move down as well, moving slowly in order to not trip himself. He could feel the cold air beginning to touch him as he cautiously moved his way down, Kaniza and Saori down further. _Shit, it's gonna be harder to hear the others if the siren keeps sounding off like this!_ Minori could hear the faint sounds of footsteps from above, him only able to conclude it was Rin's from how relaxed her footsteps always sounded whenever she walked. _It really is hard to see anyone like this... It's not too tight in here, yet it feels like I'm being choked by how dark this place is!_

Minori felt his hand across the wall, feeling the concrete as it began to get colder and colder. Slowly and slowly did he feel like he was being driven to insanity, the sirens blaring off as the darkness continued to envelope him. He couldn't hear. He couldn't see where he was. He didn't even know if he was lost or not, wondering if the path was actually leading him down in a linear path or if he was being tricked into certain death.

He couldn't tell, and he continued to walk and walk down the flight of stairs until he almost fell. "Ack!" Minori tripped upon his own feet, almost losing balance as he realized he had reached the bottom of the ground. There were no other flight of stairs or holes that he could feel, yet he continued to move cautiously.

 _ **WOO-WOO-WOO!**_

His speed began to quicken as his mind rested on the fact he was walking in a linear path, him realizing that he was walking straight. The sirens continued to sound off as loudly as ever, and Minori's head continued to ache.

Minori walked, but felt a chill running through his skin. He couldn't pinpoint it for a moment, him walking down the pathway. The chills continued to grow and grow, and soon he realized that a gust of wind was blowing through his face. He frowned. _Why is there wind in here?_ Minori continued to walk for a moment, some time passing before he realized the cold burst of wind was now breezing through his enitre face. He almost felt lightheaded, his body numb. His scarf was moving, the flaps hitting him directly in the face. _Ugh!_ Minori balanced his feet, but as he took another step forward his heel hit a small pebble and his balance now shifted. He suddenly found himself falling forward.

"Wooooaaah- oof!"

"Hey, watch your step, man! You almost tripped- Oh, Minnie, bro?"

Minori realized that there were arms around his head, and he quickly stepped back in shock. He realized that he had fallen forward, his face now lighting a bright red. He was also thrown with a feeling of relief that the darkness masked his embarrassment, however the sirens continued to ring into his ears. He almost felt as if he was deaf. Still, he tried nonetheless. "S-Seiga, is that you?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." The stunt double's voice was loud, however now with the sirens blaring, there was also the matter of the howling of the wind that seemed to blast through them. Minori almost felt like he was being blown away, however, Seiga had stood his ground. "Dude, I think there's a gigantic fan in front of us! I think that's the shit that's blowing poison right at us!"

"Wait, what?!" Minori quickly ran to the side, almost hitting the wall if not for a hand reaching out to him.

"Yeah, should've told him that sooner, Seiga!" It was Kaniza's voice. "Minori, you should stay back. Seiga's gonna try facing the fan and walk towards it."

Minori was dumbfounded. "What? Why?"

Another voice spoke, that voice seeming to belong to Kamui's. "He's gonna find the switch to turn it off."

"Hey!" It was Amyto who came into the scene, having been pulled to the side by Sagiso who walked by. "We're not going to help him?"

Sagiso was the next to speak. "Seiga says that he doesn't want us to risk our lives. He says he rather end up getting sick and saving the 'world' rather than seeing us fall unconscious."

"That's selfish!" The hypnotist complained, whiny. She let out a disgruntled groan and began to move. "I'm gonna help him too!"

"What? Hey!" Sagiso quickly pulled Amyto back into the side. "I don't think that's a wise idea."

Amyto frowned. "Huh? Why not?"

"Seiga has the most athletic talent out of all of us. I think he's the most suited for this out of all of us." Sagiso began to speak, albeit her voice was worrying as well. "I don't want him to do it himself either, but he's the only one who has such a talent that will allow the possibility of him succeeding. I want to help him too, but I think we should wait here and tell the others. We especially need Asami's and Nezumi's help too."

The pseudologist looked towards the way where the stunt double seemed to be. _Seiga..._

"Where are the others?" Minori asked, having to make his voice louder as the noises continued to sound.

"I don't know!" Amyto cried, tone desperate as the seconds rolled by. "I tried to call out for them, but I couldn't find them anywhere! I only know that I went after Minori did..."

"Hey, what's going on?"

Amyto's feet shuffled, her possibly having ran over to the new voice's direction. "Rin?!"

Rin let out a exasperated sigh. "Seiga told me to not come near him. He told me to go to the side. Is he planning to turn the fan off?"

Minori nodded. "Yeah, he wants to stop it himself."

Suddenly, a loud, long cry escaped the darkness. A long, exaggerated warcry. Somehow, that warcry was louder than the noises of the sirens and wind combined. It was louder than Minori could've ever imagined.

"LET'S PAAAAARRRRRRTTTYY!"

The pseudologist instantly realized what was happening. He could hear Seiga's footsteps rushing down towards the direction of the wind, the sounds of the fan clattering in the nearby distance. _Seiga's really exaggerating things...still, please be careful._ The pseudologist found himself sweating despite the coolness of the wind. His hands were numb. _Shit. Where's everyone else though? Did they get lost?_

Minori looked back where he came from. Strangely, he felt like it was empty. He knew it was dark, but he felt emptiness. _Did everyone else seriously lose their way? Maybe they fell sick? I'm worried..._

It was then did a loud thud resounded near him.

Minori's eyes widened as he quickly turned to the direction of the sound, his movements quick as he moved down. He felt his hands to feel the hotness of skin. "Hey! Rin!" Minori's voice grew shaky as he quickly grabbed ahold of the Ultimate's shoulders. "Wake up!"

His voice was desperate. His voice was loud, the others hearing his voice as they moved towards his way.

"What happened?" Kaniza asked, worried until she realized what happened. She kneeled down to feel Rin's head, her hand making contact with the warmth of the jeweler's skin. "Oh no, not now. Come on, Seiga's gonna fix this! It won't take long before he turns the fan off! Hey, what are we gonna do?!"

"Maybe she was exposed to the wind too much!" Amyto cried, tearing up. "Seiga, please hurry and turn it off!"

The astrophotographer moaned sadly. "What do we do, Kamui?! Do we bring her back to her room and treat her?!"

"We should keep her away from exposure as possible." Kamui groaned, unable to believe what had happened. He moved a hand to the pseudologist's shoulder, squeezing it. "Can you and Sagiso take her back to her room? I don't want to risk her health if she stays here."

Minori's heart pounded. He didn't know what to do, how to react in this situation. "Um..."

He had been cut off as he suddenly felt an increase in temperature attack his body. He could hear the faint sounds of screaming as he involuntarily fell to the ground.

* * *

"M..."

 _..._

"...ori! Min...!"

 _Huh?_

"Minori!"

What _happened...?_

A groan escaped his lips, his eyes slowly opening as a faint light hit him. His vision was blurry, but he could see a few blurred faces. He continued to groan, pain overwhelming his body as he forced himself up.

"Ugh..." Minori felt his ears ringing. His head was aching. He shook his head slowly and tried to make out the situation. He looked around his surroundings. Minori had been lying flat on the dirt ground, surrounded by the people he was with beforehand- Sagiso, Kamui, etc. He even noticed Seiga who had ran towards him, face emotive of worry and anxiety. Strangely, even when his ears were ringing, there was nothing to be heard but voices. No sirens. No howling of the wind. No, nothing. The pseudologist slowly looked to Kamui. "What happened?"

"Seiga turned off the fan. Apparently the fan was blowing a small opened bottle of poison inside the middle of the core. Seiga quickly broke it into bits though after turning the fan off," the mortician answered, sounding much more joyous than the white-haired man had ever heard from him. "You suddenly fallen ill after Rin, and we worried for a few minutes until we heard the fan turning off. That's when Rin regained consciousness like you did now."

Minori's eyes widened. _The motive... The time..._ The pseudologist quickly darted his head around, noticing something off. He was inside of the tunnel. He could see the staircase from away, then noticing the humongous fan which held a control panel just towards the right side. Minori could even see a patch of grass from the far right side as well, however his thought was focused on one thing- "It's bright."

"I think we've succeeded," Kaniza said, smiling widely. "See? The lights are on and the sirens aren't blaring anymore! You guys all gained conscious too, so I think it's a victory!"

"Really...?" Minori couldn't believe it. He was speechless. He was at a loss for words.

 _We really did it. We really did it... right? We did it, did we? Is this right? Did we actually stop the poison from spreading and this whole entire killing game? Where's Monokuma? Where is he?_

 _Did we actually do it? No way, is it really this easy? No, there's no way... right? Right?_

"Let's go out!" Amyto cried, joyous as she pumped her fists high in the air. "Maybe Ko and the others are awake too! We need to tell them the news! Oh, and also laugh at the people who lost their way down here."

"That's mean of you," Seiga commented, laughing.

Minori was silent. _No way. They're acting like they actually did it. They're acting like we actually stopped this. Did we actually win? Did we actually beat Monokuma? I don't... I don't know._

Still, the pseudologist stood up. He watched as Amyto and Kaniza ran down the tunnel, laughing and screaming out of joy as Seiga followed suit. From the background he could hear their voices, them joking as other voices filled the air- most likely the other voices being the lost. He watched Rin and Kamui who were much more calm, however they walked down as well, leaving him alone. Minori felt his chest beating, his stomach churning. He didn't know why, but something was off. There was something wrong with this entire situation.

Minori took another glance at the fan. The fan was shut off, the control panel at the side having been smashed closed. It was most likely Seiga who had smashed the panel. The pseudologist noticed pieces of glass down the center, realizing a pool of liquid leaking into the dirt. Most likely, that was the poison itself. The Ultimate's heart continued to pound, and he decided to move his way.

It was an instant did Minori realize the way from the lab room to the tunnel was short. The darkness and noises from before had hindered his sense of time, and it didn''t take long before he reached the lab room where he heard a long string of conversation taking place.

"Hey, it's not my fault I got lost!" Ryoichi yelled, annoyed as he felt Seiga's hand ruffling his hair. The investigator groaned loudly to himself, trying to make his groans sound as exaggerated as possible. "It's too dark!"

"W-wait, so we actually did it? We survived?" Nezumi sounded ecstatic as Kaniza did, his eyes shimmering in that one emotion- hope. "Wait. No way! We actually managed to do it?!"

Asami smiled as widely as possible, standing proudly. "I'm so proud of us! We did it guys."

"Well, Monokuma isn't saying anything..." Saori thought to herself, cupping her chin. She hummed, pondering. "If we stopped this, wouldn't he be forced to listen to our needs now since he'd be on equal footing with us?"

"Ah, I see!" Amyto grinned mischeviously. "He'd feel like we've threatened him! Since we stopped one of his ploys, he has to listen to us!"

Seiga chuckled. "So, is the new plan gonna be escaping outta here?"

The knight acknowledged the man's words with high confidence, nodding her head. "Yes! I believe anything is possible as long as we continue to try our hardest! We managed to stop Monokuma from pulling this ploy, and now if we force him to listen to our pleas, we might be able to escape from here!"

"Alright!" Kaniza clapped her hands excitably. "Let's go tell the others what happened! They should be awake!"

The group nodded, deciding to stay together united as they headed out of the lab room. They were all talking excitably, some planning what to do. Should they throw a party? Should they throw a feast? Should they plan their escape plan as soon as possible, or should they search for Monokuma now? They wondered and wondered, moving their way into the dormitory rooms. First, they headed straight into Fuwari's room.

"Hey!" Kaniza opened the door excitably as she realized Fuwari was awake. The spirit medium was confused, eyeing the group in bewilderment as they headed inside. The astrophotographer was the first to speak. "We did it, Fuwari!"

The spirit medium pondered. "Might I ask what you mean? What happened?"

The astrophotographer was too excited to explain. She grabbed ahold of the spirit medium's hands, eyes bright as the stars. "Basically, in one whole sentence- we stopped the killing game."

Fuwari's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes, really!" Kaniza jumped from her spot. "Oh my god, I have to tell the rest!"

The astrophotographer ran out of the door, surprising the rest of the cast who eyed her in shock. Amyto and Seiga chased after her, excited as well as Asami decided to follow suit. Kamui looked at the spirit medium with an awkward nod of the head. "So, yes, Kaniza is right in what she said," the mortician began, trying to word himself as well and articulate as possible. "We have successfully stopped the poison from spreading."

"Ah, right. I have been poisoned..." Fuwari felt her head, then moving down to her chest. "Strange. I don't feel sick anymore."

"Yeah, isn't that great?" Sheina smirked, standing as proudly as possible. "I told you, the Gods have certainly blessed us! May Monokuma be damned now for his sins!"

Fuwari noded her head slowly as she sluggishly moved out from her bed. "I guess so. I feel perfectly healthy now. Are there others who have fallen ill as well?"

Kamui bit into his lips. "Ko, Fumio, and Kakuma."

The spirit medium acknowledged his words as she stretched her body for bit, ridding of the cricks in her neck. Her body was stiff, unfortunately. A downside to sleeping too long. "I see. We should greet them a good morning then."

Kamui nodded. "Ah, yeah."

The rest of the group headed outside, moving back out into the dormitory halls as they walked over towards the boys' side. They walked until they noticed Kaniza and the others running straight towards them.

"Have you guys seen Ko?" The astrophotographer asked, her voice now anxious. "He wasn't in his room!"

Minori felt his heart shattering into distress as Kakuma and Fumio ran straight towards them. _Ko..._

"Ko's not with you guys?" Fumio urgently scribbled into his notepad. He seemed much more worried about the Ultimate Chocolatier than himself. He didn't even notice that his hair was messy, his lips chapped.

"You can't be serious," Kakuma began, still as arrogant sounding as ever. "Did you people seriously leave that child by himself or something?"

"Nice to hear your voice again," the stunt double commented in the background.

"Whatever." The wedding planner rolled his eyes. "I seriously cannot believe that I allowed myself to fall under Monokuma's grasp." He cursed under his breath before looking back at the group. "So, now what? I don't know what's going on, and next thing I hear is that someone's lost. What's happening?"

Nezumi looked at Kaniza. "I-is Ko seriously g-gone...?"

The astrophotographer was silent. She was off. Her eyes were widened, her mouth agape.

The thief gulped. "K-kaniza...?"

"O-oh!" Kaniza jumped and eyed the thief. "I-I'm sorry about that... Ko's fine, right? Maybe he just wandered off!"

Asami was silent. "... Well, we should look for him, right?" She eyed the group and nodded. "Ko is probably just looking for us. We should look around. We should be able to find him easily."

"R-right." Kaniza nodded. "Alright, I'll go look!"

Kaniza ran off down the hallways. The hypnotist eyed the Ultimate sadly, then looking at Asami. "I'll look as well!" Amyto began running down the halls, leaving the group to their lonesome.

"Let's split up," Asami said, determined.

Minori couldn't help but bite into his lips as he began to rush down the halls as well. He was looking everywhere, from inside the dining room and into the kitchen. He looked through the library and laundry room, his heart continuing to race and his thoughts continuing to cycle. _Oh no. This can't be. Ko's fine._

The pseudologist opened the men's bathroom. He looked into the lab room, running into the tunnel and then running back up. _Ko's fine. He'll be fine._

Minori slammed open the infirmary room.

 _He's definitely not-_

His body froze. His heart stopped. His mind was now empty. His face was now devoid of thought.

He was silent. He was silent for a split moment. Yes, he was silent, but that moment of silence was slow and steady. Yes, slowly. Time had seemed to move slowly. Time had moved slow, too beautifully slow.

It was too beautiful, unfortunately. That moment of silence was too beautiful to be true. Time should've stopped right then and there. That moment of beautiful silence was captured perfectly. It should've stopped there. However, it didn't.

That man. That teenager who had a heart of a child. That Ultimate whose title is Ultimate Chocolatier.

Haruko Yoshikawa. That man named Haruko Yoshikawa was now-

 _-dead._

 _He's dead._

"Minori, did you find Mr. Yoshi- Aaaaaaaaahhhh!"

"Hey! Ryoichi, what's wrong- Oh my god!"

Minori couldn't even fathom who was screaming. He didn't know who was screaming, who was crying. He could only look silently at the person in front of him. He could only look at the Ultimate Chocolatier who was on the ground in the middle of the room, dead.

He was dead. Haruko was dead.

That face which should've been smiling as brightly as can be was gone, his lips curved into a pained frown. His eyes had been closed, thank God, but it was obvious Haruko had been in pain moments before death. There were red rings around his eyelids. Horrible, horrible sick red. Haruko was lying down on the ground on his back, his body laid flat. The chocolatier wasn't bloody in any way, his death more akin to that of a worm having infected his entire body. He was dead, yet the only symptoms of any damage to be seen were a bump to the back of his head and fluid trickling down the corner of his lips.

Minori's eyes travelled slowly down to the left side of the corpse.

 _The poison bottle... Poison... He had been poisoned._

Minori's legs weakened, his body falling to the ground. "Uuu..."

Tears began to fall from his eyes. Tears that never ended. He couldn't even hold back his sobs, his voice shaky and tragic. He sobbed and sobbed, his sobs escalating into moans before finally falling into pained screams.

Those screams were left ignored as Monokuma's voice echoed into the air.

"Ahem! This is a body discovery announcement! A body has been discovered! I repeat, a body has been discovered! Please head into the infirmary for further announcements!"

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - Part 1 END**

 **The Undesirable Beginning**

 **Survivors: 15**

* * *

 **Would you like to save?**

 **[YES] | NO**

 **Save completed.**

* * *

And here we have our official first death of the series! This chapter should've taken longer to upload in all honesty, but y'know that thing called flow in psychology? Yeah, I had that despite catching the flu. Rip, my health. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter and I hope you have plenty of theories in mind on who killed our victim and how our killer was able to kill him!

Now, I'm glad you're still reading so far, and I know you have a lot of ideas on who the killer could be... So! Do you have any idea on who the killer is? Please state your thoughts in the reviews and feel free to vote in my new poll!

The next chapter will be on our investigation... I hope you will like it! Thanks for reading so far! You guys are honestly the best!


	10. Chapter 1 - Part 2, Part A

Hello, and welcome to Chapter 1's official investigation! Sadly, we have lost a poor friend in the last chapter and now Minori and his gang are working together (hopefully) to figure out who the murder is~ Alright, I honestly thought that people would've voted for the victim in this case in the polls and/or reviews since he is genuinely one of the more sugary ones of the cast. I'm surprised to see that people would've thought that either Asami or Seiga would die, but that's obvious as well since they are the quote-on-quote 'leaders' of the group and they are the optimistic ones... Interesting to see your comments about the case though! Very interesting indeed.

Anyways, the victim was one of my favorites to write in all honesty! I love how I was able to exaggerate his words because of how sugary and energetic he was, but unfortunately this is a killing game. This is Danganronpa. Danganronpa wants to see us suffer!

 **PoisonBanana:** "Don't worry. All you need is more of Haruko's free time events to better warm up to him! I always love your input on things, so your thought as who the killer is strikes me as interesting... Let's see..."

 **Writer's Block Abundance:** "Oh no! Well, Danganronpa loves false hope. Gives that sense of despair XD Anyways, yeah, it's sad to see him go! I'm glad you like all of the characters, and writing the murder was painful for even me!"

 **irwegwert:** "It's fine. Everyone will always have opinions on a character no matter what happens to them. Let's hope he gets a lot of chocolatey goodness in heaven! Hm, interesting to see your input. I love your thoughts on this. I'm glad you thought the chapter was suspenseful! I was trying to write it as such ^^"

 **AmaryllisGreen:** "He'll always be in our hearts. Ooh, interesting how you guess on who the victim was! Don't worry, that's why Danganronpa makes us go through the investigation phase! That'll be scary, just tripping over a dead body, eep. False hope is Monokuma's favorite! Thanks for your input!"

 **liammarklh88:** "I'm glad the chapter was suspenseful! Remember that Ko will always be smiling down upon us! Aw, don't worry, you just have to believe. Yeah, I planned an outline and I hope it'll help me better flesh out a lot of these characters. Aww, Seiga's plan went to waste! Thanks, and don't worry about me!"

 **Agrael:** "Our beautiful chocolatier! I'm glad you loved him a lot, it's more despair-inducing that way! Hm, nice inputs. I wonder what happened...? Thank you so much, and thank you for reading!"

 **ToonGuy:** "Nice to see your reactions as you keep reading on! I love how well you are able to show your reactions through text! Sweet relationships are the best. I love your input on the whole 'restocking' scene. Haha, yeah, continue to doubt they've done it since we are in Danganronpa, unfortunately. We love suffering. Don't worry, investigations are used to make us look at the crime, after all!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Yeah, flow will always prevail! Aw, it's nice to have you look out for me, but I'm fine now! Yes, Danganronpa requires our characters to suffer. There is no easy way around that. Don't worry, I'm sure the investigation will shed some light to this!"

 **zephryr:** "Interesting to see your thoughts, especially with who are your prime suspects and who have been crossed from the list! I'm sure you may or may not change your thoughts during this chapter, but it's interesting to see your prior thoughts! Yes, I am noticing Kaniza is a prime suspect so far from the reviews..."

 **DryBonesKing:** "Haha, I honestly thought he'd be one of the main guys people would've guessed to be the first victim, but I was wrong too! I'm glad you got shocked though, that shock factor is very much needed in a Danganronpa story. Yes, I'm glad the last chapter was intense! I was able to write the last chapter perfectly down, woo! Yes, Kamui does have a leadership role as well, mhm. Your theories are very interesting to see. Nice to see your thoughts! "

* * *

Minori couldn't even fathom how long he had been crying until he heard numerous footsteps run into the room. He had been crying for what seemed to be hours that he hadn't realized that everyone had gathered into the room.

"Hey! What's this about a dead body?" Kakuma's voice was echoing into the air. A scrunched look of shock was on his face as he then turned to the crime scene. His mouth was agape, and his face paled. He couldn't do anything but let out a quiet, "...oh."

"O-oh my god..." Rin put a hand to her mouth, her body trembling.

Nezumi jumped, his body turning entirely white. He was jumping from place to place, unable to do anything but shriek as tears fell from his eyes. "Oh my god! W-what?! Dead?! Oh my god, he's dead!" The thief was left running from the crime scene.

"Hey, Nezumi!" Kaniza's eyes widened as she chased after the thief.

"L-let's all calm down..." Sagiso tried to raise her voice, but it only came as a forced reassurance. In fact, her legs were shaking. Her entire body was trembling.

Seiga forced a laugh. "C-come on guys, maybe it's just a prop. It's just some weird doll that looks like him!" The stunt double walked slowly to Haruko's body, then turning to the group. "Look, he's fake!" Seiga then placed a hand onto the chocolatier's forehead. It was cold. He then slowly moved a hand towards Haruko's red circular eyelids. Opening one, he then noticed the horrendous look of pain on the Ultimate's face. Seiga yelped, eyes then widened as he suddenly jumped back. "Shit! What the shit?! He's fucking real!"

"By Amun-Ra's light!" Sheina could not believe what she was seeing. "Monokuma has definitely taunted the Son of Osiris now!"

"Bitch, no I haven't!"

It happened all too suddenly. That high-pitched voice. That black-and-white bear. The headmaster named Monokuma had appeared from beneath the ground, right out of nowhere in the center of the room. "Yo!"

Asami's eyes widened. "M-Monokuma?!"

Amyto shrieked. "Kyaaaaaahhh!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just that sexy." Monokuma ignored the screams of the Ultimates, instead putting a paw over his mouth. He was giggling, amused at what he was seeing. "Anyways, I'm so relieved you guys managed to kill before time was up! Sheesh, you really got me worried there for a moment with all your 'friendship is magic' bullshit. You guys aren't really helping me when you loiter around with your 'buddies' and whatnot."

"You..." Ryoichi clenched his fists, unable to counter the bear. His face was riddled with anger and tears.

Kamui put his hands together. "May your body and soul rest in peace, Ko." He then looked at the headmaster and raised his hand. "What are you planning to do to us now that someone has died?"

Monokuma smiled. "I'm glad you asked! Since your favorite chocolatey goodness has died, a class trial has to commence! However, you guys are just mere stupid high schoolers who don't know a damn thing about solving murders... So!" The bear pointed his paw up, almost as if to exaggerate himself as a joking, uncaring mascot. "You guys will have to examine the body and discover whodunnit."

Minori could not believe was he was hearing. He should've known Monokuma's intentions. He should've known what the headmaster was planning, yet he was left paling at the thought. Class trial, investigation- everything just sounded foreign to him.

"W-we're really gonna investigate the body and do a trial...?" Amyto's voice was shaking.

"Yeah, class trials are mandatory! Didn't you guys read the rules? We have to do a trial! It's all part of the killing game!" Monokuma laughed again to himself. He did not seem to read the mood. That mood of despair and wretched sadness were mere beauty to him. He did not read the mood purposefully because despair was the essence to his growth. "Figure out who the blackened is and punish them! That is the point of the class trial!"

Ryoichi rubbed his eyes. "Someone...someone actually murdered Mr. Yoshikawa? B-but why?"

"Duh, because it's a killing game! Get with the program already!"

The mortician cleared his throat, eyeing Monokuma as calmly as possible. "Might I ask," he began, polite as he usually is towards everyone. It's a surprise that his politeness would escalate to an insane headmaster as well. "After this investigation and trial are over, might I perform a funeral for Ko? I want his body and soul to rest as peacefully as possible despite the tragedy fallen below him."

"Why are you so calm about this?" Sheina asked, eyeing the mortician in bewilderment.

"We must act upon Ko's sake and leave his body as untainted as possible." Kamui smiled sadly as he looked at Haruko's dead body. He then looked back at the headmaster. "May I perform a funeral after this case is over?"

Monokuma thought for a moment, a paw to his imaginary chin. "Hm, lemme paws for a moment and think..." He then chuckled before his voice deadpanned. "No."

Kamui's eyes widened, his voice falling into shock. "What? And why not?"

The headmaster frowned, now throwing his paws out while his face turned red. "I don't give a damn about funerals and whatnot! Nobody would hold a funeral if I died, right? Why should I care about one measly child when hundreds- no, thousands of people in the world die every second? I don't give a damn, and neither should you! Don't waste your time holding a funeral!"

The mortician was silent. He was silent for a moment, but his voice immediately became growly as his eyes stared straight into the headmaster's. His hands clenched into fists and he suddenly began to scream. "Then can I ask what you are going to do with the body? Are you simply going to get rid of it? Every life is precious no matter the selfish excuses you may have! For someone who worships a 'killing game', you simply have no respect for the dead, do you? May your soul forever rot in hell, you wretched bastard!"

"Holy shit!" Monokuma took a step back. "For someone who acts so quiet, you really have no boundaries at times, do you?" A giggle escaped the bear's mouth. "Puhuhuhu, well, I don't want to keep you guys standing here any longer, so toodles!"

And just as Monokuma appeared inside of the infirmary, he disappeared the same way as well.

* * *

 **Investigation Start!**

* * *

"Tsk, disgusting bastard." Kamui cursed underneath his breath, his face red. A few seconds passed before he calmed himself down, now eyeing Asami. "What should we do now?"

Asami bit into her lips. "Well, investigate the body, right?"

"I guess..." Amyto bit into her lips. "Wait, but-"

Just as questions were about be heard, there was a dinging sound echoing throughout the infirmary. A dingng sound that came from each person, each Ultimate aside from Haruko.

 _It's from the MonoPad._ Minori thought to himself as he wiped his tears, forcing himself to his feet as he took out his pad. He swiped onto the screen, noticing that the folder that was previously titled 'Zero GB' was now available to open, now strangely called 'Truth Bullets'. The pseudologist tapped onto the folder, now finding himself eyeing a sub-folder that said 'Case File 01'.

 _Case File..._ Minori shortly looked at Haruko. He bit into his lips, hesitant. His heart was racing, but he stopped. _No, don't cry. Don't cry. Okay..._ _Okay, let's do it. For Ko's sake._ Still, his finger tapped onto the sub-folder.

The MonoPad's screen blacked out, and for a moment nothing seemed to happen. However, instantly did the screen began to flash, now covered with text and pictures about Haruko's body. It was a summary of the crime scene. A summary of how the man had died. Minori read the file carefully, swiping through the pictures of the chocolatier's dead body and crime scene as he read the text.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #001 - Case File 01**

 **Summary: The victim to be found was Haruko Yoshikawa. His body was discovered in the infirmary. The estimated time of dead was around 4:50 PM, halfway into the day. Haruko's death was caused by Type B Poison, however he had been drugged heavily with sleeping powder and a pill hours before his initial time of death. The mixture of these medicine caused Haruko to be drowsy throughout the day. There are no traces of outer injuries other than a bump to the head.**

* * *

Minori bit into his lips. Haruko had been poisoned. He had been poisoned by Type B Poison. The Ultimate had been poisoned with the title of Type B Poison, the one Minori had cautiously looked at. He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe that someone could poison him. He just couldn't believe it.

"Sleeping powder..." Minori thought for a moment. The infirmary held all sorts of drugs, he recalled that. From poison to medicine to especially sleeping medicine- yes, the infirmary held everything. The pseudologist frowned. _But then how would the sleeping powder get into his system? The powder needed to be mixed in with liquid._

The white-haired man cupped his chin, using his other hand to wipe his tears. _Kaniza was the one who brought the sick their food._

He eyed the open door for a moment, remembering that Kaniza had chased Nezumi. He sighed. He would have to talk to her later. He then looked at Haruko's body. He noticed Amyto who was shaking, unable to move any closer to the corpse. Fumio was shaking as well as the rest. "U-um," the hypnotist began, trying to gain everyone's attention. "Ko's body..."

"We need to check if what is said in the file is true." Asami bit into her lips, eyeing the other Ultimate. "I understand. Is there anyone who could...well, take a look at Sir Ko's body?"

Saori let out a small sigh, though her sigh only seem to come forth because of her worry. "I guess I'll do it."

Asami's eyes widened. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to pressure you or anything!"

"I'm fine." The body broker walked over to the chocolatier's body, moving down to her knees as she began examining his body. She checked his pulse for a moment, wanting that slimmer of hope, but no, nothing. She frowned as she felt Haruko's head, then moving down to check his symptoms. From the red eyelids to the bump on his head to checking the label on the bottle on the ground, she had checked everything. Unfortunately, she nodded her head. "Monokuma is telling us the truth. He died the same way as said in the case file."

"Oh my god, that's horrible!" The hypnotist shook her head. "I can't believe someone would actually kill him..."

Kamui coughed. "All we could do now is solve this murder and figure out the truth behind this case for not only our sake, but for Ko's as well." He eyed the corpse with a sad stare before looking back at the group. "Kakuma, Fumio, Fuwari. I'm sure you three will need the details on what happened beforehand."

"Exactly." The wedding planner was disgusted upon even eyeing the body. "I need you to explain everything."

"I still can't believe this happened." Fuwari shook her head sadly. "It feels like an instant has passed since I fainted. To think a murder would actually occur is incomprehensible."

Kamui sighed. "Sadly."

"I'll watch over the body," the hypnotist said, raising her hand. "It won't do any good if someone comes in and changes the scene, right? Besides," the Ultimate stopped, smiling sadly, "I don't think I'll be of too much help."

Seiga frowned, demused by her words. He scooted over to the side and cracked his knuckles as loudly as possible. "Appreciate the offer, but don't be so negative! I'll help you watch over then! Let's be watch buddies."

Amyto was completely off-guard. "H-huh? Um! Alright!"

Minori watched silently as he eyed the roles of the Ultimates. Kamui in the meantime was busy explaining to Kakuma, Fumio, and Fuwari what had happened before the murder occured. Amyto and Seiga were watching over Haruko's body, guardians at will. Some of the others were still inside of the infirmary, examining for any clues. Most have left, however, leaving only the following inside of the room- Kamui, Fuwari, Fumio, Kakuma, Seiga, Amyto, Saori, and Rin.

The pseudologist decided to move over towards Haruko's body, noticing Amyto and Seiga who eyed him. "Yo!" The stunt double said, his greeting usually energetic as always. However, the white-haired man noticed the subtle tone of worry behind it. "You're gonna inspect the body?"

Minori nodded his head. "Just for extra precaution."

"I see." Seiga watched him now in silence.

 _Hm..._ Minori first took a look at Haruko's head. There was a bump in the back. It wasn't too big, but considering how Haruko had his hair kept it was fairly visible to see. It looked recent, almost as if it had happened right during the murder. The bump was red and swollen, almost purple and blue to an extent.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #002 - Bump on Head**

 **Summary: Haruko has a bump on the back of his head. It seemed to have been a recent wound, recent to the extent of having happened during his time of death. The bump was swollen.**

* * *

Minori then took a look at his face. The first thing that came to mind was to examine the circular red rings around Haruko's eyelids. They were a sickly color of red, the color which represented sickness and pain. Minori couldn't even imagine how such a color came to form on the chocolatier's face. He then slowly moved a hand to Haruko's eyelids, and within a moment of mental preparation did he open those eyes.

He instantly regretted it. "Aah!"

Minori fell to the ground, shocking Amyto and Seiga who quickly moved to the side. "Are you alright?" Amyto asked, worried as she looked down to him.

The pseudologist nodded, deciding best to not explain the situation. "Yeah, I'm fine." He took another look at Haruko, then quickly closing his eyelids. His heart had been pounding. _Oh my god..._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #003 - Circular Rings**

 **Summary: There are red circular rings that have formed around Haruko's eyelids.**

* * *

 **Truth Buller #004 - Enlarged Eyes**

 **Summary: Haruko's pupils have enlarged.**

* * *

The pseudologist looked down to the chocolatier's lips. The man had been drooling, traces of saliva even sticking to his overly large shirt. However, it looked like within the saliva and drool were traces of a strange red liquid.

Minori frowned. _Is this red liquid...?_

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #005 - Lips**

 **Summary: There is drool in the corner of the chocolatier's lips, however traces of red liquid is to be seen within the drool.**

* * *

Minori examined the body for a few more moments, however those symptoms seemed to be the only thing that was eyecatching to the man. The pseudologist sighed, taking a look at Haruko's face for another moment. He prayed silently that the chocolatier would find peace in the afterlife before standing up. He thought for a moment, deep in pondering. _Hm, alright, let's check the bottle now._

Minori looked down at the opened bottle that was to the side of Haruko, some contents of the red liquid having been spilled. Minori frowned. Type B Poison. It was the bottle that had been used to kill Haruko. The symptoms that had happened to Haruko should match with what is said on the label.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #006 - Type B Poison**

 **Summary: This red liquid is poison and has been used to kill Haruko. Taking even a teaspoon of this poison would kill a person under five minutes. The symptoms are the following- enlargement of pupils, excessive drooling, increase of heart rate, and redness of the face.**

* * *

Other than the contents spilled on the ground and the bottle, there was nothing else of interest. Minori had successfully examined Haruko's dead body and cause of death. He then thought for a moment. _Alright, what to do next..._ He then realized that the suspects are everyone inside of the school. Other than Monokuma, everyone was a suspect. Monokuma is forbidden to kill unless rules were broken accordingly, and Minori doubted that the bear would hold a trial if he had killed someone himself. So, he could rule him out.

 _I need to find alibis and narrow down the list of suspects._

Minori turned to Amyto and Seiga first, them having been the closest to him. "Ko died as we were travelling down the tunnel, right?"

"Mhm." Amyto nodded. "It was halfway into the day."

 _Halfway?_ Minori's eyes widened. "When Monokuma announced that he'd shut off the lights, he meant that 'halfway until the time expired' meant halfway from our school's schedule of morning to nighttime?"

The hypnotist nodded. "Yeah, I thought he'd shut off the lights when we were gonna go to the infirmary earlier since it was already around twelve by then, but since it didn't happen I thought he meant that halftime meant from the morning announcement to the nighttime one."

The stunt double let out a gasp. "Oooh, that's what happened! I was confused about that. I just thought Monokuma wanted to mess with our sense of time, but yeah, that makes sense!" Seiga bobbed his head up and down, smirking. "That's clever of a villain. He made it vague at the morning announcement to make us worry more."

"He really did make it sound a bit vague." Minori frowned at the thought. He hated how Monokuma was toying with them, especially considering how Monokuma hadn't told them about any sirens blaring at all.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #007 - Sense of Time**

 **Summary: Monokuma has said from the morning announcement that the lights would be shut down about halfway through the day. However, he didn't specifiy on what 'halfway' meant. It is safe to say that by what Monokuma meant by 'halfway' meant that the time span was from the morning announcement to nighttime. That would mean that the lights would be shut off around three.**

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #008 - Sirens**

 **Summary: Added to the lights being shut off throughout the day, sirens would also be sounded off as well. This would lead to mostly everything being cancelled out due to the noise of the sirens blaring.**

* * *

"Can I also ask a few more questions?"

The stunt double laughed. "Bro, you don't need to ask!"

Minori blushed. "A-ah, yeah, right." He cleared his throat. "So, I'm trying to narrow down the list of suspects. I mean, personally, I do not want to suspect anyone, but with this case... I think I have to. I want to make sure that we can rely on each other for alibis."

Amyto nodded her head, understanding. "Oh, I see! You want us to recall what happened when we were down the tunnel, right? Hm, who was with us down there... That would make me, Seiga, you, Kaniza, Kamui, Sagiso, and Rin."

"Fuwari, Ko, Fumio, and Kakuma were still in their rooms, sick." Minori cupped his chin. "That leaves the ones without alibis- Asami, Nezumi, Saori, Ryoichi, and Sheina."

"Hmm." Seiga frowned. "Yeah, I think you got everyone down. So, the people without alibis are the most suspicious since we don't know shit where they were and what happened!"

"Yeah, I think you should ask them about it." Amyto looked at Minori with the scratch of the head. "I can't move anywhere since I'm watching over Ko..."

The pseudologist nodded. "Alright, but I need to make sure- nobody left when I fell unconscious right?"

"Since it happened so instantly and ended so instantly, no." Amyto shook her head. "The lights were on as well, so we'd know instantly if someone was absent."

"Mhm." The pseudologist thought to himself. "Thanks."

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #009 - Alibis (Tunnel)**

 **Summary: The people who can check each other for alibis during their trip down from the lab room are Minori, Seiga, Kamui, Amyto, Kaniza, Sagiso, and Rin. They were all inside of the tunnel when the lights were turned on as well.**

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #010 - Lack of Alibis (Lost)**

 **Summary: The people who were lost during the trip down from the lab room are Asami, Nezumi, Saori, Ryoichi, and Sheina.**

* * *

Minori sighed. There would be a lot of suspecting to do, and a lot of interrogation. Honestly, he couldn't stand interrogating and suspecting others. He wasn't fit for such a role. He could only hope people such as Saori and Kamui were doing a better job than he was. He knew they were much more smarter than he could ever be, at least in the case of trial and error.

He checked Kamui. Apparently the mortician had been done with explaining to the sick, the Ultimate having already left the room. Minori noticed that there were few of the sick left, only Kakuma and Fumio to be seen. Minori frowned inwardly. He didn't want to talk to Kakuma at all, but he figured he should set his feelings aside and walk towards them.

"Let me guess, you're here to interrogate us."

Minori instantly jumped at Kakuma's statement. "Um, sorry?"

Kakuma sighed. "Don't be, it's good to be wary of others, after all. You do need to act the part of a person who always doubts others after all. You're a liar." He crossed his arms and eyed the white-haired man. "So, did you want to ask about the time we woke up? What we were doing during our time of illness?"

Minori could not believe that the wedding planner knew everything already. The Ultimate could only nod his head in silent bewilderment.

"Well, for me, I was mainly out of it. I couldn't even remember what Kaniza told me when she was bringing in my food." The wedding planner thought for a moment, frowning. "Hm, I only remember that I ate a little, however afterwards I rested throughout the entire day. I only woke up a few seconds later before you people told me that 'this killing game is over' and whatnot."

Minori bit into his lips. He almost wanted to apologize to the wedding planner for the false hope, but kept silent and eyed Fumio for his alibi.

Fumio had already wrote into his notepad, having scribbled down his thoughts as Kakuma spoke. "It was the same with me. I remember only bits of my day. I couldn't hear much on what Kaniza said while she was bringing in my food and medicine. I only woke up a few moments before I saw you guys again, like Kakuma said."

"So it's the same for you two." Minori took a mental note inside of his head. He'd have to talk to Fuwari later. "Do you know what type of medicine she gave you?"

"Not poison, that's for sure." Kakuma retorted with a scoff. "I don't really remember, but all I know was that it was a pill. I took it with some water..." The wedding planner then stopped, an eyebrow raised. "Hold on."

Minori's eyes widened. "What?"

"I think the glasses were labeled with our names. When I was taking the pill I realized that the cup of water had my name on it." Kakuma frowned. "That's suspicious."

"Oh, that's right." Fumio nodded. "My cup also had my name on it."

"Really? That's strange." Minori couldn't help but worry. He knew Kaniza should have her reasons, but he couldn't help but worry nonetheless. "Alright, I'll ask her about it. Thank you."

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #011 - Charity to the Sick (NOT CONFIRMED)**

 **Summry: Kaniza had given the sick their meals and medicine. She had provided them a cup of water, their pills, and their meals. However, it is said that the sicks' cups have been labeled with their names.**

* * *

Minori sighed. Kaniza was now the more likely suspect to Haruko's case. She was the one who tended to the sick, after all. However, despite her being the most suspicious in the group, Minori was still doubtful. He decided to move over to where Rin and Saori were. They were looking through the shelves, eyeing the bottles of poison and medicine accordingly. _Well, it makes sense for them to investigate all of the bottles. Someone could've hidden something in one._

The pseudologist strided over towards them. "Hello," he began, trying to not break their focus too much. "I'm currently asking everyone for their alibis and I wanted to ask you two about your's. I also want to ask if you have found anything eyecatching, if you don't mind."

The body broker turned to eye the man. She nodded. "I understand." She cleared her throat and crossed her arms, now pondering. "You want to know if I have an alibi during the time we were down in the tunnel since I wasn't with you guys." She sighed. "Unfortunately, I do not think I could provide an airtight alibi. I had simply gotten lost because of how dark it was. I could hear Ryoichi's voice from a distance, but I couldn't pinpoint where he was since it was dark. I'm sure I heard his voice at least. So... When the lights turned on however I quickly made my way back up the stairs and found the others who had gotten lost. We didn't know what to do since the lights turned on so suddenly."

"So, everyone was present when you walked back up to the lab room?"

Saori nodded. "Yes, I made sure of it. Considering that you and the rest have came afterwards, I can conclude that no one was left unnoticed."

Minori acknowledged the body broker's words. _Alright, that's good to note. I think I should also note down the order of who got lost. Saori should be much further into the tunnel, and considering how it went earlier Ryoichi must be behind her. So, it would be Saori, Ryoichi, and then the others... Asami and Sheina should be at the back though, so Nezumi would be placed right after Ryoichi. I have to know if it was Sheina or Asami who went last though._

The jeweler looked at Minori, a tired yawn escaping her lips. She rubbed her eyes. "I would say the estimated time between when the lights shut off to when they turned on would be enough for a quick murder. However, I'm a bit confused about how the culprit would move in the dark."

"There are no candles or flashlights, so I doubt they'd move so easily." Minori frowned. "Besides, if it was that dark beforehand, I would think someone would've noticed a bright light if so."

"A source of light, huh?" Rin hummed to herself, almost as if she was daydreaming. However, that thought stopped as she opened her mouth. "Ah. Do you think there are supplies in the MonoLottery room that can prove as a source of light?"

Minori cupped his chin. "Hm, there should. I'll probably check it out later."

Saori was still wary, frowning. She was shaking her head in doubt. "I doubt flashlights or candles of the sort were used. I'd think you'd have to carry with you during the trip. We'd notice if someone was holding an object."

The pseudologist nodded. "Well, I'll check the MonoLottery room anyways, just in case."

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #012 - Saori's Alibi**

 **Summary: Saori said that she had met with the people who had been lost after the lights turned on. She also said she heard Ryoichi's voice faintly while she was lost.**

* * *

Minori decided to take a look at the shelves himself, eyeing the array of medicine and poisonous bottles. He noticed a particular batch of capsules however, grabbing ahold of the item as he noticed there were traces of use compared to the other batches. He took a look at the contents, realizing they were white pills labeled 'Flu Remedy'.

Minori thought for a moment, pondering. Pills- they were the form of medicine used to treat the sick. Fumio and Kakuma agreed that pills were used as their source of medicine, and with four pills missing from the batch he concluded that Kaniza had picked the batch particulary for them. Still, he had to ask her. _Why this particular batch? Does she even know anything about medicine? She probably took a wild guess..._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #013 - Flu Remedy**

 **Summary: These were the pills used to treat the sick. Kaniza had most likely picked them as there are four pills missing from the batch.**

* * *

Minori observed the shelves for another few minutes before deciding there were nothing else of interest. He closed the shelves as Rin and Saori had finished, now inspecting the room itself. The pseudologist frowned as he eyed his MonoPad, looking through his truth bullets. _These aren't enough to give me a better picture of the scene. I need to ask the others for their motives and look for more clues._

Minori's thought circled. _Ah, right. I should check the MonoLottery room first._

The pseudologist made his way outside of the infirmary room, now heading straight into the MonoLottery! room. He walked inside, finding the carnival music still playing. Creepy, he could only call the atmosphere of this entire room as creepily joyous. Although he hadn't thought of such beforehand, as someone had just died, he couldn't help himself.

 _This room is a mess though. I wonder if I could search every corner of this room in time._ Minori sighed, now taking a look at the room as a whole. He didn't want to waste too much time, only eyeing each corner and scanning each object at least for two seconds. He didn't find anything but mere children's toys. There were magazines, board games, and tool kits- but strangely enough, he has yet to find a source of light. Sure, he spotted a broken lightbulb, but considering the lack of bulbs used throughout the setting he didn't bother to inspect it more.

He frowned. _There's really nothing? No candles or flashlights... Weird._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #014 - MonoLottery! Room**

 **Summary: From inspection, there seemed to be nothing that can be used as a source of light.**

* * *

 _I guess that was a waste of time._

Minori bit into his lips. Although it was a thought to be noted, he couldn't help but feel tired already. _Okay, what's next to check..._ His mind instantly rolled to the lab room. _Ah, there might be someone there too, after all. I better take another walk down the tunnel and see how easy it is to get lost too._

The pseudologist headed his way towards the lab room. Since it was closed, he had expected for the room to stay closed, however once he turned the knob it opened slightly easily. He was shocked, but decided that Monokuma kept it unlocked for 'investigation' purposes. Knowing the headmaster, Minori could assume such. He walked into the lab room and found a few people inside- Kamui, Ryoichi, and Fuwari.

"Hello, Minori," Kamui greeted, noticing Minori. "Are you here to check the tunnel as well?"

The pseudologist nodded, still a bit surprised from how the mortician acted against Monokuma. Honestly, he did not expect such an aggressive response from Kamui. The mortician was always so polite and quiet, Minori would've never guessed that the mortician was quite aggressive. "Y-yeah."

Fuwari hummed her curiosity. "So, this was what's hidden inside of the lab room. How interesting. I wonder if there are any dark entities inside of the tunnel for me to perform my seances."

 _Ah, right._ Minori turned to the spirit medium. "Fuwari, may I ask you a question? I need to hear your alibi."

Fuwari hummed in response, the pseudologist suggesting she was fine. Minori cleared his throat. "Alright. Can I ask what happened during the time you were ill? I need to confirm a few things that Kakuma and Fumio have told me. I need to see if what you said aligns with their's."

The spirit medium thought for a moment, almost as if she was wondering how to word herself. However, it didn't take long as she began to speak. "So, you do suspect me?"

"N-no, it's nothing like that!" Minori quickly shook his head. He didn't know why, but the aura surrounding Fuwari grew everlasting darker. "I just wanted to hear your alibi, that's all!"

"I see. My apologies. I do not mean to scare you in such a manner." Fuwari politely bowed her head to Minori, greatly regretful. "I must be much more tired than expected. I just cannot comprehand why someone would be manipulated to commit such an act towards our poor Ko."

"N-no, I understand you completely... You just woke up and then you get thrown into this right away." Minori sighed. "I understand."

"I see." Fuwari nodded. "During my time of illness, I remember Kaniza having brought me my food and medicine. Because I was in such a state, I couldn't remember much other than taking my pill and eating. I recall that my glass had been labeled with my name as well. I woke up later to see all of you talking about the killing game being over. I was dearly confused."

"Ah, I see." The pseudologist cupped his chin and took mental notes. "Your alibi aligns with Fumio and Kakuma's. Thank you."

The spirit medium smiled. "Of course. I appreciate it."

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #011 - Charity to the Sick (CONFIRMED)**

 **Summry: Kaniza had given the sick their meals and medicine. She had provided them a cup of water, their pills, and their meals. However, it is said that the sicks' cups have been labeled with their names.**

* * *

Since there were three people who had said the same thing, Minori would suggest that the same would be confirmed for Haruko's case. Of course, he couldn't ask him, as he was, well, dead. However, Minori knew he could look into the chocolatier's room later. So, he decided to wait and talk to Ryoichi.

"Hello, may I ask you for your alibi?" Minori asked as he eyed the man.

Ryoichi's eyes widened. "What? Do you suspect me?"

Minori noticed that the investigator was a bit shaky, his face a bit pale. It was obvious that the Ultimate was scared of the others. "I do not suspect you," the pseudologist said, trying his best to not intimidate the Ultimate. "I want to ask what happened while you were lost."

"During the tunnel..." Ryoichi frowned, now averting his gaze. "Mr. Watanabe, I unfortunately think that providing an alibi for me is impossible. I-I was lost! There are no aliens or people who can cover for me..."

Minori sighed. _He's really jumpy._ "Saori said that she might've heard your voice while you were lost."

"Oh, she did?" Ryoichi thought for a moment before his lips curved to a sudden confident smile. "Well, I do remember calling out for anyone while I was lost! I didn't think that anyone would hear me though... I mean, the sirens are louder than a UFO itself."

"I guess." _How is he so sure about that UFO part?_ _Still, that does confirm that Ryoichi was behind Saori, I guess. Since he did say that he was calling out for someone and that Saori did hear him, his alibi is probably secured._ Minori crossed his arms. "Do you know who was behind you, or who was last to enter the tunnel?"

"No." Ryoichi shook his head. "I didn't look behind since I couldn't even see anyways. Sorry about that. I mean, I did walk back up to the lab room after the lights turned on, however I believe that doesn't account much for anything. Sorry, Mr. Watanabe."

Minori nodded. "Alright."

 _Since it's most likely that Nezumi went in after Ryoichi, I should ask the thief if he heard Ryoichi's voice as well. There's a slight chance that Saori's covering up for Ryoichi and vice versa. And considering Saori was able to hear him, Nezumi should as well especially considering that our voices should echo inside of a closed space._

Minori walked over to Kamui. He didn't need to ask for his alibi, considering he was present with the pseudologist during the time down the tunnel. "Kamui," the white-haired man began as he eyed him. The mortician turned to face him. "Have you found anything here?"

Kamui frowned. "I was about to walk into the tunnel after I checked the room. I haven't found anything around here."

"I see." Minori bit into his lips. "Can I go with you?"

The mortician nodded. "Of course. I can't say no to someone who wants to solve this case anyways."

The pseudologist smiled a bit to himself as he walked down the flight of stairs, Kamui following him behind. They had started their way down the flight of stairs, noticing that the temperature was dropping slowly as they continued down. Although the tunnel seemed narrow at first, it began to widen as they reached the last few steps, now moving downwards. Having walked in while it was dark before, Minori instantly realized how wide and spacious the tunnel was. It would've been fairly easy to get lost if you couldn't make sense of directions, and especially if it was dark. Considering that the tunnel was wide as well as spacious and lacking in any decor, there were no telltale signs of where someone was if they were lost.

A few minutes had passed until Kamui and Minori finally reached the end, now looking upon the gigantic fan which was now permanently stopped. Minori had to admit that he was surprised that Seiga was able to turn off the fan, but he couldn't express his feelings at the moment. He had to investigate.

 _Alright, so it seems like it was fairly easy to get lost if you're bad at directions and if it's dark... Alright, that makes the people who have gotten lost more credible. I don't want a lot of people lying about being lost, after all._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #015 - Tunnel**

 **Summary: The flight of stairs were narrow, but as the tunnel goes on it starts to widen and is spacious. It should've been fairly easy to lose your way if you were either bad at directions or if it was dark.**

* * *

Minori decided to take a look at the shattered bottle from the ground, deciding that it may be best to piece things together as accurately as he could. He didn't want to touch the poison in fear of being poisoned somehow, but took a look at the labels, piecing each shattered glass with his eyes.

 _Hm... It seemed like Monkuma was using some special type of poison. The label is written in zeros and ones... Strange._

Minori did not mind the title of the poison however, now taking a careful look at the ingredients and warnings. He knew he shouldn't expect much, but his gut instinct was telling him otherwise. He read silently before his eyebrows furrowed. _Wait... Hmm.._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #016 -** **01110000... Poison**

 **Summary: This strange type of poison had been used as the motive of this case. Apparently from the warnings, the symptoms which would be caused from whiffing the poison are the following- an increase in temperature. Taking a whiff from the poison is strongly advised against, however it wouldn't kill someone. In worst cases, the poison would only cause a flu.**

* * *

 _This is strange... Hmm, but shouldn't the poison eventually kill us? Monokuma..._ Minori cupped his chin, pondering as he moved towards the fan's control panel. He was now eyeing the panel alngside Kamui, looking at the shattered 'On' button. Minori smirked inwardly, knowing it was Seiga's doing.

"I suppose we are safe in here since Seiga has destroyed the controls," the mortician inquired.

Minori nodded. "Yeah. I wonder if Monokuma will repair it though, considering he is able to somehow restock the bottles inside of the infirmary."

"Ah, right." Kamui bit into his lips and shook his head, slowly. "I would hope not."

The pseudologist agreed silently. "Hm, alright." Minori turned back, deciding that there was nothing else of importance. At least, nothing that was related to the murder. He waved to Kamui before heading back up the tunnel, walking up the stairs and back into the lab room where the others were.

 _Alright. I guess I should look for everyone else. Hm, I guess the rest are either at the dormitory or around there._

Minori began his way towards the dormitory where he found a few of the other students gathering around, some investigating inside of the chocolatier's room while others talking outside. He noticed a few people- Asami, Kaniza, and Nezumi.

He walked into Haruko's room where the three stood, the trio noticing him within seconds. The knight was the first to speak, waving her hand and smiling at the pseudologist. "Hello, Minori!"

Minori smiled back in return. "Hello." He then noticed Nezumi who was rubbing his eyes, seeming to have been in tears earlier. He could see Kaniza comforting him, rubbing him in the back as she eyed the pseudologist. Minori couldn't help but worry he came at a wrong time. He felt immediate sympathy for the thief. _Guess I'll investigate the room first then._

Minori eyed Haruko's room, noticing it was much more cheerful and sweet than his own. There were lights everywhere, the walls a chocolate light brown color and the ground covered in a candy-shaped carpet in the middle. He saw that Haruko's bed was messy and undone, the green blankets everywhere on the wrinkled bedsheets. He could see that the small desk next to the bed was a bit messy, the platter Kaniza had brought messy with bits of food to the side and water spilled.

 _Hm, I guess Ko ate his food though. He ate almost everything._ Minori eyed the platter closely. _It looked like he took his medicine too. I don't see the pill anywhere._

Minori then took a look at the cup of water. _Oh. The cup has Ko's name written on it._ The pseudologist looked to Kaniza's way, but quickly shook his head. He'd have to ask.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #017 - Haruko's Platter**

 **Summary: Haruko seemed to have eaten most of his food and drank his water. He had taken his pill as well and his name had been labeled.**

* * *

Minori sighed. He decided to first talk to Asami, wanting to not bother Kaniza and Nezumi as of yet. "Hello, Asami," he greeted with a small nod. "May I ask you a question regarding about your alibi?"

Asami smiled sweetly, saluting the pseudologist. "Of course! Please ask."

The pseudologist smiled back. "Alright. I want to know what happened when the lights had shut off when we were in the tunnel."

The knight crossed her arms, now thinking hard. "Alright, let me think for a moment." She tapped her foot. "When the lights shut out, everyone else had moved into the tunnel. I was the last person to enter inside after Sheina since I wanted to make sure all of you were fine, however I unfortunately ended up lost myself... Haha, well, when the lights turned on I made my way back to the lab room in order to regroup with the others."

"Mhm, I see." Minori nodded, making notes in his head. _So Asami was the last to enter._ "Your alibi aligns with the others'. Saori said that she met all of you guys in the lab room, after all."

Asami's smile widened. "Oh, really now? That's fortunate! Thank you for those kind words, Minori!"

Minori smiled.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #018 - Asami's Testimony**

 **Summary: Asami said that she was the last person to enter into the tunnel and is most likely the first to head back to the lab room after the lights had been turned back on.**

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #019 - Order of the Lost**

 **Summary: From to the lab room, the order of people who were lost were Asami, Sheina, Nezumi, Ryoichi, and Saori.**

* * *

Minori looked towards Kaniza and Nezumi, moving to their side. "Um, hey," he said, awkward as the duo eyed him. He didn't know how to start, especially considering how vulnerable Nezumi must've felt right now. Minori bit into his lips. "If it's alright with the two of you, may I ask you two for your alibis during the time we were in the lab room?"

"I-I didn't do it!" Nezumi cried, throwing his hands up. "K-Ko's body... I-I can't even stand to think about it." The thief rubbed his eyes for a moment before slowly looking up at Minori. "I-I'm fine, but I'm seriously not the culprit! I-I know I have a bad alibi since I got lost, but that doesn't mean anything!"

"O-of course." Minori couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. "I'm trying to make sure everyone else's alibis align with your's."

"O-oh..." Nezumi cupped his hands, fiddling with his fingers. "Um, so you want to know what happened during the time in the tunnel. I-I got lost after Ryoichi went inside, and since I was bothered by the sirens I ended up losing my way... I lost my sense of direction and I didn't want to make things worst, so I just stayed in one spot until the lights went back on... I-I mean, I did hear Ryoichi call out for anyone, b-but I wasn't sure if I should go look for him or not!"

Minori nodded. _Alright, that concludes the fact that Saori and Ryoichi aren't covering for each other._

The thief bit into his lips. "S-so after the lights turned back on, I heard footsteps going back up to the lab room so I followed the noise. I ended up gathering with Asami and the others, and so I waited for the rest of you guys inside the room."

"I see. Thank you." Minori could see the thief breathing a sigh of relief. Of course, the pseudologist did not want to stress the thief out by suspecting him, but in any given circumstances did he have to. The white-haired Ultimate scratched his head and eyed Kaniza. "May I ask you a few questions?"

Kaniza smiled. She was in no way offended by his remark. "Of course!"

"Alright." Minori nodded to himself. "I know that your alibi is solid since you were with me and the others during the tunnel, so you were present to see everything, right?"

Kaniza replied, "Yup! I was seriously praying to the stars for our safety!"

The pseudologist awkwardly laughed in response. "Haha, yeah." He crossed his arms, his hand slowly running against the flap of his scarf. "However, I want to ask you about the time before that. You were the one in charge of tending to the sick, so I wanted to ask you about the time you brought them their food and how you prepared it."

The astrophotographer tilted her head, almost confused by his question. She then stopped with a small nod. "I see. That's definitely something to note, huh?" She chuckled to herself. "I don't blame you. So..." She tapped her chin. "I just prepared the sick's meals with the extra dishes prepared in the kitchen with Kamui, Sagiso, and Asami. I set up the meals accordingly to what I feel like would work for each person, so Kamui suggested I should label the meals with their names. I didn't know how to label their meals, so I decided to label their cups instead. I mean, the stars wouldn't tell much about what each person specifically wanted to eat, but I thought it would be nice to try. Hahaha..."

Minori's brows furrowed. "So that was Kamui's suggestion?"

Kaniza bobbed her head. "Yup! He's smart, huh?"

"Yeah." The pseudologist cupped his chin.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #020 - Kaniza's Testimony**

 **Summary: Kaniza had wanted to prepare special meals for the sick, so Kamui suggested she should label them with the sick's names accordingly. She had prepared the meals alongside Kamui, Sagiso, and Asami.**

* * *

Minori averted his gaze. He looked at Haruko's plate before turning back to the astrophotographer. "When you brought over their meals, were some of them awake already? Might I ask if you tried waking them up?"

"I didn't want to bother them too much, but I did wake them up slightly to tell them." Kaniza giggled. "Honestly, Kakuma looked so adorable when he's sleeping. It's funny to think he's so stuck-up when he sleeps so adorably! Maybe he had been blessed by the stars!"

Minori did not want to talk about the wedding planner. Not at all. "So you did wake them up."

"Mhm." The Ultimate nodded. "I did felt bad about it, so I left the moment I showed them their meals and medicine."

"Ah, right." Minori stopped. "How did you choose their medicine?"

Kaniza's eyes widened. "Oh, I just checked their symptoms from what Saori told me and took the medicine which fitted best. I mean, there aren't any doctors here and I doubt Monokuma would tell me anything, so I took a guess."

Minori was silent. He wondered what would happen if Kaniza were to choose the wrong medicine. Although he was glad of her intentions, he couldn't help but worry what would happen if the wrong medicine was chosen. Especially if it was taken in a large dosage. _Still, her intentions are genuine. I don't think she's lying to me either. I would know- actually, wait, I don't want to tell myself that. Screw you, talent._

The pseudologist bowed his head politely. "Thank you for answering."

Kaniza winked. "No problem! You go save the world, Minnie!"

Minori awkwardly laughed, scratching his head and heading out. _Hm, where should I go next? I still have to find Sheina and Sagiso._ The pseudologist thought for a moment, pondering. He then walked down the area slowly before noticing the dining hall. He thought about Kaniza and the others for a second, then assuring himself and walking in.

There, he found Sheina who was looking around the area.

"Sheina." Minori walked over to the egyptologist, gaining her attention. "May I ask for your alibi?"

"Ah, fellow subject!" The egyptologist stood as mighty as ever, head held high. _Always the haughty one I swear._ Sheina grinned confidently, prideful of herself. "You dare to ask a question I see? Speak, subject, for my regal air will bless you accordingly!"

Minori inwardly slapped himself. "Alright, might I ask about what happened while the lights were out?"

"Heh! So you suspect me? Subject, you are far from coming close to the Son of Osiris!" Sheina laughed to herself, but then stopped. "Well, fellow subject, if you must know, I had travelled down the reigns of the cryptic tunnel after my subject Nezumi. Minutes has passed before I unfortunately ended up lost. I couldn't do anything till the lights turned on, and so I returned to meet Asami. The other subjects have followed suit! That is all I can tell you, subject. I must assure you that I am not suspect to anything!"

"Y-yeah, just making sure..." Minori sighed. He felt like his entire energy had been wasted. _Well, that does make me now a hundred percent sure about the order of the people being lost. It also tightens the grip on the alibis too._ The pseudologist nodded. "Thank you."

Minori didn't bother to listen to Sheina's 'subject' talk, now deciding to look around the room. There was nothing suspicious to be seen, Minori knowing that it was as clean and normal-looking as always. No dust. No disarranged chairs. Nothing out of place. The pseudologist moved close to the kitchen door before noticing the nearby trash can. _Hm, there can't be anything special in there._

Still, he can't be too sure. He opened the trash can, expecting to find nothing special until he noticed an opened packet down at the bottom. There were tissues inside, however at the bottom was that packet. That packet with the title 'Sleeping Powder'. _Oh shit, so this was the powder used to drug Ko..._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #021 - Sleeping Powder**

 **Summary: A opened, used packet of sleeping powder was found in the trash can inside of the dining hall. It was hidden within some tissues and seemed to have been completely used. The label says that if used, sleep would be take place in about half an hour, and the effects last for about half a day if taken in high dosage. However, one must make sure to not use more than a packet of powder, or else death may take place. The powder must be mixed in with liquid.**

* * *

 _So this was the one used to drug him... Who threw this here?_

Minori's stomach churned. To see the labels on the packet made him sick to his stomach. He just couldn't imagine Haruko's state before death. He shook his head, now heading into the kitchen. There, he found Sagiso who was looking through the boxes and fridge. She was checking each specific packet of food, each fruit, each snack, etc.

"Sagiso." Minori's voice escaped the room.

Sagiso looked over to him. A soft smile escaped her lips as she walked over to him. She loosened the scarf around his neck, using the time to adjust his clothes. "Are you fine?" She asked, motherly as she looked into his eyes. "You were crying so much earlier. Are you sure you're fine?"

"I-I'm fine." Minori's cheeks blushed furiously red. He didn't even bother to question why Sagiso was always so nosy. It was just in her nature. "Um, what're you doing here?"

The psychogeographer sighed. "Just investigating. I need to make sure I do Ko justice. I want to know how he died and who did it." The Ultimate huffed before wrapping the scarf around Minori. She then damped a handkerchief and rubbed it against Minori's eyes. A moment passed before she finished, her moving over to bring the towel to the round table. "There, you look better like that."

"T-thank you..." Minori averted his gaze. He was just not used to how kind people were. "So, uh, did you find anything useful here?"

Sagiso shook her head sadly. "Not really. I thought I might be able to find something here, but there is nothing." She then averted her gaze. "... Well..." She bit into her lips. "I did check the chocolates he made for us."

Minori's eyes widened. "Really?"

The psychogeographer nodded. "Yes, I think they're ready now."

"Ah." Minori smiled sadly. "I see. I better tell everyone else about it."

 _Ko's chocolates... They were made to make us feel happy, yet somehow...they make me want to cry._

The pseudologist wanted to speak more. He wanted to make this melancholic atmosphere shift. He wanted to leave and say at least something, however, he had been stopped. He was stopped abruptly by the bells ringing. The speakers ringing throughout the school, echoing and resounding as loudly as possible. The speakers sounded, and the voice was heard. That damn, accursed, high-pitched voice. That voice which belonged to him, the headmaster. Monokuma.

"Ahem! Alright, you bastards, investigation time's over! Please head to the auditorium for further instructions and be as quick as possible! I repeat, please head to the auditorium for further instructions!"

Minori suddenly felt his legs shaking. His entire body was shaking. The investigation was over, and now a trial had to commence. The pseudologist felt thousands of thoughts circling his head- _Who killed Ko? Who? Do we really have to do this? Why are we doing a trial? I'm not even good at trials, I'm not a lawyer. Hell, I can't even yell for my own sake. Can I do this? Can I really do something fit for a lawyer?_

However, he stopped. He took a deep breath. He had to do this. He just had to.

For Ko's sake.

 _Alright, the auditorium, right? Time to go._

Minori took a deep breath, and moved forward.

* * *

"So we're actually here in the auditorium..." Amyto laughed nervously, sweat trickling down from her forehead. She was anxious, eyes darting from place to place. "So, we really have to do this, huh..."

The stunt double frowned, cracking his fists loudly as possible. It was as loud as his booming voice. "Hey, keep your chins up! Monokuma's just messing with us! Shit ain't gonna happen! We're gonna do justice for Ko, after all! So don't be nervous!"

Kakuma scoffed. "So? Where is Monokuma?"

"No idea." Fuwari cupped her chin, thinking to herself. "Strange, he's not here."

Asami stood tall, confident. She was determined to keep her cool, eyes looking from place to place. "Be careful everyone. He might appear out of nowhere like he usually does."

"That's scary." Fumio scribbled into his notepad. Although it made him sound monotone, his expression told everyone otherwise. He was fidgeting in place.

"Where is he?" Rin asked, humming to herself.

Before anyone else could ask, the ground began to rumble. Everyone lost their balance, yelps and screams resounding. It took a few long seconds before something began to shift.

The pedestal from the stage began to disappear, falling into an imaginary hole into the abyss. The grumbling sound was echoing, and as soon as the pedestal disappeared did the ground began to still, silent. A few seconds passed before a _ding!_ sound was heard, suddenly an elevator moving from the ground up. A beautiful room, the elevator doors being patterned with a velvet coat and plaid diamonds, the room colored a shining brown from the outside. There was the pattern of Monokuma's head on the top of the ceiling, the elevator then slowly opening to reveal the inside. The inside which was empty, yet as fancy as the outside.

"Shit, that's some scary shit." Seiga laughed awkwardly, scratching his head. "What the hell is this setup?"

"Ahem! Hello, hello! Monokuma speaking!" Inside of the auditorium came the headmaster's voice. Although he was nowhere to be seen, his voice was heard loud and clearly. "Please enter into the elevator so we can start! Refusal to participate in the trial will result in punishment, after all! Choose wisely whether or not you reaaaaally want to object going inside. Anyways, that's all! See you down the trial grounds!"

Silence.

"A-are we really going in there?" The thief asked, cupping his hands. "What if it's not safe? I-I don't want to go in there!"

"It's better to listen to the headmaster. I'm pretty sure this 'punishment' he's talking about will result in your death." Kakuma scoffed. He walked passed the Ultimates and headed into the elevator.

Fuwari hummed in acknowledgment, nodding and walking ahead as well. "Agreed."

"H-hey!" Nezumi's eyes widened. He could see the others heading inside, and so was prompted to follow despite his fear. That sense of mob mentality had overwhelmed him completely. "W-wait up!"

"Minori, are you ready?" Asami looked at the pseudologist, confidently smiling. "We're going to figure out the truth behind this case."

Minori hesitated for a moment, but nodded. "Yeah."

"Haha!" Seiga laughed boisterously. "Let's do this!"

Ryoichi took a deep breath. He took more than just one deep breath though, closing his eyes. He then nodded to himself and walked. "I'm going in."

Minori watched as the rest walk into the elevator, him following after with each heavy step being taken. He walked into the elevator, and in an instant did the doors close. The elevator ringed, and within seconds was the group heading down. Down into the abyss, in complete silence.

"..."

Yes, it was completely silent. Everyone was now silent, tense. Their hearts were beating, breaths touching each other. The air was dense, movements shallow and rigid. No one bothered to speak. Nobody bothered to even look at one another. No, it was completely tense.

All of the Ultimates were in deep thought. Emotions mixed. Emotions akin to nervousness, anxiety, fear... Everyone was tense. Everyone was worried.

 _Who did it? Who killed Haruko Yoshikawa? How did they kill him?_

Many questions surrounded the group in a synchronized manner. The elevator had descended them into their abyss of darkness, their trove of despair. Their heartbeats began to pound faster and faster until- _ding!_ \- the elevator came to a stop.

Finally, finally, the doors opened. The doors opened to reveal a dim-litted room. A room which was covered with forest green walls, the bottom lined smooth redwood ground and the ceiling being lit with a large, crystal chandelier. A room akin to a fancy trial ground. There was a tall chair which was coated in a velvet cloth, most likely fit for the overseer of the case. The overseer, the judge- the headmaster. Stands and pedestals were circled around one another, sixteen in total. Sixteen pedestals where each Ultimate would stand. Sixteen, the number of Ultimates who had first roamed the empty, horrendous school. Sixteen which now dropped to fifteen, and soon, fourteen.

Monokuma was now present at the front, his laughter echoing as he walked towards the group.

"Puhuhuhu! Welcome, students!"

Yes. This was where they were. The Reigning Academy of Ultimates.

Minori closed his eyes. _This is where we now stand._

* * *

And here is the end of the investigation! I hope you are now thinking hard about the culprit, as soon after this chapter will be the class trial itself! Who is the culprit? Please discuss your thoughts and your questions! Please also vote who you think the culprit is in my profile! Also, I want your input on how you want the class trial to go. Would you like it better in script or like this? I was thinking of having most of the trial run in a dialogue-based formula akin to Danganronpa's games, but I'm not entirely sure it is fine since I do worry about breaking any of the FanFiction rules. If you do want a dialogue-based script, I will possibly mix in this sort of format while switching to dialogue as well.

Anyways, I also want to promote my friend's Danganronpa SYOC story. Please go check out KiibouMon's Danganronpa story called The Skinner Box! It is a SYOC story, so please feel free to check it and send your submissions if you want!

Well, I will soon meet you on the battle front, so have fun for now! The trial will begin soon.


	11. Chapter 1 - Part 2, Part B

Hello, and welcome to the official class trial for our first case! Thank you all for your support and your suggestions, it means a whole lot to me! I am glad to see that all of you are thinking about the case and who the murderer could be. This will be a fun ride, I can assure you that! Also, please feel free to point out any mistakes or flaws in this chapter so I can fix them! This is my first time writing a class trial after all, so help is always appreciated! I'm always open for suggestions and criticism, after all.

 **ToonGuy:** "Glad to hear from you again! Anyways, yeah, Ko's death will not be in vain, as the trial is meant to bring light to what happened! And thank you for reviewing and commenting your thoughts! Haha, I'm glad Kakuma shines in that regard then ^^. You have very interesting theories, let us hope they are right (or not if you want)."

 **liammarklh88:** "I'm glad you liked it! I was hoping the investigation would be simple and exciting to read! Haha, don't worry, hope will always be around the corner for anyone. Nah, I wouldn't set Monokuma that low to Onision's standards. Onision is real, after all. I hope I will do your expectations justice then. Yes, I have heard of that. Unfortunately, being singled out happens a lot in life. You're a good writer as well, so keep it up with your story! Hope you have a great day!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "Nice to see your comments! Interesting to see your list of suspects. Very interesting indeed. And thank you for the suggestion, I definitely took it into consideration!"

 **zephryr:** "Haha, well, the investigation always sheds light to something. Interesting to see your comments about the truth bullets. It interests me to know your thoughts as each clue is being found. Let's see if your deductions are right!"

 **DryBonesKing:** "I'm happy that I am able to confuse so many people then, mwahaha! I'm glad that there's still a Danganronpa feel to this, heh. It's nice to see your thoughts on your prime suspects and how the murder could've worked. I'm interested to see your thoughts as the trial starts... I'm glad I'm doing your Kamui justice!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "I'm glad this case is proving to be difficult! I was hoping I wasn't being too cliched or straightforward with how the murder went! Yes, a lot of the people in this story should be realistic. I'm glad you're liking Kakuma and Kamui more though. Yes, Kamui does appreciate and respect the death, so Monokuma saying no did piss him off. Thank you for the kind words!"

 **irwegwert:** "Hello! Nice to hear from you (or you as a guest reviewer), even if you forgot some of your initial thoughts! I'm loving your thoughts and it makes me interested in seeing how you will respond to the trial itself! It is interesting to see your suspects and how you think the murder might've been planned out! And thank you for the suggestion! Yeah, FanFiction is really messed up these days, but don't worry! I believe in you..."

 **SoulfulGinger17:** "Wow, it is nice to hear from you! I always love your inputs and constructive criticism, they really do help me a lot whenever I write. I'm glad I posted the last chapter on your birthday, and have a really belated happy birthday from me then! You honestly made me sad when I read about Seiga's comparison to Kaito, because damn, I love Kaito so much. Interesting inputs, and interesting comments on the characters too! It's nice to see some disdain for some characters as it does make me sure I'm not writing the characters too 'ideally' in any case. Thanks for the wonderful review!"

* * *

Minori watched Monokuma as he laughed, walking over to the group with a sinister smile. "Upupupu! Welcome to the official trial grounds! How does it look? Does it get your heart racing? Your blood pumping?!"

"Really looks like a courtroom, huh?" Seiga awkwardly smiled. He was scratching his head and laughing, almost trying to force the situation to mediate itself. However, the tension was just overwhelming.

"This is sick," Kaniza said, biting into her lips. She couldn't even begin to look at the bear. "Is this really some sort of sick game to you?"

"You do wanna know who killed your damn classmate, right? Don't you wanna know who killed your classmate and berate them to death? Well, do you?" Monokuma stared at the astrophotographer. He threw his arms out. "Then shut it! Just stop whining about how 'sick' this shit is and get to it!"

The knight frowned. "May I ask why must you force us to do a class trial?"

Monokuma laughed. "Shit, I don't know, because that's how life works? I don't know what kinda answer will satisfy you guys." He scratched the back of his ear and began to walk back, then hopping to the overseer's chair. A martini appeared from the air and he held onto the glass, a royal presence surrounding him. "Criminals are always faced with this sort of trial shit. It's the same here. A guy gets murdered, and then a trial commences for us poor citizens to figure out 'whodunnit'. It's simple as that!"

Kamui observed the room for a moment before sighing, crossing his arms. "You said that the culprit will be punished, the supposed 'blackened'. What, if I might ask, would that 'punishment' be?"

Monokuma's smile began to widen. A creepy, creepy smile. "Upupupu, that's a surprise."

Minori couldn't help but shudder. The idea of a punishment was scary enough as it was, and with Monokuma laughing so excitably about it made his heart race. He couldn't even breathe unless he had commanded himself to do so.

"Now, now, students. Let's stop asking ridiculous questions and start this trial. I'm just dying for this to start." Monokuma sipped into his drink, however it was more like he had pretended to. Minori wasn't even sure if the martini was real or not. "Please situate yourselves around the pedestals and stand in front of where your nametags are."

Ryoichi fiddled with his fingers. "...Do we have to?"

The group hesitated, but were left with little to no choice as they began to move. They began to move around the courtroom and look for their nametags hidden inside of the pedestal. Minori was able to find his, silvery letters engraved into the rear of his position as he stood atop of the area. His hands touched the smooth wood of the pedestal as his heart continued to race. His hands were shaking as he took a few breaths.

 _This trial will either shed light on the truth, or end up miserably in the dark. It all depends on us to shed light to Ko's death and to figure out who killed him._

Minori's hands were sweaty, knees were heavy. He knew the pressure was overwhelming. He knew things could end up on both ends of the spectrum. Either the blackened will be punished, or everyone else. For what damn punishment Monokuma will lash out, Minori didn't know. However, just the word was enough to scare him.

It didn't take long until everyone had situated around one another. Minori was next to Kamui to the right, Rin to the left. In front of Minori across the courtroom was Kakuma who was silent, a disgusted expression on his face. The pseudologist was looking around the room, eyeing each of his classmates out of a desperation for comfort until the headmaster began to speak.

"Upupupu! Great, now that we're all settled, let's get a few things first!" Monokuma rubbed his paws together, excited. "Remember, this is a trial of life and death! It would be wise to check your information first and foremost."

The pseudologist's eyes widened. He held his breath and slowly took out his MonoPad. Monokuma did have a point, perhaps. _Damn, I'm freaking out._ _I should go over the evidence just in case. Calm yourself, Minori._

* * *

 **List of Truth Bullets**

 **Case File 01 -** The victim to be found was Haruko Yoshikawa. His body was discovered in the infirmary. The estimated time of dead was around 4:50 PM, halfway into the day. Haruko's death was caused by Type B Poison, however he had been drugged heavily with sleeping powder and a pill hours before his initial time of death. The mixture of these medicine caused Haruko to be drowsy throughout the day. There are no traces of outer injuries other than a bump to the head.

 **Bump on Head -** Haruko has a bump on the back of his head. It seemed to have been a recent wound, recent to the extent of having happened during his time of death. The bump was swollen.

 **Circular Rings -** There are red circular rings that have formed around Haruko's eyelids.

 **Enlarged Eyes** \- Haruko's pupils have enlarged.

 **Lips -** There is drool in the corner of the chocolatier's lips, however traces of red liquid is to be seen within the drool.

 **Type B Poison -** This red liquid is poison and has been used to kill Haruko. Taking even a teaspoon of this poison would kill a person under five minutes. The symptoms are the following- enlargement of pupils, excessive drooling, increase of heart rate, and redness of the face.

 **Sense of Time -** Monokuma has said from the morning announcement that the lights would be shut down about halfway through the day. However, he didn't specifiy on what 'halfway' meant. It is safe to say that by what Monokuma meant by 'halfway' meant that the time span was from the morning announcement to nighttime. That would mean that the lights would be shut off around three.

 **Sirens -** Added to the lights being shut off throughout the day, sirens would also be sounded off as well. This would lead to mostly everything being cancelled out due to the noise of the sirens blaring.

 **Alibis (Tunnel) -** The people who can check each other for alibis during their trip down from the lab room are Minori, Seiga, Kamui, Amyto, Kaniza, Sagiso, and Rin. They were all inside of the tunnel when the lights were turned on as well.

 **Lack of Alibis (Lost) -** The people who were lost during the trip down from the lab room are Asami, Nezumi, Saori, Ryoichi, and Sheina.

 **Charity to the Sick -** Kaniza had given the sick their meals and medicine. She had provided them a cup of water, their pills, and their meals. However, it is said that the sicks' cups have been labeled with their names.

 **Saori's Alibi -** Saori said that she had met with the people who had been lost after the lights turned on. She also said she heard Ryoichi's voice faintly while she was lost.

 **Flu Remedy -** These were the pills used to treat the sick. Kaniza had most likely picked them as there are four pills missing from the batch.

 **MonoLottery! Room -** From inspection, there seemed to be nothing that can be used as a source of light.

 **Tunnel -** The flight of stairs were narrow, but as the tunnel goes on it starts to widen and is spacious. It should've been fairly easy to lose your way if you were either bad at directions or if it was dark.

 **01110000... Poison -** This strange type of poison had been used as the motive of this case. Apparently from the warnings, the symptoms which would be caused from whiffing the poison are the following- an increase in temperature. Taking a whiff from the poison is strongly advised against, however it wouldn't kill someone. In worst cases, the poison would only cause a flu.

 **Haruko's Platter -** Haruko seemed to have eaten most of his food and drank his water. He had taken his pill as well and his name had been labeled.

 **Asami's Testimony -** Asami said that she was the last person to enter into the tunnel and is most likely the first to head back to the lab room after the lights had been turned back on.

 **Order of the Lost -** From to the lab room, the order of people who were lost were Asami, Sheina, Nezumi, Ryoichi, and Saori.

 **Kaniza's Testimony -** Kaniza had wanted to prepare special meals for the sick, so Kamui suggested she should label them with the sick's names accordingly. She had prepared the meals alongside Kamui, Sagiso, and Asami.

 **Sleeping Powder -** A opened, used packet of sleeping powder was found in the trash can inside of the dining hall. It was hidden within some tissues and seemed to have been completely used. The label says that if used, sleep would be take place in about half an hour, and the effects last for about half a day if taken in high dosage. However, one must make sure to not use more than a packet of powder, or else death may take place. The powder must be mixed in with liquid.

* * *

"Upupupu! Is everyone good? Well, I'm not gonna wait much longer!" Monokuma's voice was as loud as cab be. "Ahem! Let's start off with a simple explanation. Your guys' votes will determine the outcome of this trial. Pinpoint the true culprit of this trial, and only the blackened will be punished. However, if you choose anyone besides the blackened..." The headmaster's voice began to grow heatedly excited. "...then everyone besides them will be punished, and then the blackened can graduate scot free and with no charges!"

Nezumi bit his lips. "S-so, uh... h-how do we start?"

Seiga threw his hands over his sides. "Hey, I got an idea! Yo, if you're the culprit, speak up! Be a man and confess!"

Silence.

"Are you serious?" Kakuma groaned and slapped himself against the forehead. "It's obvious that the killer won't just blurt their crime to us so easily."

The stunt double shrugged. "Worth a shot."

The wedding planner rolled his eyes before shooting a look directed towards Monokuma. "I have one question."

"Hm?" Monokuma tilted his head. "Wuzzup?"

Kakuma pointed to the empty pedestal, everyone directing their attention to see Haruko's portrait being shown from a tall stand. Haruko's cheerful, bright face was seen with an x-mark across the frame. A pink, bloody x-mark. If anything, it was uncomfortable to look at. "What the hell is that?"

"Oh, that?" Monokuma chuckled. "I know you all must be so sad to see your friend die, so I decided that putting his portrait there on the frame would make you guys feel reunited again! Y'know, something like 'the souls of the afterlife are always watching over you to protect you' or whatever? Well, I was aiming for that. Makes you feel happy and excited now, huh?"

"That's an insult to his soul." Kamui glared at the bear.

"Well, shit! Fine then!" Monokuma grumbled inaudibly in the background and sunk into his seat. He was now silent and pouting.

Amyto shook her head. "Anyways, guys, so how do we start? I mean, to discuss his death and all..."

"How does a trial go anyways?" Seiga asked, tilting his head. "I rather just beat up the bad guy and call it a day! Let fists do the talking!"

Sagiso frowned and cupped her chin. "Since this isn't a normal trial, I think we should start by going over the basics. Since there are no prosecutors nor defendants in this case and since the murderer is unknown, I think we should first go over what had happened during the time of Ko's death and fill in the blanks."

Kamui nodded. "Agreed. It would certainly help those who were sick more as well."

"Well, Kamui did tell us most of it," Fuwari mumbled as she fiddled with her fingers. "But, a second run-through of the case would be fine."

Asami smiled brightly. "Alright! Since we got that settled, let's go over what Seiga had planned! Seiga, please start us off!"

The stunt double laughed boisterously, hands on his hips. "Hahaha! Alright, so, I'm gonna tell you supporting characters about the plan I came up with!"

The pseudologist crossed his arms and began to take a deep breath, his MonoPad still close to his chest. He closed his eyes, calming himself, then began to observe his classmates. He was now concentrated entirely on what Seiga and the others would say. _Alright, let's see if anyone either missed or messed something up about what happened._

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Case File 01 | Sense of Time | Tunnel**

 **Seiga:** So, I had molded a wire into the shape of a key in order for us to get into the lab room.

 **Seiga:** I told Asami and the others about the plan, to which, might I add, they happily agreed to.

 **Saori:** We first went to the **infirmary room** in order to check the bottles in the shelves since I have discovered that the poison bottles have been restocked days after I had thrown them out.

 **Sagiso:** In order to see whether or not the bottles would be restocked by Monokuma, **Seiga and I** decided to throw the bottles away.

 **Amyto:** And then scarily enough, a light flashed and suddenly the bottles have been restocked!

 **Kaniza:** It was strange, but yeah... Afterwards, we headed straight to the **lab room** and discovered a flight of stairs leading down to a tunnel.

 **Kakuma:** So you guys discovered the tunnel immediately afterwards... Was that when the sirens sounded and the lights turned off?

 **Asami:** It was. It had happened so suddenly that we were confused for a moment.

 **Fuwari:** Must've been shocking.

 **Asami:** Mhm! That's correct.

 **Kaniza:** I still find it strange that _**Monokuma would lie to us**_ about the time though. Didn't the announcement say that he would do that halfway through the day?

 **Fumio:** Monokuma was lying?

 **Rin:**... Wow, what a liar.

 **Minori:** _Wait. I think that person's wrong about something... Yeah, it's wrong!_

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Sense of Time-**

 **Minori:** I disagree with that!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori frowned as he looked through his MonoPad, eyeing a specific truth bullet. He had been reading through the evidence before hearing that statement. As no one had bothered to speak against it, he had little to no choice but to counter that statement. He looked at Kaniza with a stern expression. "Kaniza, I think Monokuma was telling us the truth."

The astrophotographer's eyes widened. "W-Wait, really?"

The pseudologist nodded. "I thought the same thing beforehand. If Monokuma said 'halfway throughout the day', then we would normally be inclined to think that he meant from twelve in the afternoon, as we do live in a twenty-four hour timestamp. However, Monokuma is most likely talking about time from the morning to nighttime announcement."

"Morning announcement to nighttime announcement..." Kakuma cupped his chin, pondering. "That would make 'halftime' around three or four o'clock, if I'm right."

Seiga laughed and threw his hands to his hips. "Haha! He's a sly bastard, not bothering to tell us the specifics. He's really advocating for confusing all of us, huh! What a sly bastard!"

Kaniza nodded to herself. "I-I see... Guess I was mistaken then, huh? Sorry."

Kamui nodded, not at all irritated by her mistake. "Of course. It is good that we go through over the basics so we can correct mistakes like that." The mortician then turned to Minori. "So that means that during the time we were going into the tunnel was halfway through the day?"

"Yeah," the white-haired man said, looking through his bullets. "And that's close to the time when Ko had died."

"Since it would take a while for us to traverse into the tunnel and to get out..." Sagiso sighed. "Yeah."

"Alright, so we got that sorted out..." Amyto tapped onto her chin, a confused expression on her face. "Hm, but I'm still a bit iffy on this whole case. So apparently someone was able to travel through the dark and kill Ko on the spot? Just like that? The killer can somehow just see through the dark then?"

Minori's eyes widened as his cheeks began to flush out of embarrassment. "U-um, I haven't figured that out yet."

"None of us has!" Asami cried, standing confident. The other students were about to speak until the knight continued from where she started. "However, we are here to change that! We're here to avenge Ko, aren't we? We need to figure out the truth."

Sheina grinned. "Yes, yes! And once we figure out who killed Ko we must bestow judgment upon them!"

Seiga frowned. "So, how do we figure out who killed Ko if we don't even know how the fuck the killer got to him in the dark?"

Sagiso shook her head, hand raised to the air. "Before we discuss about the killer, I want to clarify a few things about what the case file says. The case file said that Ko had been killed by Type B Poison, however what I am concerned about if it the case is accurate."

"You think Monokuma fabricated it?" Rin asked, confused.

The psychogeographer shook her head. "I am uncertain. We do not know if what the case file said is true, especially since Monokuma was the one who had given us these MonoPads. Was it really the Type B Poison that killed him or was it from the fan?"

Seiga's eyes widened. "You mean that weird shit I broke?"

Sagiso nodded. "Yes. I want to know if the symptoms Ko experienced are alike to what is said on the case file or if it is alike to the motive presented to us. I want to make sure Monokuma isn't fabricating a lie to us."

Amyto frowned. "Isn't it obvious?" She then stopped, thinking for a moment. She then crept an awkward smile. "Actually, now I'm unsure..."

"So you want us to discuss about the validity of the case file." Fuwari cupped her chin, interested. "Alright, I see. Then let us discuss."

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Case File 001 |** **01110000... Poison | Lips**

 **Nezumi:** S-so you want us to talk about the symptoms of the Type B Poison...?

 **Sagiso:** I want a comparison between the motive and the Type B Poison, that's all.

 **Rin:** The symptoms from the Type B Poison mentioned the **enlargement of eyes** , increase in heart rate, and etc...

 **Rin:**... I think that's it.

 **Ryoichi:** She really seemed to run off to the clouds...

 **Sagiso:** I see, but we need to talk about the motive as well.

 **Saori:** Well... from what I remember, the motive had made the sick's bodies **e** **xtremely hot** _._

 **Fuwari:** If I may add, it was **hard to do much** , especially since it was hard to hear and that my vision was a bit blurry.

 **Amyto:** Huh, are those really the only symptoms? They don't sound that bad...they almost sound like they had the case of a _**horrible flu**_.

 **Seiga:** Ko suffered from those symptoms too though.

 **Fuwari:** That was because he was sick, just like us.

 **Seiga:** Well, but... Yeah, whatever. I lost what I wanted to say.

 **Ryoichi:** Mr. Kosoku, are you serious?

 **Minori:** _That statement's right!_

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: 01110000... Poison-**

 **Minori:** I agree with that!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori took a deep breath. "Ko definitely died from Type B Poison."

Fumio scribbled eagerly into his notepad. "How are you so sure?"

The pseudologist frowned. "Despite Monokuma wanting us to participate in the killing game, the motive presented to us isn't exactly life-threatening. I do think that he would've done something if time was up, but I'm certain that the motive of this was simply a fabrication."

The Ultimates murmured to one another before Kakuma crossed his arms, eyebrows furrowed into disdain. "So, you're telling us that the motive wouldn't have killed us?"

"The poison being fanned throughout the school isn't life-threatening. Taking a whiff out of it wouldn't kill someone, however it does mention that you may experience an increase in temperature, as it did happen to you guys." Minori eyed Kakuma, then looking to Monokuma. "The worst case of this is only a flu."

"Wait." Asami couldn't believe it. "So, was Monokuma lying to us?"

Monokuma grinned, uncaring as he laughed into the open. "Well, it was a 'motive'. Motives are meant to push you guys! Besides, I am a man of my word. If you did end up wasting the time I would've killed you all." The headmaster gnawed his teeth out, obviously meant to intimidate the Ultimates. "I just didn't want you all to die before time was up, especially from just a stupid case of poison!"

Saori frowned. "So, the motive was only meant to push us into killing. We were given a sense of panic, that's all."

Nezumi's eyes widened. "What, but that..."

"That's bullshit." Seiga crossed his arms. "I can't believe you did some bullshit like that!"

"It was called motive for a reason." Monokuma shrugged. He did not care at all. "Don't be pissed just because the motive motivated you all to kill someone. If anything, that motive saved your lives. I really would've killed you all if time was up."

"I certainly believe that," Fuwari started, "however I am inclined not to. I cannot trust in someone who would force others to harm one another, after all. I cannot place my trust in anyone such as yourself."

"That's sick. Monokuma's just sick." Kaniza had murmured into her breath, disgusted. She was utterly disgusted with the headmaster.

The stunt double frowned before coughing into the open. He was cracking his fists loudly. "So, we got the point that Monokuma can be a fucking liar, but what else?" Seiga eyed the group. "Ko definitely died from the Type B Poison, so now we should discuss who the killer could be!"

Amyto's eyes widened. "Huh? But shouldn't we figure out how Ko was killed?"

The knight thought for a moment, then nodding. "That's a good idea. If we cross off the list of suspects we might be able to come up with something than if we were to hypothesize how Ko could've died." She smiled at the group now, determined. "Don't worry! I believe in us!"

Ryoichi fiddled with his fingers, laughing nervously. "You saying that so enthusiastically makes me quite anxious, I have to admit."

"Well, I think it would be best to determine who has alibis first." Kamui observed each of the Ultimates, eyeing their expressions. "I think that would be a good start."

"Huh, I see..." Saori nodded to herself.

Minori released a deep breath. _Alright, so we're going to go over the alibis. This should be easy for me. I should know what happened with each person and whose alibi holds up accountable._

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Kaniza's Testimony | Saori's Alibi | Tunnel | Lack of Alibis (Lost)**

 **Kakuma:** So, if I remember correctly, all of you guys went into the tunnel?

 **Kamui:** Yes, all of us did at the same time the **lights shut down and the sirens sounded off.**

 **Kaniza:** Hearing the sirens sound off so suddenly scared me...

 **Fuwari:** The only ones who didn't follow you are **me, Ko, Kakuma, and Fumio**.

 **Seiga:** So, who has alibis? The only ones who don't are the ones who got lost, right?

 **Sagiso:** The people who had gotten lost... They were Asami, Sheina, Ryoichi, Nezumi, and Saori, correct?

 **Sheina:** Heh! I assure you that I am not the murderer! If anything, **those against the Son of Osiris are**!

 **Ryoichi:**... Are you referring to me?

 **Kaniza:** Wait, but if they had gotten lost, how would we confirm their alibis or not? We don't know what happened during the time they got lost.

 **Seiga:** Huh, that's true, huh?

 **Fuwari:** I can assume that the lost has **_no alibi_** then?

 **Fumio:** Doesn't that mean we're at a loss here?

 **Seiga:** So we have five possible suspects, huh!

 **Nezumi:** H-hey, don't just assume that!

 **Minori:** _No alibi? No, I'm pretty sure they have something._

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Saori's Alibi-**

 **Minori:** You've got that wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"No, I'm pretty sure a few of them could attest for each other."

Fuwari's eyes widened. "Oh? Please do tell."

The pseudologist nodded. "Of course." He looked towards Ryoichi who eyed him back in return, questioning his movement. "While the group had gotten lost, some of them were able to hear someone in particular. Ryoichi had called out for help when he was inside of the tunnel since he had gotten lost."

Ryoichi took this oppurtunity to speak, clearing his throat. "Ahem. Yes, Mr. Watanabe is right. I was trying to call out for anyone since I had gotten myself lost. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to answer me back."

"Yes, nobody had answered him back, but a few people did hear him, if not faintly." Minori crossed his arms. "Nezumi and Saori heard him."

Nezumi jumped at the sound of his name, sweat now tricking from his forehead. He was fidgeting in place, fiddling with his fingers as he hid underneath his hood. "U-um, he's right," he began, speaking in a murmur. "I heard Ryoichi, but I-I wasn't too sure where he was s-so I didn't bother to follow his voice... Besides, the sirens were so loud that I wasn't completely sure w-where he was..."

Saori nodded. "It's the same for me. I had heard Ryoichi's voice from behind, however I wasn't entirely sure whether or not I should look for the source of his voice. I wanted to stay in place since I wasn't certain of where I was at the time."

"Yeah, so they totally have an alibi then!" Seiga laughed boisterously, puffing his chest out. He threw the investigator a thumbs-up, winking his way. "Good job, Ryo! You're innocent to the capital T!"

Ryoichi smiled back at the stunt double. "Yes."

"Heh."

Asami looked to the wedding planner who had smirked to himself. "What's wrong, Kakuma?" She asked, confused. "Do you want to say something?"

The wedding planner shook his head, bringing the fringe of his glasses closer to his eyes. "It's nothing special. I was just wondering why we are completely believing Ryoichi's 'alibi'."

The knight's eyes widened. "Huh? So you don't believe them?"

Minori frowned. As docile as he could be, he knew Ryoichi wasn't lying. He was sure Nezumi and Saori weren't lying. "Kakuma," he began, speaking as confidently as he could. He had to stand up for the trio. "They're not lying."

"How are you so sure about that?" Kakuma turned to Minori, staring at him. A look of disdain appeared on his face. "Just because you're a master at lying doesn't mean anything. You know that accomplices are common in a murder, right?"

The pseudologist grimaced, the thought having disgusted him. "You think they're covering for one another?"

"Who knows?" The wedding planner frowned. "But you should know that completely trusting in someone is unlike you. You do know that accomplices are always a possibility? Why would you think otherwise just because we're some stupid high schoolers who have Ultimate talents? We're just kids who want to not think about killing, that's all."

Amyto glared at the man, disgusted. "Kakuma, that's going too far!"

"I-I would never kill someone!" Ryoichi cried, shaking his head. "I'm not lying!"

Minori felt his heart beating. "Kakuma, there's no way Ryoichi could kill Ko, especially with the circumstances thrown at him. I cannot believe that Nezumi and Saori would even cover up for him. For not only one, but two people to cover up for a murder? That's impossible." He then stopped, letting out a deep breath. "And how would Ryoichi traverse in the dark and kill Ko? He wasn't the last person to even enter into the tunnel! He couldn't be the killer!"

"Really? Well, that doesn't mean anything. There's always a way, especially with a flimsy excuse of 'I was lost'." Kakuma crossed his arms. "However, if you really do think that, then prove it to me."

Minori's eyes widened. "What?"

"What? You can't explain why they couldn't cover up for him? You can't say anything other than 'Ryoichi wasn't last to enter in the tunnel' and 'accomplices can't ever occur'?" Kakuma rolled his eyes, his tone dry as he accusingly pointed at the white-haired man. "If you can't provide me with concrete evidence, then I'm more than welcomed to figure out the killer myself."

"Kakuma..."

Minori bit into his lips. He knew that Kakuma was trying to fight him. He knew that the wedding planner was testing him- his strength, his will. Minori had to do it. He had to prove his worth. He did not want to be pushed around. _Shit. I have to throw evidence right at him, huh? He really does hate him though... Well, anyways, I need to come up with it calmly... There's a few reasons why Ryoichi cannot be the murderer, and why it's even more impossible for Nezumi and Saori to help him. There are a lot of reasons why, but he would just throw them down. I have to start with the most tantalizing one then!_

* * *

 **HANGMAN'S GAMBIT**

 **Question: Why couldn't Nezumi and Saori cover up for Ryoichi?**

 **. . . - . . . . .**

 **Minori:** _Alright, let's see..._

 **T . . - Ru . . .**

 **Minori:** _Wait, I think I've got it!_

 **The - Ru . . s**

 **Minori:** _I see it now!_

 **Answer: The Rules**

 **Minori:** _I've got the answer!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori threw a determined look at Kakuma who was staring back at him. The pseudologist crossed his arms. "There's an obvious reason why Nezumi and Saori wouldn't cover up for Ryoichi."

"Obvious, huh?" Kakuma smirked. "Please tell me then, Minori."

"Our MonoPads have shown us the rules of the school as explained from Monokuma." Minori opened up his MonoPad, swiping his fingers through the list of rules. He skimmed through each one before stopping, the eighth rule being shown directly to his eyes. "The eigth rule states that if the guilty party is found, they alone will be punished. If they were not found in the class trial, then they will get to graduate and everyone else will be left to be punished."

The wedding planner frowned. "And why is that important?"

Minori stared at the man. "The rule is specific in their words. If the guilty party hasn't been found, they _alone_ will be able to graduate." The pseudologist held tightly onto his device. "Obviously, there would be only one person who would've killed Ko. The person who has made Ko 'dead' will be considered the 'blackened'. Whoever caused Ko to 'die' will be the blackened, and nobody else. Anyone who helps them plan or covers up their murder wouldn't gain any advantage if the killer were to escape freely. The accomplices wouldn't gain anything by helping the murderer."

Kakuma's eyes widened as he then cupped his chin, now pondering on the thought. "You have a point. If only the blackened alone will be able to graduate, then there is no purpose in helping them at all." He sighed to himself. "I was mistaken then. I haven't looked at the rules more closely."

Minori couldn't help but sigh, now feeling exhausted. _At least I survived that... Whew._

Ryoichi groaned loudly. "I told you I wasn't the murderer."

"Well, that concludes that the possibility of people helping murderers out are low!" Seiga smirked. "Awesome! So, we are now aware that Ryo, Saori, and Nezumi aren't killers, right? And I'm damn sure the people who weren't lost are scot-free of being potential killers! So, who do we have left?"

"Hold on," Fumio scribbled into his notepad, waving his arms around desperately to catch the others' attention. "If it was dark throughout the school, how would anyone be able to traverse from place to place? I doubt the killer would've been able to carry Ko from his room to the infirmary."

"Yeah, but, I mean, unless..." Amyto's eyes widened. "What if he was already transported there?!"

Saori tilted her head. "How in the world would that work?"

Sagiso frowned. "Hm, couldn't there be something that can be used as light? Maybe there could've been something in the lottery room that the killer used to traverse from place to place. Considering how wide and spacious the tunnel is, I would assume it wouldn't be too hard to not bump into someone and walk up the stairs."

"Huh. That'll be a miraculous feat if someone actually managed that." Seiga laughed. "But I guess it's possible! I mean, they always happen in movies!"

Nezumi's eyes widened. "U-um, but movies aren't real..."

"Heh!" Sheina held her chin up. "Well, even if such things could be considered a 'miracle', there is always a possibility! We need to know whether or not there were any source of light that can be used, my fellow subjects!"

"Well, I mean, you could've used the lamps around this school." Seiga grinned jokingly. "Yeah, but they all have to be plugged in though, soooo nevermind."

Saori frowned. "Then why even suggest it?"

Kamui cupped his chin, pondering. "So, the most likely case of the killer finding a light source would have to be in the MonoLottery room."

"Oh, that's correct!" Asami nodded her head quickly. "There are plenty of things inside of that room. I'm sure a light source would be hidden inside there, right?"

Minori inwardly frowned. _Hm, I'm doubting that._

* * *

 **THINKING TIME**

 **Question: Was there a light source inside of the MonoLottery room?**

 **[A. No, there was nothing.]**

 **B. Yes, there were wireless light sources.**

 **C. No, but there were lamps and flashbulbs.**

 **D. I'm not sure.**

 **Minori:** _I see it!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"No, I checked the room earlier, and I found nothing."

Rin yawned. She seemed almost tired than anything. Minori almost wanted to envy her for how airheaded she could be at times, or how she was able to make herself seem like she didn't care. "Same with me. I was checking the room earlier and there wasn't anything that could be used as a light source."

Asami eyed the pseudologist then to the jeweler, her eyes widening. "Oh, really?" She smiled sadly as a result, scratching her head. "Well, this case is certainly getting harder by the second. But no worries, I'm sure there's a way for the killer to kill Ko in the dark!"

Minori nodded. _Yes, I believe in that too, Asami._

"Alright, so we do not know how the killer can move in the dark." Fuwari nodded to herself. "We should discuss something else then rather then speak about Ko's killer."

Ryoichi eyed the spirit medium, crossing his arms. "What do you suggest then?"

"I was wondering about how we were treated. Kaniza had treated us, the sick, right?" The spirit medium eyed the astrophotographer who nodded her head. "I was simply curious to how we were treated and how Kaniza chose our medication."

"Oh. I see." Kakuma acknowledged the woman's words fully. "It wouldn't be wise for someone to treat us if they don't know the correct medication."

Minori couldn't help but scratch his head, awkwardly laughing for the Ultimate. _That's definitely what Kaniza did though..._

"I just thought that the medicine I gave you guys would be the most useful." Kaniza awkwardly smiled, fiddling with her fingers and playing with her skirt. "I remembered the symptoms Saori told me, so I took the medication that would help best in healing your symptoms."

"Really?" The wedding planner raised an eyebrow. "Please remind me to not have you as my doctor then."

Amyto rolled her eyes. "At least you guys are well, right?"

Fuwari nodded her head slowly, taking in what the astrophotographer was saying. "So you were the one who prescribed us the medication. You were also the one who gave us our food." Her lips curved to a frown. "There's a possibility that you might've killed Ko then."

Kaniza's eyes widened. "W-what?!"

"K-Kaniza...?" Nezumi stared blankly at the woman. "No way..."

"W-why would you think that?" Kaniza began, her voice beginning to shake. Her quirky and energetic attitude was now gone from existance. "J-just because I gave you guys food and medicine doesn't mean I killed Ko!"

Fuwari crossed her arms. "I would want to believe that, however you are the prime suspect in my eyes. Couldn't you have drugged Ko's food?"

"N-no! Of course not!" The Ultimate shook her head furiously. "I would never stoop that low!"

Minori bit into his lips. He listened to the accusations people began to throw at Kaniza. He could see the astrophotographer began to grow more and more desperate, her body tremblig in fear. _Kaniza is the culprit... Hm..._

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Charity to the Sick |Type B Poison | Kaniza's Testimony | Haruko's Platter**

 **Kaniza:** I would never kill anyone!

 **Nezumi:** T-this can't be true...

 **Kamui:** You think she is the culprit because she was the one who **brought in you guys' meals** _,_ right?

 **Fuwari:** Yes. I am certain that Ko had gotten himself drugged from eating the food.

 **Ryoichi:** Mr. Yoshikawa did **eat his food** , huh.

 **Kaniza:** I would never drug the food!

 **Kakuma:** Wasn't she also the _**one who labeled our cups**_?

 **Fuwari:** Ah, yes. By labeling the cups she would've been able to target Ko easily.

 **Kaniza:** I-I **wasn't even the one who labeled the cups!**

 **Amyto:** No, it can't be true...right?

 **Kaniza:** It's definitely wrong!

 **Kaniza:** It's all wrong! **I'm not the killer!**

 **Minori:** _No, that statement... It's definitely wrong._

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Kaniza's Testimony-**

 **Minori:** You've got that wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori shook his head. "Kaniza was the one who brought the sick their meals, but she wasn't the only one who helped the sick. Kamui, Sagiso, and Asami helped as well with preparing the meals."

Asami nodded. "Yes, that is true. I would think that since Kaniza was working the entire time in the kitchen then we would've noticed if she had drugged the food." She then frowned. "It was Kamui who suggested her to label the cups."

Rin's eyes widened. "Kamui, huh?"

Kamui sighed. "Yes, I was the one who requested her to do such. However, I didn't press her. I am certain I am not the killer." The mortician then frowned. "Besides, we were all watching each other when we cooked the food. I am sure any one of us would've noticed the other if Kaniza were to drug the food."

"Well, Kaniza should be innocent then!" Seiga crossed his arms, frowning. "She didn't do shit! Besides, she's already out of her wits! Why push her further?"

Kakuma scoffed. "Hmph, well, it would still be wise to doubt her."

Seiga shrugged. "Well, whatever you want. For me, I trust in Kaniza completely! Isn't that right, Minori dude?"

Minori's eyes widened. "Huh? Oh, yeah." He turned to the audience. "I understand doubting Kaniza as the murderer, however, we still have to be wary of the others then. Kamui, Asami, and Sagiso aren't at all in the clear simply because Kaniza was the one who brought in the food."

Fuwari nodded to herself. "I see." She turned to Kaniza. "I apologize."

Kaniza let out an awkward smile. "Y-yeah, no problem."

Saori crossed her arms. "So, I'm guessing the most suspicious person now is Kamui."

"I see." Kamui cupped his chin. He didn't seem at all worried. In fact, he was still as calm as he usually was. "However, like I stated, I doubt I would be able to pull it off as well as the rest of us who had helped the sick. We were all inside of the kitchen and none of us were alone during that time. I doubt I'd be able to drug the food without anyone noticing. Besides, how would I drug the food? I would've need to inject the food with a syringe then if that were the case."

Ryoichi frowned. "But still..."

"If I may ask," Minori bit into his lips. "Can I ask about who was with who during the entire duration when the food was being made? I want to know who was with who and who had left during the time."

Kamui's eyes widened. "Ah, I see. I suppose that is important."

Sagiso frowned. "I'll help with that," she said, speaking calmly. "Since us four were early we decided to make breakfast. Kaniza said that we should also cook for the sick, so that is what we did. We were always together though. I, well..." She hesitated. "I wanted to go to the restroom for a bit, so I told Kaniza who decided to follow me. Asami and Kamui were alone for a while, but we returned in a few minutes. After most of you guys have appeared, Asami and I walked out to greet some of you before Kaniza and Kamui went out as well. The food for you guys and the sick had already finished by then. Kaniza did go get the meals for the sick, however she didn't have anything at hand nor was there anything in the kitchen that could've been used to drug Ko."

"That's correct." Asami crossed her arms, a determined expression on her face. "We have always been together since the moment we walked into the dining room. I think Kaniza's innocent."

Kaniza nodded. "Yeah!"

 _So they haven't been away from each other until all of us gathered to eat. I doubt all four of them would lie to me too. Hm, alright then._ Minori took note, acknowledging their alibis with a small smile. "Thank you."

"I mean, I doubt they'd lie to us, so I'm sure they're telling us the truth!" Amyto smiled widely at the group. "Hooray! You guys are all innocent!"

"Hm." Kakuma thought to himself, still unsure.

Ryoichi frowned. "If Mr. Setsushi and the others are not the killer, then..." His eyes then widened. "Wait, what if Ms. Yakamuro was the murderer? Isn't she the only one who had gotten lost in the tunnel and doesn't have an alibi yet? Besides, she was one of the last to enter into the tunnel, right?"

"Excuse me?" Sheina glared at the man. "I am not a murderer! How dare you assume such things, subject!"

Kamui shook his head. "I do not believe so. She would have to find a way to enter into Ko's room and drug him then, after all."

Sheina scoffed. "Of course! I am no murderer!"

Sagiso frowned. "The only people who have visited Ko before our plan were Kaniza, Asami, and..." She stopped. "Sheina."

"See? So she did have time to drug Mr. Yoshikawa!"

"I am highly offended by your remark!" Sheina glared at Ryoichi. "I cannot believe you would assume such things! Apologize now!"

 _We're just blaming each other left and right._ Minori bit into his lips. _I have to settle this so we can get back to the real topic at hand! Besides, I'm sure Sheina's innocent!_

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Asami's Testimony | Order of the Lost | Saori's Alibi | Tunnel**

 **Sheina:** Stop assuming such things, lowly subject! I was with Asami the entire time when I was checking the sick!

 **Asami:** Yeah, she was.

 **Sheina:** Yes, my subject Asami is right! Besides, how would I transport Ko from his room to the infirmary?

 **Seiga:** Well, I mean, that thing is still something we don't know yet...

 **Ryoichi:** Hm, well, couldn't you have gotten out of the tunnel since you were one of the **last people to enter in the tunnel**?

 **Sheina:** Wha- I would never! I was lost anyways!

 **Amyto:** I-I mean, maybe you were **lying** about being lost...?

 **Kamui:** Hm, if she was one of the last people to enter...

 **Saori:** It could be possible.

 **Nezumi:** Y-you think?

 **Ryoichi:** You could've gone back up the tunnel since you were one of the last people though! It would've been easy for you to go back up the stairs!

 **Ryoichi:** ** _You could've gone up and move Mr. Yoshikawa!_**

 **Sheina:** Don't assume such things! You have offended the Son of Osiris!

 **Minori:** _No, that's not correct._

 **Truth Bullet Selected: Asami's Testimony**

 **Minori:** You've got that wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori shook his head as everyone turned his way. "Sheina is innocent. Asami was the first one to go back up the lab room. She saw Sheina coming back up from the tunnel, so I doubt Sheina's actually the murderer."

Asami smiled at the pseudologist. "Yes, Minori, that's right." She placed her hands on her hips. "I have seen Sheina with my own two eyes! She has appeared from the stairs after I had moved back into the lab room. Since the lights have been shut back on, I was able to see her clearly. I saw the rest as well afterwards."

"Hmph!" Sheina frowned. "I can't believe you would assume such blasphemy!"

Sagiso thought for a moment, crossing her arms. "Can we not discuss about alibis then? I think it is much more important for us to talk about how Ko has been killed. We still aren't certain of how Ko has been moved from his room to the infirmary."

"True." Fuwari nodded. "I am not sure about that as well."

The knight frowned, a serious expression on her face. She looked at her classmates, observing each one slowly. "If we do not know how Ko had been moved, then let's talk about how Ko was able to be drugged then."

"How Ko got drugged..." Amyto thought for a moment. "Huh, I wonder..."

Nezumi fiddled with his fingers. "U-um, so if his food wasn't injected with a sleeping drug, then what...?"

"Ko ate his food." Minori stated bluntly, crossing his arms. He was moving the flap of his scarf around, his heart continuing to race. "He has eaten his food and taken his medicine. He has eaten and drank mostly everything."

Kakuma frowned. "And?"

The pseudologist sighed. "Well, he has been drugged when he was eating his food."

"What? But they didn't-"

"No, I wasn't talking about the group injecting Ko's food. We already confirmed that Kaniza and the others couldn't have drugged his food. The cups have been labeled though, so I believe that played a vital part for the murderer. I have evidence that shows us how Ko was drugged."

* * *

 **PRESENT THE EVIDENCE**

 **Truth Bullet Selected: Sleeping Powder**

 **Minori:** I got it!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"I found an opened and used packet of sleeping powder thrown in the dining room's trash can."

Kamui frowned. "What? How did that get there?"

Minori shook his head. "I'm not sure, however this is most likely the thing that was used to drug Ko to sleep." He presented the truth bullet, showcasing the picture of the opened bag to the Ultimates. "Not only that, but in order to use the powder you would need to mix in the powder with water."

Asami's eyes widened. "Wait, so are you saying that the drinks-"

"Ko's drink had been drugged." Kakuma crossed his arms. A disgusted sigh escaped his lips as he murmured to himself, not at all happy with the result. "No wonder why the cups were labeled then."

Nezumi began to sweat, fidgeting in place. "W-Wait a minute, a-are you telling us that someone drugged his water then...a-are the people who prepared our food still potentially murderers?"

"What?!" Kaniza's voice screamed into the air.

Minori shook his head. "I am not stating that. I am just saying how Ko was drugged."

"I mean, we did prepare everything..." Asami then frowned. "But we are not murderers."

"Well, it's still a bit of a hard case since, uh, remember- they were always with one another?" Seiga crossed his arms before slamming his fists together. "I don't see how they would be able to act like ninjas! Sneaking a drug into water and even mixing them would definitely grant suspicion from others, right?"

"Of course." Sagiso frowned. "I do not even recall someone 'mixing' water."

Rin tapped her chin. "... Then who killed Ko?"

Minori bit into his lips, now thinking himself. _Everyone seemed to have airtight alibis. The sick couldn't have done anything, especially considering they were mainly asleep during the duration here. Besides, just because they were sick doesn't mean they could've just woken up and kill Ko. The cups were labeled and the sleeping powder had been thrown in the dining room._

 _Besides, there aren't any source of light here. Other than the lights which were already turned off beforehand, it was literally impossible to move between room to room._ The pseudologist inwardly grimaced. He didn't know what to do. He was at a stalemate.

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Circular Rings | Sleeping Powder | Bump on Head | Type B Poison**

 **Rin:** So... how did Ko die?

 **Amyto:** Oh my god! Oh my god! Are we actually at a stalemate here?!

 **Sheina:** Subjects, calm yourselves!

 **Asami:** Sheina is right, we need to be calm! Think! Is there anything else that can be presented as evidence or could help us solve this mystery?

 **Seiga:** Hahaha! I got an idea! What if _**Ko just sleepwalked**_? It would make much more sense!

 **Ryoichi:** Maybe aliens did it!

 **Sheina:** Or Monokuma himself.

 **Saori:** If Ko were to sleepwalk, then... Hm, it would explain the lack of potential suspects.

 **Nezumi:** B-but wouldn't the sleeping powder **drug him to sleep?**

 **Fuwari:** Well, there are always cases of sleepwalking in patients. I believe Ko could be a case of that.

 **Asami:** That means that Ko deliberately moved him from room to room.

 **Amyto:** I mean, it would explain how he was moved, right? There's **no light source available anyways!**

 **Ryoichi:** There's no light source. Yes, I suppose that is plausible other than aliens doing it.

 **Kakuma:**... Why are we even suggesting this?

 **Minori:** _Why is our conversation ending up like this? Anyways, I need to explain this as accurate and efficient as possible._

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Bump on Head-**

 **Minori:** You've got that wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori couldn't help but force a small smile, eyeing Seiga who stared back at him. "Um, I don't think Ko sleepwalked his way to the infirmary, Seiga." He awkwardly scratched his head. "Not only is sleepwalking uncommon in teens, but rather than that, I doubt Ko would've been able to move with his current condition. Not only was he sick, but he had been drugged. I would think that the mixtures of these symptoms would be too much for him."

"This is tragic." Kakuma sighed.

"Besides, even after that, Ko couldn't have sleepwalked." Minori crossed his arms. "Remember the bump on his head?"

Seiga's eyes widened. "Ah, right. I forgot about that, bro."

The pseudologist nodded. "Well, the bump had been recent. It has been recent as his time of death. Besides, Ko had been drugged, not poisoned. If there were more than one packet in use, then Ko would've died in bed. However, only one has been used." Minori frowned. "The bump had been recent to the extent of his time of death. However, the bump was also at the back of his head. If Ko had either tripped or ran into a wall, then a bump would've appeared in front of his head, not the behind. I doubt he would walk backwards."

"I see..." Seiga nodded slowly, humming. "Alright, bro! Whatever you say!"

Kamui crossed his arms. "Minori is right. Ko had been drugged hours before his death. If the killer were to kill Ko, they would go into his room. However, if Ko had sleepwalked into the infirmary, they wouldn't have known and would've been caught by surprise. It would've taken them longer to find Ko then." The mortician smiled softly. "Ko had been drugged, not poisoned."

Kaniza frowned. "Wait, but then why would the murderer hurt Ko?"

"I could only assume that it was by accident." Minori spoke calmly. "I think that when the killer was moving Ko to the infirmary, they accidentally either tripped on something and dropped Ko. I would think that happened as they were poisoning him."

"Wow..." Nezumi was tearing up. "T-that's so cruel..."

"I guess that excludes any possible chance of Ko moving to the infirmary room himself then..." Amyto sighed, scratching her head. "Soooo, we agreed now that Ko had been drugged in his room and moved to the infirmary to be murdered? But I don't get it, why would the killer go so far as to drag him to the infirmary? Wouldn't that just be extra work? If they wanted to kill Ko, they could've just gone to his room with the poison and killed him there."

Kamui sighed. "Yeah, I am still uncertain about that as well."

Sagiso averted her gaze. "Then who's the killer? I'm honestly at a loss here."

Minori eyed Ko's portrait. He couldn't help but feel his heart racing. He wanted to find Ko's killer. He wanted to solve the case and avenge Ko as soon as possible, however, he was at a stalemate.

 _We still don't know shit. We don't know how Ko got transported from place to place in the dark and who did it. Everyone seemed to have pretty clear alibis and nobody seemed to be acting suspicious..._

Minori clenched his fists. He wanted to hit himself for being so lost, for being so silent. He didn't know. He just didn't know.

 _Think, Minori, think. Who's the most suspicious so far?_

The pseudologist eyed the four people- Kamui, Asami, Sagiso, and Kaniza. The four who have prepared the meals for all of the Ultimates. The four who were in charge of breakfast.

 _They said they were watching each other the entire time, and I know they cannot be lying. However, Kamui was the one who told Kaniza to label the cups, but Kaniza was the one who actually met with the sick to give them their food. But, they can't be lying. Especially if it was all four of them. The lost... The lost had gathered together, though Sheina and Asami were the last to enter into the tunnel._

Minori frowned. He thought and thought, hours almost seeming to past by. He had to come up with something. He couldn't allow the trial to end here. He couldn't allow Monokuma to speak. He thought and thought, his mind circling around what he found in the investigation. What was said from each person, what happened in the trial thus far. He thought long and hard, until his heart began to drop. His stomach churned.

 _Am I seeing things wrong here?_

The Ultimate observed the room. Monokuma continued to sip into his fake glass of martini, the others murmuring and wondering about. They didn't know what to do. Nezumi was beginning to freak out as Kakuma tried to think. Asami and Seiga were trying to get the others to speak, but to no avail. Minori bit into his lips, his fingernails scratching his skin.

 _Am I seeing things from the wrong perspective? Is this case actually..._

Minori took a deep breath. He observed his truth bullets before inwardly nodding to himself.

 _I need to look at things from a whole new angle._

"Hey."

Asami's eyes widened. She shot a look to the white-haired man, her face filled to the brim with hope. Hope that Minori had figured out something. "Minori." She crept a smile. It was almost a desperate smile. A desperate smile that told Minori- _you need to figure this out._ "What's wrong?"

Minori observed the Ultimates. All of them. All of them were looking at him with that same look of hope. That look of hope which prayed to the Gods that Minori knew the truth.

"I think I found something."

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL POSTPONED!**

 **Survivors: 15/16**

* * *

And that's the end of the first part for this trial! I hope this format is good, I honestly wasn't sure if it would work... I'm also not too confident writing trials, as this is my first time, so I hope it's at least decent so far. Anyways, I hope you're excited for the next part! What do you think Minori figured out?


	12. Chapter 1 - Part 2, Part C

And welcome to the second part of our class trial! I hoped you all enjoyed the first part, and I know I left you guys on a horrible cliffhanger... Sorry about that, however we are now at the second part where things start to get serious. Who will be the murderer? What will happen in this chapter? Well, keep on reading to find out! I'll speak more at the end of this chapter...

 **Agrael:** "Aww thanks! It really makes me happy! Alright, I will take your suggestion into consideration!"

 **liammarklh88:** "Yes, that's true. I'm already liking how I made the last chapter. It was actually more decent than I first thought it was, now let's hope this one is the same. Yeah, making characters stand out are the best! Good luck with your story ^^ I'm glad you are liking the trial so far and what is happening! I'm glad Kaniza is cleared for the least bit, at least, huh. Lol, Minnie is a pseudologist, so you have an excuse in saying that. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!"

 **SoulfulGinger17:** "Interesting input, indeed! Yeah, I think it would be best to listen to the Danganronpa music while reading a trial, after all. Yes, I'm trying to improve on writing the class trials. I wanted to put different things last chapter, but I wasn't too sure if it would flow well. Oh no! I'm bad at naming pairings! Seiga and Minori will need to have something special to do in order to get their bromance nickname!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "Yes, I will definitely take your words into consideration! It would be easier to see the weak points if they were bolded, after all. Everything in Danganronpa is sad though! Hm, interesting input!"

 **irwegwert:** "Haha, glad I surprised you there then! No, I usually tend to fall into the flow a lot when writing this, so I'm perfectly fine! I'm glad it was enjoyable to read! I was sure my lack of experience in writing class trials would hinder the reading experience. ^^ I wanted to put in Mass Panic Debate, however, like you said, it would be hard in script format. I'll see if I can do something about it in the future though! Haha, well, cliffhangers..."

 **mpjindustries:** "Aww, I'm so glad you really liked this story! Thank you for your input on Ryoichi! I need some reminders time to time, and your comment really showed me! I'll try to revolve around Ryoichi in much more depth in future chapters! I'm glad that the horrible pace withered away, I was hoping I would be able to pace this story better as I continued writing. Thanks!"

 **ToonGuy:** "Ahaha, well, love your honest reactions ^^ Hm, your inputs are interesting, very interesting. It's nice to know the different thought processes from people! Despair is Monokuma's favorite dinner. I'm glad the trial was tense! I feel like the trials always need to be suspenseful and confusing, but also straightforward at the same time! I hope you'll like this chapter!"

 **Kukasabe Swift:** "First of all, it's fine! It's always nice to see your comments even if it isn't in every chapter. Everyone is busy in their lives, after all. Secondly, I'm glad the pacing is fine. I always felt like I had trouble with pacing, especially considering when I read my old, original stories (very cringeworthy, I assure you). Your input on the evidence is very interesting, makes me glad to know your input on these things. Intelligece and thinking is one of the most vital things when reading a mystery, after all. Lastly, thank you for your input on how I write Seiga! I always need a reminder for how I write characters, and I've been wondering when and where I wrote characters correctly or incorrectly. I will definitely focus on Seiga's other aspects in the future, so continue to tell me my mistakes as well!"

 **DryBonesKing:** "Ahaha, did I now? I'm glad you liked the format! I was trying to balance dialogue and text out! Well, Minori is a pseudologist, so he must have at least some kind of wit for something~ Interesting theory! Haha, hope you'll enjoy this chapter then!"

 **zephryr:** "Very interesting! Nice to hear your honest opinion on characters here and there! I love your inputs, and I hope you enjoy this one too! Don't worry about your review being short, it's still very detailed and thoughtful!"

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL IN SESSION!**

 **ALL RISE!**

* * *

"Minori, what did you find?" Seiga was ecstatic. "Do you know who the killer is?"

"No way he could've figured that out on insight." Ryoichi frowned towards the stunt double's way, however he seemed just as excited as well. "Mr. Watanabe, please share us what you found."

Minori nodded, however he first looked to Kakuma's way. "Kakuma, what you said about alibis..." He stopped, then inwardly sighing. He isn't sure. He wasn't sure, however he had to speak. He had to say it. No matter how horrendous the outcome may be, he had to find the truth. "...I think you're right."

The wedding planner's eyes widened, nose wrinkling. "Wait, excuse me?"

"All of our alibis seemed to be airtight and cannot be refuted." Minori crossed his arms. "Since we all have alibis, it wouldn't make any sense of one of us to have killed Ko alone. Someone would've obviously noticed something if so." The pseudologist eyed the group who were breathless, unable to speak. Minori cupped his hands together. _Don't worry. I'm sure this is right._ The Ultimate cleared his throat. "I believe that we are looking at things from a wrong angle."

"W-what?" Amyto was shocked. Her eyes were completely open. "M-Minnie, are you telling us that someone's actually helping the murderer...?"

"Yes." Minori frowned. "With how airtight the alibis are, one cannot figure out the murderer just by thinking that only 'one' person committed it alone. I believe there is an accomplice."

Seiga threw his hands up, completely driven out of his wits. "What the fuck?!"

"W-wait a minute!" Nezumi pointed accusingly at the pseudologist. "B-b-but didn't the rules state that-"

Minori raised a hand up. "I did say that, but that doesn't mean that an accomplice is completely out of the picture. I did state that it was unlikely because of how low the chances are in these circumstances, but now I am inclined to believe the opposite."

"If there really is an accomplice..." Saori cupped her chin, averting her eyes. She was pondering on the thought. She stopped, eyes widened. "That would leave us with much more information to go on. A lot of options opened up then."

Sagiso bit into her lips. "But, not only do our options for how Ko could be killed, but now our alibis mean nothing."

Ryoichi frowned, crossing his arms. "Does that mean the people who were in the tunnel with Mr. Kosoku the entire time aren't exactly innocent?"

"I don't think that's possible," Rin said, rubbing her eyes. "Despite the sirens sounding off and the lights being shut, we were still fairly close to one another. Considering that Seiga did stop the fan, he hasn't left anytime either."

Seiga cracked his knuckles with a thoughtful tone. "Hm, besides, doesn't it take quite a while for us to get down there? Fuck, I also think that Rin and Minori fell unconscious too. After I stopped the fan, I saw those two on the ground." He then smiled brightly. "Though they were fine afterwards!"

Fuwari nodded. "How did you stop the fan?"

"I just charged directly towards it." Seiga laughed. "Nothing too special. I first wanted to reach into the fan and break the poison, but since I could've lost a hand doing that I looked for the control panel and broke it. Then I broke the poison like a splendid hero. Nothing too special, my dear supporting cast."

Amyto grinned slyly. "Acting cool, huh?"

"I still do not think that the people in the tunnel could be the murderer or, well, potential accomplice." Kamui crossed his arms. "We were together the entire time. Our voices were loud enough since we were trying to talk over the sirens, and we were busy trying to help Rin and Minori."

"Wait." Fuwari frowned. "So, the motive was being fanned throughout the school?"

Asami nodded. "Well, that's what Seiga told us."

The spirit medium bit into her lips. "But, you said that the lab room had been shut. You also sealed off the air vents which, although unfortunately did not work to a grand extent, would cause the poison to not be fanned properly."

Kakuma shook his head. "Not necessarily. There are always small creases from where the door would stand. The poison still could've been fanned out, if not only a bit too slowly. However, I would also believe that Monokuma would've done something." He then frowned. "But considering the poison wouldn't have killed us, I doubt he'd care."

Kaniza's eyes widened. "So, Seiga's attempts to stop the fan were for nothing?"

"Hey, I don't think it was for nothing!" The stunt double scoffed, shaking his head. "I mean, I did find us what the lab room was used for, right?"

Minori smiled his way. "Right." He observed the Ultimates. "However, what we need to consider is that our alibis may not matter. We need to think over this entire case again. I do doubt that the people inside of the tunnel would have something to do during the time of the murder, however..." Minori took a deep breath. "Any one of us could've done something to Ko _before_ the murder."

Sagiso clicked her tongue, eyes looking to the ground. "So, our alibis certainly don't matter then."

Sheina huffed. "Don't worry, I'm sure I, the Son of Osiris, will be able to find our culprit!"

Ryoichi frowned. "I've been meaning to ask, but... Other than son, wouldn't it be 'Daughter of Osiris'?"

"Of course not!"

Fumio scribbled into his notepad, showing it to Minori in order to gain attention. It was honestly hard for him to speak when he only had his notepad and pencil to go on with. He had to gain the attention of everyone. "So, would our prime suspects fall to the people in the kitchen and those who were lost again?"

Kaniza's face paled. She did not want to be pinned again as a murderer. Everyone was silent, silent for a brief moment.

Kakuma was the first to speak. "I suppose so."

"So... If we are suggesting that someone helped the murderer, then Ko was definitely targeted. This murder would be intentional then." Saori crossed her arms, speaking bluntly. "There would be no possible thought that the murder was accidental, though it would've been obvious concerning the evidence placed in front of us."

Nezumi fiddled with his fingers, anxious. "T-then why was Ko targeted?"

Saori was silent. "I'm not exactly sure about that."

"Hm." The knight tapped her foot. "I would think he was targeted because he was part of the ill, but that's all."

Fuwari frowned. "Well, going by the logic of a possible accomplice in our group, then I think it's best to suspect the people who treated us then."

"Really?" Ryoichi's eyes widened. "I thought we already cleared them out."

Kamui shook his head. "That is if we are considering that the others and I were working alone. However, we are now going by the possibility that someone helped the killer, so logically the suspicion falls on us again."

Seiga tilted his head. "Dude, you seem calm about this."

"Am I?" The mortician's eyebrow raised.

The wedding planner observed the room carefully. He let out a small sigh before speaking. "So, then let's talk about our prime suspects' alibis then."

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets Selected: Sleeping Powder | Enlarged Eyes | Flu Remedy | Haruko's Platter**

 **Kakuma:** The people who were treating the sick were **Kamui, Asami, Sagiso, and Kaniza.**

 **Sagiso:** We were mainly together the entire time, however I left with Kaniza to the restroom.

 **Kaniza:** U-um, it couldn't have taken more than a few minutes.

 **Asami:** During the time the duo were gone, I was **working with Kamui** to finish preparing the meals.

 **Sagiso:** However, before we left, **Kamui suggested** that Kaniza labeled the cups.

 **Kaniza:** Yeah, uh, I labeled the cups **{before leaving}** with Sagiso.

 **Kaniza:** I just labeled them though, nothing else. The food didn't even finish cooking yet.

 **Kamui:** She's right. After they left, Asami and I just finished what was left.

 **Asami:** Mhm! Correct! We only _**worked on the food**_.

 **Minori:** _Hm... I think I can use that statement to counter what was said._

 **-Statement: "...before leaving..."-**

 **Minori:** You've got that wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori bit into his lips, eyeing Kaniza doubtfully. His heart was racing. "Wait, Kaniza. You only said that you 'labeled the cups', not that you actually filled it with water?"

"Huh? O-oh, yeah. When Sagiso and I came back the cups have already been filled." The astrophotographer played with her skirt, awkwardly smiling. "Why? Is there something wrong with it?"

 _Oh shit. But those two... Either one of them...!_ Minori clenched his fists. "So, if you and Sagiso came back and already found the cups having been filled with water..." He stopped, hesitating. He didn't know why, but his heart was racing. "Doesn't that mean that either Kamui or Asami filled the glasses with water?"

"Are you..." Kamui frowned, disdain in his tone. "Are you suspecting us?"

Minori's eyes widened. "I'm just saying-"

Ryoichi's eyes widened, a loud gasp escaping his lips. "Are you meaning to tell us that those two may be accomplices?"

"I-it's just a theory." The pseudologist shook his head, his voice beginning to shake. "I-I could still be wrong. B-besides, my entire theory on the accomplice thing might be wrong too."

"You're doubting yourself now?" Kakuma crossed his arms, glaring at the pseudologist. "You want to find the truth despite being a liar, right? Why even hesitate just because it's a result you might not want? Or are you actually the people who hide from the truth just because your friends aren't as ideal as you had hoped them to be?"

"I..."

Minori clenched his fists. Kakuma was right. No matter the outcome, the truth must prevail. No matter what happens, the truth must be revealed.

Fuwari crossed her arms, indifferent to the situation. She looked at the Ultimates. "Is there any way to counter that statement?"

Silence.

Asami smiled, staring at the pseudologist. "So, that's what you think, huh?" She chuckled, then throwing her hands to her hips with a determined gaze. "Well, I am not fazed! There's no way I could be the killer! Are you actually trying to brighten the situation, Minori?"

Nezumi frowned. "M-Minori, maybe this is a mistake...!" He shook his head, slapping his cheeks. "I-I d-don't think that s-someone like Asami or Kamui could've done such a thing!"

"Aaah!" Amyto nodded furiously. "Sorry, but I agree! Asami and Kamui were the ones who advocated most for escaping this place! I cannot believe this!"

Kamui sighed. "I really think this sort of prank is unneeded and highly offensive." He stared directly at Minori who began to sweat. "I would never stoop so low as to kill someone. I value life over anything."

Minori inwardly cursed to himself. Everyone was trying to stand against him, and he understood that. _I can't believe it either, however... This is the most logical reason I can come up with!_ Minori breathed deeply before speaking as loudly as he could. "I understand that, but we are only going by what we have seen from them! Who knows how exactly are they like? We've only known each other for a few days, after all!"

"But, it can't be possible!" Amyto cried. "They would never do something like that!"

The astrophotographer nodded. "I-I have to agree! Besides, I still think that the powder could've been mixed in after I gave the sick their meals! Maybe someone snuck it in afterwards!"

"That's not possible." The pseudologist slammed his hand to the edge. "The sick were awake during the time you gave them their food! Sheina had said so too! The sick were awake when they were given their food, and although Ko and Fumio wanted to rest, being able to mix in the sleeping powder inside the room in Ko's presence is simply impossible! It would've been a miracle for Ko to not have seen such an act!"

The hypnotist shook her head. She did not want to believe what Minori was saying. Her eyes were angry, angry with tears. "W-why are you suspecting them so much?!"

"Because this is a class trial!"

"Ah!" Amyto was thrown into shock.

"Holy shit." Seiga was dumbfounded.

 _I'm sorry. As much as it pains me to say shit like this, I have to find the truth. I have to lie about my own feelings! For not only Ko's sake, but for all of our's!_ Minori threw a look at the group, then eyeing Kamui and Asami. "You two are the only ones who could've filled the cups with water and snuck in the sleeping powder! There's no other explanation other than that!"

"I see." Fuwari calmly analyzed Minori's words before nodding her head herself. "It would make sense for how Ko was able to be drugged then."

Amyto clenched her fists. "W-we don't know yet that Ko had been drugged with the sleeping powder!"

Minori's eyes widened. "What? There's already evidence that-"

"Maybe that's a red herring!"

The pseudologist was stunned. "A-Amyto, what're you talking about-"

Amyto shook her head. Her voice was becoming more and more raspy by the second. "The sleeping powder could've just been used as a red herring to throw us off in the wrong direction! The murderer is trying to pin the blame on Kamui and Asami!"

The Ultimate bit into his lips. He knew that the hypnotist wanted to believe in the duo, however he knew best than to allow her to speak. As much as it pained him, he had to speak. "Amyto-"

 _"I will cut you off!"_

* * *

 **Rebuttal Showdown**

 **Truth Blades: Flu Remedy | Kaniza's Testimony | Charity to the Sick | Enlarged Eyes**

 **Amyto:** The packet is nothing more than a red herring!

==SLASH!==

 **Anyto:** The murderer's just trying to throw us off!

==SLASH!==

 **Amyto:** The drug's something else!

==SLASH!==

 **ADVANCE!**

 **Minori:** Excuse me, but that doesn't make any sense.

 **Minori:** If the sleeping powder hasn't been mixed in with the water, then what was used to drug Ko?

 **Amyto:** I-it has to be the pills!

==SLASH!==

 **Amyto:** We don't actually know if the pills are medication!

==SLASH!==

 **Amyto:** They could've just been sleeping pills for all we know!

==SLASH!==

 **Amyto:** The sick may have just been targeted altogether and Ko was chosen randomly!

==SLASH!==

 **Amyto:** Monokuma could've just given Kaniza false information about the pills!

==SLASH!==

 **Amyto:** Besides, maybe the killer had switched out one of the pills with a lookalike!

==SLASH!==

 **Amyto:** The pill given to Ko could've _**been poison**_ itself!

 **-Truth Blade Selected: Flu Remedy-**

 **Minori:** I'll slice down your words!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori crossed his arms, firm and blunt. "That's not possible."

The hypnotist's eyes widened. "Huh?! Why?!"

"Inside of the infirmary room was an opened tablet of pills. Four had been used, and those four were the ones given to the sick." Minori then eyed Kaniza. "There wasn't any other sort of medication that was opened or used, let alone the poison. Besides, do you guys remember what happened when the poison bottles got restocked?"

Ryoichi nodded. "Yeah. It was strange. It just appeared so suddenly."

"Only the bottles and supplies which held poison were supplied. Now that I think about it, isn't it strange that only the poisonous supplies were restocked? I would've expected even the medication which was used would be restocked. I find it strange there was even a clue to be found inside." He turned to Monokuma. "Can you please explain to us, Monokuma?"

The bear grinned, nodding happily and jumping from his seat. "Yes, of course! As our dear Minnie said, only the poisonous supplies would be restocked. I don't really care about the medications since you guys are mostly safe from any flu spreading here, soooo I just left anything that's been used like that." He then eyed the group who stared back at him. "What? It's the fucking truth!"

Fumio deadpanned. "I mean, if you say so."

"B-but..." Amyto was at a loss. She hung her head.

"Minori, I understand that you would suspect Asami and I..." Kamui frowned. "However, I believe you will not get anywhere as long as we don't know how the killer was able to move Ko's body from his room to the infirmary."

"He has a point," Kakuma said, bobbing his head. "We can't be certain of who actually the killer is if we do not even know how Ko was moved."

"Do not fret." Asami crossed her arms, her chin up high. "I believe we can figure out who killed Ko and solve this case, once and for all!"

The thief held his breath. "Y-you seem calm despite being s-suspected..."

Asami chuckled. "Rather than me worrying about that, what matters most is the truth of this case. We're here to solve the case of our dear friend Ko, after all."

"I still find it suspicious that Kamui would ask Kaniza to label the cups," Saori said, thinking. "However, it we are basing our suspicions only on that, then we wouldn't be completely sure if Kamui is an accomplice or killer."

"That's right." Ryoichi groaned. "We seem so close, yet so far."

"We're close only if Minori is right about this theory," the mortician said, frank. "I believe that it is too soon to pin me and Asami down."

The pseudologist gripped tightly onto his scarf. _If we're at a loss for who actually killed Ko and how it went down..._

"If we are seriously lost at how the killer travelled between the dark, then nothing else could be said." Kamui cupped his chin, staring at Minori. "Do you have any other evidence which can pin us to the killer? Is there any other clue which could point to me or Asami working together?"

Minori held his breath. _To find the truth... No matter how much I hate it..._ _Maybe I should try lying about something._

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets Selected: MonoLottery! Room | Alibis (Tunnel) | Sense of Time | Type B Poison**

 **Kakuma:** So, we're still at a loss.

 **Asami:** We don't know how the killer was able to move Ko, huh.

 **Nezumi:** Y-yeah, I mean... There's nothing...

 **Nezumi:** I mean, unless there's a _**light source**_ in the MonoLottery! Room...

 **Amyto:** But we already established that there's nothing in there.

 **Seiga:** Yup, and all the stuff that could be used have to be plugged.

 **Fuwari:** Maybe the killer was able to navigate using their **sense of direction**?

 **Sagiso:** I assure you that it isn't me.

 **Fuwari:** This is quite the difficult case.

 **Sheina:** Hmph!

 **-Lie Bullet Created: Light Source in MonoLottery! Room-**

 **Minori:** I'll use this lie to solve the case!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Wait, I remembered something important."

Asami looked at the pseudologist. "What's wrong?"

Minori's heart dropped. He hated lying, really, but he had to. He had to solve the case as efficiently as possible. "I overlooked one detail. About there being no light source in the lottery room... that was a lie."

"Really?" Kaniza's eyes widened.

"Mhm. I forgot since there were so many things inside of the room, but I actually found a small portable flashlight hidden behind the pile of prizes. It was quite small, so I almost overlooked that object. Sorry about that."

Minori kept up a confident front. He took a glance at Rin who thought for a moment, but then said nothing. He looked to Kakuma who was silent as well. They seemed doubtful, but didn't speak. _I think they believe me, at least partially. That's good._

Fuwari cupped her chin. "If the flashlight was that small, then the killer could've easily hidden it. It wouldn't be too hard to hide a portable, small flashlight somewhere on your body, after all. It would've also been easy to throw it back into the room and hide it, considering how seperated everyone seemed to be during the investigation."

"We should've investigated in pairs then." Ryoichi sighed, shaking his head.

"Well, whatever. At least we got this settled. That makes things a whole lot easier too." Seiga nodded his head, grinning widely. "We found the solution to the light source! Now all we need to figure out is who brought the flashlight and killed Ko, right?"

 _I'm sure we'll find the real answer later, but for now, this will suffice._ Minori nodded. "Yes."

Kamui crossed his arms, slowly observing the group. He looked at the pseudologist. "Well, now that we settled this part, I guess we can finally move forward."

Saori frowned, thinking to herself. "So, that means that it was possible for the killer to travel through the dark then."

"Yes." Minori eyed the body broker. "We should be able to find the killer now."

"So anyone could've used that flashlight." Ryoichi eyed the group. "Would that mean our alibis for being lost would be less accountable, Mr. Watanabe?"

"It would, however I do not doubt your alibi." The pseudologist looked at the investigator with a small nod. He then bit into his lips, silent before looking at Asami. "You are the most likely suspect in this case, considering you are the one who went last into the tunnel."

Asami crossed her arms and nodded. "Hm, I see." She then frowned and stared directly at Minori. "However, I believe that me working with Sir Kamui is quite an accusation, if I must speak the truth now. I would consider it impossible for me to have plan such horrendous things with him considering what happened."

Sagiso frowned. "Well, it was Seiga who planned this whole idea. Saori as well, considering we had made a trip to the infirmary beforehand."

Minori bit into his lips. "Considering what has happened these past few days, Asami would've planned something if Seiga hadn't planned first. Asami and Kamui are the most 'leaderlike' in this group, correct? They're the ones who led us and are most likely talking with one another about what to do next. Observations aside, the evidence already shown to us prove that they're working together."

"Evidence is shown, huh?" Kamui placed his hands on his hips. "You might say that, however questions are still raised. Why would I or Asami help a supposed killer? Why would someone kill? And if your theory of an accomplice holds ground."

Minori was silent. Kamui was trying to spread doubt into the audience. The pseudologist couldn't allow himself to falter, however. "I think that this is the truth of the case. You two are the most suspicious in this case. I believe I have the right to remain confident in my theory and suspect you two."

"Hmph." The mortician frowned. "If you believe such, then why do you believe we decided to kill someone?"

Minori thought for a moment. _Why they would plan to kill someone..._

* * *

 **THINKING TIME**

 **Question: Why would Kamui and Asami decide to kill someone?**

 **A. They hated the victim.**

 **[B. The motive.]**

 **C. It was an accident.**

 **D. They were bored.**

 **Minori:** _I see it!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"It was because of the motive, right?"

Fuwari cupped her chin, nodding to herself. "Ah, that would make sense. If time had ran out, we all would've been killed."

"B-but if they really planned this..." Nezumi shook from his place. He was pale. "W-wouldn't that mean they didn't know what else to do...? T-that means they gave up on f-finding a way to tackle against M-Monokuma..."

Minori averted his gaze. _Nezumi's right._ As much as he hated to admit it, determination could only go so far. The pseudologist eyed Asami who was silent, a fierce glint in her eyes.

Asami glanced around the group for a moment, fierce. A moment passed before she let out a long, loud sigh, slamming her fists onto the wooden handle. Immediately did the eyes of the audience looked upon her, shocked. "If you believe that determination could only go so far, then you are wrong." She then stared straight at the pseudologist, pointing straight towards him. "You want an answer, correct? Yes, I worked with Kamui to kill Ko."

Kamui's eyes widened. "Asami?"

"M-my subject Asami?!" Sheina couldn't believe it. Her voice almost fell into a high-pitched squeal as a result.

"However, I want to bring up one very important piece of information!" The knight's voice was louder than ever, eyes shining in a mixture of confidence and determination. "Minori, even if you have figured that out, what matters most is who suggested the idea."

Minori frowned. "What?"

"Your standards of who a 'killer' is simply relates to them having physically killed a person. However, there are much more factors contributing to the concept of death." Asami crossed her arms, chin held high. It was as if she was trying to intimidate the man. "Wouldn't you have to consider whoever planned to kill poor Ko first to be our prime culprit? Would you consider the person who started to invade Ko to be guilty? The fault for Ko dying may lie on the person who killed him physically, but what caused this butterfly effect that led to Ko's death would be someone else then."

"W-what are you arguing?" Minori asked, sweat beginning to trickle from his forehead. He couldn't help but clench the flap of his scarf, unable to come up with anything to counter Asami's statements. "Are you trying to argue that you can't be the blackened?"

The knight nodded. "I'll admit it. Kamui did drug Ko and I was the one who poisoned him. You were right about those things, so, I applaud you a job well done." She smiled slightly before continuing. "However, can you really say that I am the 'blackened' if Kamui started this chain reaction? Besides, you do not know who planned this in the first place."

"I-I don't understand," Seiga said, stuttering in place. His nose was wrinkled, eyebrows raised. "What's happening? So, Asami and Kamui really did planned Ko's death, right?"

Saori bit into her lips, cupping her chin. "Asami's trying to argue that she may not actually be the killer and that it is Kamui. She's trying her best to defend herself by complicating this 'accomplice and murderer' case."

The wedding planner was silent, looking from afar. He thought for a moment before looking to Kamui. "Do you have anything to say?"

Kamui shook his head. "Asami's right. I did drug Ko and allowed her to finish him off, however I did not believe she would make such a statement. Her statements do hold ground, however, I believe I'm innocent."

"W-wait, but Asami finished Ko off, right?" Nezumi looked back and forth. "D-doesn't that mean she's guilty?"

The mortician nodded. "She was the one who did the work."

Asami sighed. "I believe my statement still stands. I believe Monokuma will agree with me."

The bear jumped from his seat, suddenly awake and animated just from the sound of his name. He chuckled. "Puhuhuhu, of course! As long as the trial continues to be interesting and exciting, then I'm fine with it! Besides, I do believe in her words as well! I believe in them a complete hundred percent! Upupupu~"

"This is so confusing!" Amyto cried, shaking her head furiously. "Then who's the killer?!"

"Kamui or Asami, huh?" Fumio thought to himself, pondering.

Minori frowned. People were beginning to eye one another in confusion, questions circulating their head. Questions were raised with no answers to be made. The pseudologist bit into his lips. _No matter the reasoning, I'm sure Asami's the 'blackened' of this case. I'm sure of it! She's the one who deliberately killed him, after all! But, the most important question to consider if Monokuma is making this complicated is who planned it in the first place..._

"So, who did it?" Ryoichi asked.

Kakuma scoffed. "I doubt they'd tell us."

Minori eyed Kamui and Asami. Of course, they were silent. The pseudologist thought to himself. _I think that as long as I push things, they'll concede. I'll focus on Asami as my prime suspect. As much as I hate it, I believe she's the one we need to pin down! I know she's the one who did all this!_

"Can't we just call Asami the killer and be done with it?" Kaniza bit into her lips. "I-I mean, she confessed to poisoning him..."

"But Kamui drugged Ko in the first place." Fuwari crossed her arms. "I cannot pin Asami down when the chances of Kamui being our prime suspect is still high."

Sheina frowned. "I believe as long as the job has been done, then Asami is our killer!"

The stunt double grimaced as he watched things unfold. Everyone was pointing fingers, either yelling at Kamui or Asami as the killer. There was no middle ground at all. "Well, this sucks. We're pretty split about this, huh?"

"Ohoho! Did I hear you correctly~?" Monokuma yelled into the open, his high-pitched voice excited and his paws jitterly. "Did you say split? I know you did! Upupupu! This calls for a scrum debate!"

Fumio burrowed his brows. "Scrum debate?"

The headmaster laughed. "Puhuhuhu, yes, a scrum debate! Since you guys are all split down right in the middle, we will have our very own morphenomenal trial grounds where the opposing sides will battle one another for the right answer."

Ryoichi's eyes widened. "Wait, so the trial's gonna morph?"

Monokuma nodded. "Yessir! We're gonna give this trial some more flair, so you guys will be able to place your arguments against one another and fight for the truth! Puhuhuhu! Well, okay! Here we go!"

Monokuma took out a key, an excited glint in his red eye as suddenly a keyhole appeared near his chair. He locked in the key and turned the handle, suddenly the room beginning to rumble. Each and every person's stand began to move, moving up into the sky with a roaring sound. From the walls around them could Minori see the question bolded in bright red, "Who is the blackened?". The left side is shown with a rather dark pink arrow that said "Kamui" while the right had a blue arrow with the bolded name "Asami".

 _Alright._ Minori clenched into his fists. _I need to make them focus on Asami! I know... I know she's doing this for a reason!_

* * *

 **SCRUM DEBATE**

 **Question:** Who is the blackened?

 **LEFT SIDE "KAMUI":** Fuwari, Asami, Ryoichi, Amyto, Fumio, Seiga, Saori, Sagiso

 **RIGHT SIDE "ASAMI":** Minori, Kaniza, Sheina, Kakuma, Kamui, Nezumi, Rin

.|.|.|.

 **Seiga:** Asami does make a good point, I mean, Kamui did _**drug**_ Ko.

 **Kamui:** Yes, I did _**drug**_ Ko, however I didn't kill him.

.

 **Amyto:** But we don't know yet if Kamui _**planned**_ this entire thing!

 **Rin:** But we aren't sure if Asami was the one who _**planned**_ this either, right?

.

 **Saori:** Monokuma might be trying to trick us into believing the _**'blackened'**_ is Asami.

 **Kakuma:** The _**blackened**_ is the person who killed Ko. That's all there is to it.

.

 **Fuwari:** But would Monokuma bend the **_rules_** to make such cases complicated?

 **Minori:** He would never bend the _**rules**_ if he really does consider himself a stickler to the rules, so our culprit would be Asami!

.

 **Fumio:** The concept of a **_killer_** does differ.

 **Nezumi:** I-I'm pretty sure mostly everyone would define _**killer**_ differently than Asami's way...

.

 **Sagiso:** Shouldn't we be **_wary_** of Kamui though?

 **Kaniza:** But I think we should also be _**wary**_ of what Asami says too!

.

 **Ryoichi:** Monokuma did **_agree _**with Ms. Karihime though.

 **Sheina:** Hmph! That _**agreement**_ doesn't actually hold any value though!

.

 **Asami:** Why are you so persistent in pinning me as the **_culprit_**?

 **Minori:** Because only the _**culprit**_ would push this far in a trial!

.

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori sighed deeply as they fell back to the ground, the room now silent and others murmuring. "I understand Asami's point of view, however she's the one who killed Ko. We may not be sure who planned the case exactly, but if we continue to question if our blackened is Kamui or Asami we'll just end up with a game over! Let's focus on the case! She might just be trying to confuse us. Who even knows what Monokuma's actually planning?"

"I-I guess you're right." Amyto scratched her head awkwardly, unsure of what to do. "Um, so like, uh, we figured out Asami killed Ko, right?"

"Hm." Asami crossed her arms, eyeing Minori for a moment. "Minori, you are really pushing for me to be the blackened. Do you actually hate me?"

Minori's eyes widened, sweat trickling from his head. "N-no, of course not!"

Asami smiled a bit, but continued to glare at him. "You may have gotten everything correct, however I must correct you on one thing."

"And what's that?" The pseudologist bit into his lips.

"I didn't bring anything with me when I was moving my way into the dark." Asami frowned. "You were lying about there being a light source in the lottery room, right? Well, there was nothing there. I couldn't have used anything."

Saori frowned, eyeing Minori who held his breath. "So he was lying?"

Nezumi's eyes widened. "So we literally figured out nothing about the light?"

Sagiso shook her head. "Wait, but what if Asami's lying?"

"She's not." Kakuma frowned, crossing his arms. "She's telling us that she will not let us vote her out if we can't figure everything out."

"B-but she already confessed..." The thief cupped his hands. "Can't we just vote?"

Monokuma shrugged from where he sat, somehow another martini in his paws. "The killer actually has to be defeated in order for the voting time sequence to start. You haven't actually thrown her into despair yet, right? Upupupupu!"

"Okay, that's legit bullshit." Seiga sighed before looking at Asami. "So, you're saying you did something else to travel through the dark then?"

"That's correct. Also, I want to mention that you do not know who planned this murder in the first place."

Ryoichi frowned. "D-does that really matter?"

Asami nodded. "Of course. I would like to hear everything."

 _Who planned the murder..._ Minori cupped his chin. _There may be few things to go on here, but I'm sure I'll find something! Asami's definitely counting on me!_

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets Selected: Circular Rings | Bump on Head | Enlarged Eyes | Lips**

 **Kamui:** I doubt figuring out who planned Ko's death is near impossible.

 **Ryoichi:** Well, you're no help.

 **Sagiso:** Well, what do we know so far about this case?

 **Kakuma:** Kamui was **the one who drugged Ko** while Asami was the one who poisoned him, right?

 **Seiga:** That's basically it... But don't worry! If anything, the hero here will solve it!

 **Fumio:**... Then do it already.

 **Saori:** Maybe if we talk about Ko's death a second time we may find something.

 **Nezumi:** Y-you think? Um, well, he was poisoned with the **Type B Poison**...

 **Kaniza:** The things that he had taken into his body were the motive, the medication, the sleeping drug, and now the poison... So cruel.

 **Sagiso:** Symptoms, then?

 **Ryoichi:** He had a **bump on the back** of his head, however it was from the killer.

 **Amyto:** His eyes were **enlarged** too.

 **Sheina:** Horrifically, and his _**face was red**_! May the Gods bless him kindly!

 **Saori:**... That's basically all of it, Minori.

 **Minori:** _No, wait...! Something's wrong._

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Circular Rings-**

 **Minori:** You've got that wrong!

* * *

"Sheina, wait, that's a huge overstatement there."

The egyptologist's eyes widened. "It is?"

The white-haired man nodded. "Ko's face wasn't entirely red, however the reddening of the face was a symptom for the Type B Poison. Around Ko's eyes were red, however that was it. There was nothing else that indicated the reddening of his face other than the rings around his eyes, Sheina."

Sheina frowned. "Huh? But then why?"

Minori frowned as well, now pondering on the thought. He eyed Asami who was silent, staring right at him. _Why would only the reddening appear near Ko's eyes? What purpose is there-_ The man's eyes widened. _Oh, I see._

"Asami, I see it now." The Ultimate's heart dropped. "You're the one who planned this entire thing. You wanted to make Ko feel as peaceful as possible, and that's why you made Kamui drug Ko. You didn't want to make your work not only easier, but you didn't want Ko to feel pain. You wanted to kill him as quickly as possible, so you tried to make him drink all of the poison, huh?"

Asami was silent. She continued to eye the pseudologist for a moment before crossing her arms. "Is that what you believe in?"

"You were the one who planned this. If Kamui had planned this, he would've been the one to kill Ko. He would've been most likely causing Ko's death by overdose. You were the one who planned this. You wanted to kill Ko as quickly as possible, and that's why the reddening only extended to around his eyes. You tried to make him overdose in order so his death would come as quickly as possible. You also could've poisoned him by making Kamui use two packets of sleeping powder, but you didn't. You didn't want Kamui to be the murderer, and that's why you only made him drug Ko."

"H-he certainly has a point..." Nezumi said, murmuring underneath his breath. "I-if Kamui planned this, h-he would've at least had the idea to kill Ko himself... I-it wouldn't be fair for Asami to do it."

Kakuma scoffed, frowning. "Who knows? However, I believe in this case, Minori's right. Whoever planned Ko's death should be the one who would kill him in the end. His reasoning makes sense, at least, between Kamui and Asami."

Kamui sighed, though Minori wasn't sure if it was out of relief or not. "You really think so?"

"I still won't admit defeat!"

Minori bit into his lips. Asami was glaring at him. The pseudologist knew he had to do something. "Asami, just admit it and let us end this! Don't you want us to avenge Ko? Asami, you're doing this to show us the truth! We figured it out! You and Kamui wanted to protect us, and that's why you did it!"

"But you don't even know how I travelled in the dark!" Asami pounded her fists. "Minori, I can't be the one to tell you the truth! I killed Ko, yes, that's right! Kamui and I planned this entire thing, but I can't admit defeat unless you tell me how I'm able to drag Ko's body from his room to the infirmary!"

Minori was taken aback. _Asami... Why? I don't understand this anymore. You and Kamui did this to protect us. You want us to know the truth, but why are you still doing this? Are you... Oh... I see now. You're afraid of death. Asami..._

The pseudologist shook his head inwardly. _Of course. She's afraid of this 'punishment'. She's the blackened after all. Of course she would be afraid of punishment. No matter how much I idolize her, she's still human. She... she still fears death._

Minori clenched his fists. _However, despite that, I have to push forward! I'm going to push forth your wish of showcasing this trial and help you move forward, Asami! I'll do it for not only everyone's sake, but for your sake!_

"Asami, admit your guilt!"

Asami bit into her lips, her body shaking. "Tsk! Minori!"

* * *

 **ARGUMENT ARMAMENT**

 **Asami:** I still won't admit defeat!

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** There is still more to this case, Minori!

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** Believe me, you haven't found everything yet!

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** Do you know the truth behind this case?

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** I will never admit defeat!

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** Please, this isn't over!

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** I'm so sorry for this, Minori.

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** There needs to be more work done here!

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** I will not admit defeat!

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** There's still more behind this trial!

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** I'm so sorry, Minori, I'm sorry.

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** I had to kill Ko, I had to...

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** I know this isn't right, but the truth's not yet reached!

|BREAK!|

 **Asami:** Minori, you haven't found it yet.

|BREAK!|

 **FINAL BLOW!**

 **Asami:** Do you even know how I was able to bring Ko from his room to the infirmary?

 **ARMOR | YOU USED | THE REFLECTION | ON YOUR**

 **Minori:** This is the answer!

 **ANSWER: _You used the reflection on your armor._**

 **Asami:** That's...

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori bit into his lips, watching Asami who was simply stunned into silence. "Asami, your breastplate is made out of iron. Not only that, but it is very clear and shiny. Metal would always reflect in the dark. You could've made your way in the dark because of your breastplate."

"Holy shit. No way." Seiga was silent.

Rin averted her gaze. She couldn't believe that the answer was so simple. "I-it would make sense though... The golden earrings I lost before in a jewelry shop was able to be found easily since it shined in the dark..."

"You were the last one out of the tunnel. You could've easily done such and return without raising suspicion."

Fumio looked at the knight. "Asami, is this true?"

Asami was silent. She seemed to have lost her composure, her face now pale. She was overwhelmed. Her heart was beating. Her teeth was clattering. She clenched her fists before quickly slapping her cheeks, skin touching skin and a loud sound escaping the room. She let out a huge sigh before smiling at Minori. "Congratulations, Minori. You got it right. I'm glad. I thought you never would've figured it out."

"Asami..." Minori shook his head. _She's forcing it. She's trying her best to act strong._

The scholar scribbled into his notepad, a saddened expression on his face. "So, you really did do it."

Asami nodded. "Yes, I did it. I would never lie about that."

Amyto clenched her fists and turned away. "Honestly, I wish you did..."

Kakuma turned to the knight. "So, you admit defeat then?"

"Of course." Asami crossed her arms. "Minori, I want to ask you for one favor. Please, will you explain this entire case to me, one last time? I'm sure everyone here will need it too."

The pseudologist gulped. His heart was racing. His head was aching. He couldn't believe he was doing this, yet he continued. He had to do it. "Of course."

* * *

 **CLOSING ARGUMENT**

 **Minori:** Here's the truth of this case!

It all started when Ko and the others had fainted. This was obviously from the motive Monokuma gave us, and it was a brutal reminder that in no more than a few days, all of us would end up poisoned and dead unless we had killed someone. Of course, we were all afraid of death, however to murder someone? We would never do such a thing. However, it was that line of thinking that caused the killer and Kamui to plan this whole murder. We wouldn't kill, however if nobody did, then all of us would die. There had to be a murder. One out of a lot of lives? It should be nothing. That was what they were thinking at the time, I believe.

The killer and Kamui most likely got together to plan the murder. Asami would be the one to plan the murder, having suggested that they would kill Ko. Why Ko, you would say? Well, it is most likely out of convenience. He's small, frail, and sick. He would be the perfect victim, no matter how priceless one life may be.

The same time the killer and Kamui had planned the murder, Seiga had a plan of his own. He had molded a wire into a makeshift key and told us the plan to enter into the lab room. Asami and Kamui most likely agreed to the plan as a distraction, however Saori's plan to investigate the infirmary did help stall for time as well. However, most likely, even if Seiga and Saori hadn't planned such things, the killer and Kamui would've come up with something instead.

Before all of that, Kaniza had wanted to treat the sick. She matched the medication to the sick's symptoms and cooked the food alongside Sagiso, the killer, and Kamui. Kamui had suggested Kaniza would label the cups, and she agreed. However, she had not yet filled the cups with water. They had finished cooking all of the food, however Kaniza and Sagiso needed to use the restroom. They left the kitchen in the care of the duo who were able to use each other as alibis, allowing for Kamui to drug Ko's drink and fill the glasses with water.

Unknowingly, when the duo came back, they didn't even took notice that Ko's glass had been drugged. They wouldn't suspect anything anyways. Kaniza simply prepared the meals and drinks, then bringing them to the sick. She would become the suspect of this case, however she isn't the killer. She was simply used as a stepping stone for the duo, nothing more. During this would be the time Ko had been drugged, if not during when we were in the infirmary to investigate how the poison bottles had gotten restocked.

After we had investigated the infirmary, we headed to the lab room and discovered a flight of stairs leading into a tunnel. We were all heading into the tunnel when the lights had shut off and the sirens began to blare. It had been halfway into the day, and by halfway, to be exact, would be halfway from the morning to nighttime announcement. Of course, since it was so dark and loud, some people had gotten lost during their way into the tunnel. Those who hadn't gotten lost were me, Rin, Kaniza, Sagiso, Kamui, and Seiga. The rest were.

Being lost, however, was simply an act to hide what they were doing. The killer was the last person to enter into the tunnel, however she had most likely didn't bother to go in first of all. She made her way out of the lab room to Ko's room by using the reflection on her breastplate. There, she found Ko, asleep and drugged. She would be able to move Ko's body from there to the infirmary, then placing him down gently in order to get ahold of the Type B Poison. She opened it and then poured it into his lips, however wanting to not have him suffer as much as possible, she most likely tried to chug it down into him and ended up becoming desperate as a result, resulting in her dropping Ko down. That would cause the bump on his head.

Being dark, the killer was able to move back into the tunnel. The act of being lost, when the lights opened the killer was able to easily come back up and pretend she had simply lost her way. She was able to make Sheina her alibi as well like this and for once when the lights were on, we thought we had stopped the killing game. We were so happy at this point that we ran to wake up the sick. However, that was when we noticed Ko was gone... and was murdered.

The one who killed our poor Haruko Yoshikawa... is you, Asami Karihime, the Ultimate Knight!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"No fucking way..." Seiga shook his head.

Minori looked at the knight. "Asami."

The knight's smile became melancholic as she looked to the pseudologist. "Everything you said was correct. Yes, sorry, I know. I was acting way too inappropriate for a knight. Fear not! I don't fear my own life any longer. I will not argue any longer. Thank you, Minori." She then chuckled, putting a fist up. "Myself aside, I'm so happy you're able to act so dependent in a trial! You've grown in so little time, Minori! Everyone else as well! You all haven't given up when things seemed hopeless, so I'm joyous!"

Minori held his breath. He hated it. He hated seeing Asami forcing herself to act so cheerful, to act so determined and brave. _She really does want us to not worry about her. But... Asami, fearing for your life is fine. I understand why you were pushing so forward earlier._

"Sir Kamui, sorry, you must've been very shocked to hear my words earlier." Asami smiled at the mortician. "I am truly sorry to have placed suspicion on you as the blackened of this case, sir!"

He shook his head. "No, I understand. Your reasoning did make sense at the time too. But, Asami, are you really fine with this?"

Asami chuckled, shaking her head. "Kamui, it isn't nice to ask such a frivolous question."

Kamui bit into his lips. He was averting his gaze. "But..."

"You killed Ko then... It's true..." Amyto was tearing up. She quickly shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "W-why did you have to be the one who killed him...?!"

"I had to." The knight smiled before looking to Monokuma. "Please, would you allow them to vote already? I don't think I'll be able to handle this guilt if this were to prolong any longer."

"Mhm! Of course!" Monokuma chuckled, clapping with his paws for a whole moment. He then took ahold of a gavel and hit it onto the wood, causing the voting ballot screens to appear in front of each Ultimate. "Now, please place your votes on the ballot! Remember, choose wisely! Failure in choosing will also result in immediate punishment, so make sure you vote! Upupupu!"

Minori eyed the screen, his heart racing. _Voting time, huh..._

* * *

 **VOTING TIME!**

 **CHOOSE THE BLACKENED OF THIS CASE!**

Minori Watanabe

Fumio Fujiyoshi

Kakuma Arakaki

Nezumi Jirokichi

Kamui Setsushi

Seiga Kosoku

-Haruko Yoshikawa-

Ryoichi Homura

Fuwari Akatsuki

Saori Arai

Rin Hoseki

Sagiso Hazuki

Kaniza Tsukitaiyo

Sheina Yakamuro the 12th

Amyto Uchida

 **Asami Karihime**

* * *

Monokuma raised his hand up as the screens faded to black, now a gigantic screen shown from the center of the trial grounds. Everyone laid their eyes up to the screen as each Ultimate's character profile began to switch. "Upupupupu! Now, let's see what the results are! Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one?"

The profiles slowly came to a stop, now the tallies shown.

* * *

 **VOTING RESULTS**

 **Asami Karihime -** 15 Votes

 **Answer:** Asami Karihime

 **CORRECT!**

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL END!**

 **PLEASE RISE!**

* * *

Ryoichi was stunned. "W-we got it right..."

"W-we did it? S-so we didn't mess up, after all?!" Nezumi's eyes widened before he sprung out from his spot, exasperated. He was obviously tired, having spread his body across the floor. "Oh my god, I can't believe it! W-we did it!"

Kakuma scoffed and crossed his arms. He wasn't amused at all, instead looking at the result and then at Monokuma. "I can't believe this."

"Just why?" Amyto bit into her lips. "Why did you and Kamui had to resort to killing someone? We could've done something!"

Asami laughed bitterly, shaking her head. "As much as I would like to believe it, it's impossible. Killing someone is the only thing we could've done. Haven't you all realized? This killing game... Monokuma orchestrated this entire thing. As much as I would like us to find a way out, to go against someone who orchestrated something as extravagent and brutal as this is too unfair. The least we could've done was to keep you all safe."

Kaniza rubbed her eyes, a sob escaping her lips. "But Ko..."

"We didn't want to kill him. Honestly, to kill someone is just shameful!" Asami clenched her fists, pain spread across her face. "But we had no choice. As much as he means to us, we targeted him because of his structure... I-I honestly cannot believe I had to think of such things! I'm a lowly knight who doesn't even deserve to be called a knight!"

"Asami..." Minori averted his gaze.

"I had so many second thoughts throughout this entire thing, but I couldn't stop myself." The knight bit into her lips. "I needed to keep you all safe. I would rather die than to allow all of you to fall. I wanted to confess the moment I killed him, but... the rules forbid me... I could only wait until you all figured it out, and even then I fought because I feared death! Truly, I'm no mere Ultimate. I'm no mere knight."

Kamui clenched his fists and took a step forward, his expression stiff. "You are the Ultimate Knight, Asami."

"Huh?"

"Asami, you planned all of this in order to protect the others. I didn't want to do this either, and I wasn't even the one was supposed to kill him!" The mortician shook his head, tears in the corner of his eyes. "Honestly, I loathe this as much as you do, but you aren't someone to be despised! You wanted to protect us all, even moreso than me! Isn't that why you wanted me to help you? You wanted to protect these people as much as you could, and you needed my help. Asami, you are worthy as a knight!"

"But... Ko died because of me..."

The hypnotist decided to step in, her voice angry. "Asami, shut it! I'm sure Ko forgives you anyways! You're strong and courageous, Asami! I-I hate myself much more than you do! I wasn't able to realize this because I was afraid of death! B-being able to kill someone, j-just to protect us-!"

Kakuma scoffed, speaking underneath his breath. "She still killed someone though."

"Oh, just shut it!" Amyto glared at the wedding planner before walking over to the knight, throwing her arms around her. She was hugging her tightly, tightly in her embrace. "A-Asami, you're so brave..."

"A-Amyto..." Asami began to tear up, however her lips curved into a pained smile as she hugged the hypnotist back, tight.

Nezumi was sobbing, rubbing his eyes and speaking in garbles. It didn't take long before Asami decided to walk over to him, hugging him tightly afterwards. "T-this is making me cry...! Waaah, Asami!"

Ryoichi sniffed, eyes red as he stared at the pixie-haired woman. "Ms. Karihime, I am hopeful that the people above will cherish you."

Asami wiped her tears as she released her grip from the thief, now smiling at the group. "Thank you all. You guys really are the nicest group of people I've met."

Minori couldn't help but feel his eyes beginning to water. To see Asami smile despite the pain was heartbreaking. "A-Asami... I'll miss you..."

The knight looked at the pseudologist before chuckling, moving in to embrace the man. "Don't worry. Just remember to believe in yourself." She released her grip and clapped her hands together. "And please get along well, alright?"

Seiga winked at the woman, throwing her a toothy smile and thumbs-up. "Don't worry! I believe in us all!"

"Haha, of course." Asami then took a deep breath, her smile fading into a serious frown as she turned to Monokuma. "The punishment, would you please."

Monokuma grinned. "Why, yes, of course! Sheesh, I've been dying to get this touchy-touchy heartfelt shit gone! Let's get on with the execution already!"

"W-wait! Execution?!" Sheina was taken aback. "T-there is no need for Asami to be executed! As the Son of Osiris, I won't allow it!"

Kaniza threw her hands over her mouth. "T-the punishment's execution?!"

Seiga clenched his fists as he suddenly jumped towards the front, close to Monokuma. "I won't allow this! As the hero, I will stop you! Execution is a horrendous concept, and I will not allow such things to happen, ever!"

Asami was silent. She didn't seem fazed at all, only sighing underneath her breath. "I had a hunch that was it." She looked at her friends, painfully smiling. "Please, do not worry about me. I'm fine with this. I won't be here to cheer you guys on, but I'll be in the afterlife alongside Ko to cheer you on! I do have to apologize to him first though."

Minori held his breath. _She did knew that the punishment would be this... Asami..._

"A-Asami, you can't just accept dying like this!" Kamui was shaking his head. "This isn't right!"

"I'll be fine. You should be happy that you're still alive, Kamui. You have a chance to help the others again!" Asami smiled at the mortician who was stunned, biting harshly into his lips. She looked at the headmaster. "Sorry about that, please continue."

"Hmph! God, can't an execution come in peace?" Monokuma groaned, but didn't seem too bothered as he continued to speak as happily as before. "Ahem! I have a very special punishment for the Ultimate Knight, Asami Karihime! Let's go! It's punishment time!"

* * *

 **GAME OVER**

 **Asami Karihime has been found guilty.**

* * *

 **EXECUTION START!**

 **ASAMI KARIHIME - Knight in Shining Armor**

Asami is taken into a royal palace, a royal room with the throne to be seen, however there is no one to be found. No one except for a young, beautiful princess. She cried and wailed to the knight, crying, "Please help me! Save me!" She had cried and cried, tears falling to the ground to form a puddle. Asami was confused, of course. Why did she need help? Why did the princess need saving? It didn't matter. All her questions were answered in an instant when an echo of screams flooded the entire palace.

 _"Save me!" "Help!" "Please, someone!"_

Words of desperation and plea echoed throughout the room. It caused Asami to stand up, paling. She reached for her sword, however her fingers were trembling as they touched the sheath. The princess had continued to cry, wailing and sobbing for the knight to do something. Something as the doors began to burst open. An army of soldiers had stormed into the room, weapons in hand. Swords in hand and shields in another. The army of Monokuma-like soldiers were running into the room, surrounding Asami and the princess.

Asami's eyes widened and she immediately took out her sword. The army of Monokuma began to jump and attack. Asami swung. She hit the soldiers with her sword, slicing them apart and breaking them into bits. She fought and fought, the princess in her side. She had to protect the princess. She had to do whatever it took to save the princess. She swung and swung, breathless as she hit each soldier.

Her speed, her strength, her posture... They were all beginning to decrease as time passed by. Minutes, hours began to pass by slowly as she began to get hit. She swung and killed, however in return she was cut and bruised. The edges of swords began to harm her body, cutting through her clothes and ruining her beautiful, shining breastplate. The princess continued to cry, however. The princess was scared for her life.

She began to lose her breath. She began to lost balance. She began to weaken and her heart continued to race. The edges of the soldiers' swords began to hit more and more, fatal and vital. She tried to swing, however the sword had been knocked from her hands. She was now rendered useless, now a tattered body to be beaten.

She couldn't do anything but tower over the princess. No matter what, she was a knight. She had to protect the princess.

No matter if she was beaten and injured, she was still on duty to protect her precious one. It didn't matter. Her life didn't matter. Her legs and arms were now bloody and bruised, her chest and back were now bloody. Her breastplate had broken and was now on the floor, ruined forever into bits. She hugged the princess, the swords now stabbing right into her.

It pained her so much. She wanted to die. She couldn't move her legs and arms without wanting to cry. She couldn't breathe without wanting to scream.

A sword was about to reach for the princess' head. Asami had to move though. She quickly moved her head to the princess, the blade now cutting across her eye. She was going to bleed. She was going to bleed to death.

However, the stabbings disappeared. The soldiers had left. Asami wondered. What happened? Why did the soldiers leave? What was happening?

That hopeful glint almost overtook Asami. She protected the princess. She wanted to speak to the princess, however her eyes widened.

The princess was simply another Monokuma, dressed as a beautiful princess. The bear laughed menacingly before stabbing a sword straight through Asami's chest. Her body was now flung inches from the ground, blood forming a puddle down as the Monokuma slittered away from sight. A laugh echoed into the air before disappearing, leaving Asami hanging.

 _"You failure!" "Can't you do something useful in life?"_

That voice... That voice sounded close to someone, but Asami couldn't tell who. Instead, she could hear flames burning in the distance. She would be burnt, that was all she knew. She would either be burnt alive, or bled to death. She didn't know which would come first, instead her laughing bitterly as she watched her body being engulfed in flames. She couldn't even bother screaming. That slow, slow, endless death didn't matter anymore.

All she could care about was her failure as a knight.

* * *

"Oh my god..." Kaniza was speechless, eyes watering as her hands were still over her mouth. She couldn't come up with anything to say afterwards, her mouth standing agape. She felt sick. She felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't even sob before fainting, traumatized from what she had saw.

Ryoichi was screaming, quickly running behind Seiga who was pale, silent.

"T-that's going too far! Uuu..." Nezumi couldn't even wipe his nose nor his eyes, instead falling into a fit of vomit before falling down from shock.

Rin was silent, averting her gaze. She couldn't handle to look at Asami's corpse.

Fumio had curled into a ball and was on the verge of tears. He couldn't bear to hear anything any longer, still covering his ears.

"May Asami's soul rest in the afterlife," Fuwari prayed, murmuring to herself despite her initial look of disgust. "I hope you will find eternal peace."

Kamui was tearing up, horrified from what he had seen. He had to quickly run to the corner in order to compose himself, body shaking.

Kakuma bit into his lips, visibly disgusted. He turned to look at Monokuma who was amused by the execution, now taking time to eye the reactions of his students. "You're sick," he said, clenching into his fists. "Sick."

Saori had been clinging onto the iron fence that blocked the students' way from entering into Asami's execution room. Her hands were completely red, her body still shaking. She couldn't believe it. "Monokuma, why?"

Monokuma laughed. "Oh, aren't you kids funny! This is a killing game! Killing someone should result in that person being executed, right?"

"Why are you doing this?" Sagiso asked, forcing back her tears. "Is this... is this fun for you?"

The headmaster thought for a moment, but ultimately decided to not bother. Instead, he crossed his arms. "Oh, wouldn't you guys like to know! Upupupupu! Well, this was a fun ride, so I'm gonna go ahead and sleep! You guys can get back on the elevator to return to the school grounds! For now, I'll be in my room having a great night sleep!"

"Hey, wait-" Amyto didn't have the time to finish. Monokuma had disappeared from thin air.

"The Duat awaits, Asami." Sheina was gloomy, having closed her eyes and praying to the knight.

Minori was silent. He didn't know what to do. How could he know? Not only was Haruko dead, but now Asami was as well. He couldn't do anything. He was silent.

"Should we go back up?" Fuwari asked, albeit a it quieter than usual.

Kakuma crossed his arms. "Your choice. I doubt many of us have the strength to move for a while though."

Sagiso wiped her eyes before walking, heading to the elevator. "I'll go first then."

"I-I'll go too." Seiga quickly looked at the psychogeographer. He then smiled awkwardly, grabbing ahold of Kaniza and Nezumi, throwing them over his shoulders and walking her way. "I think these two need to rest. I'll follow you up, girl."

"Of course." Sagiso smiled subtly, but made her way into the elevator.

Fumio slowly uncurled himself, forcing himself to move towards the elevator as well. He didn't seem to want to talk, his notepad in his hands.

"I-I'll go as well." Ryoichi was quiet, making his way alongside the others.

Everyone began to move, everyone began to move their way towards the elevator. Everyone, everyone except for Kamui and Minori. The pseudologist was still frozen, stuck in time. He didn't know. He just didn't know.

"We'll meet you up then," Amyto said, shaky as she left Kamui and Minori to their lonesome. The elevator doors began to close, now silence.

Minori looked at the mortician who was now sitting by his lonesome, silent. The pseudologist gulped. "Um, you're not going up?"

"I... I was going to ask you the same thing." Kamui didn't bother to look at the pseudologist.

 _He doesn't want to talk to me anymore._ It was obvious. Kamui hated himself. He hated himself at the moment. He allowed Asami to be killed. He felt like he hadn't saved anyone at all. _I better leave him alone then._

Minori groaned, stretching his arms. He wanted to stay for a bit longer. He was unsure of what to do next. What do people do after someone died? Minori wasn't even sure there was a correct answer. He simply loitered around the trial room, immersing himself in guilt that- yes, he felt like he could've done something to save Asami. He wished he could've turned back time. He wished he could stop Asami from thinking such things, however it was too late. He was in the present, and he couldn't do anything about it.

He had to continue on.

* * *

... And here's our trial's official end! Well, I already know some of you are smart little cookies and guessed most of these out, but I hope the rest of you enjoyed this case, at least in the slightest bit! Anyways, my first time writing a case and a trial, so mistakes have definitely been made here! Damn, I hope I'll be able to do better the next case!

Anyways, I'm legitimately sad! I'm so sad about this... The killer and victim were definitely the most cheerful and energetic of the cast. Of course, there are a lot more energetic and cheerful characters, but these two were the most! I can't believe I killed them! I'm crying... Ko and Asami are some of the most well-written characters I've ever seen. I love them to death! Anyways, their free time events and/or special scenes will be posted soon, I hope! ... Next chapter will be the resolution of this case, so it'll be not too long, but I hope you don't mind!

But, the game must continue! So, what are your thoughts on this case? What do you think will happen in future chapters and cases? Is there anything you want me to fix or anything you hope for in the future, whether it'd be character relationships or special scenes? Am I portraying your characters correctly? Please state your comments and tell me what you feel!


	13. Chapter 1 - Part 2, Part D

Hello! I hope everyone had quite a long break from reading the previous chapter! It won't be too happy and light here since we are in the aftermath of the entire chapter, so... yeah. Still, I hope you read through this and enjoy! Also, we have a new cover picture! I wonder why?

 **Writer's Block Abundance:** "Haha, glad you liked it! Ooh, yeah, now that I think about it Fuyuhiko's unused execution is similar... Haha, don't worry! There are still a lot of characters left to love! Great! I hope you'll like this chapter!"

 **liammarklh88:** "Hooray! There's always a first for everything, haha. I want every trial to be different, but then again, it's hard to actually write the murders and cases, haha. All the best characters tend to die though, lol. Of course not! I still have a long way to go before I'll be able to write a perfectly complicated trial case! Haha, I look forward to it. You have a lot of interesting ideas that I could use in the future haha. Well, there goes most of the extroverted people! Don't worry! I'll do my best to cheer you up, as much as I'm able to! A lot of people do tend to discontinue stories, so I really appreciate those who continue despite the circumstance. I feel like I need to do my best to please others!"

 **AmaryllisGreen:** "No, no, it's fine! I'm glad you're reading it at least! I'm glad it was at least able to be understood! I'll do my best next time! Haha, nice inputs! Definitely will keep those in mind! Don't worry, a lot of character development will come in the future!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "I mean, most people thought she would've been a victim instead haha. Well, I should've mentioned earlier or explained it better in the trial, but it wasn't entirely pitch black! Well, I'll try to do better next time! I thought having a murderer-accomplice case would be definitely interesting for sure, so yeah! Oh shoot, I always seem to forget something. Thanks!"

 **ToonGuy:** "Asami was one of my favorites to write! Don't worry, I wouldn't have thought of it if I was a reader too. Lol, I feel that with Kakuma all the damn time. Honestly, Asami would've been the type to confess because she's just that great of a person. Yeah, I was hoping it would be at least emotional. I'm glad you liked it though! A lot of characters have a long way to go too... Haha, I hope so too! I'm glad you'll stick through to the end though! You're awesome!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Don't worry girlfriend, I'm crying too! That thought of death was something I've been meaning to bring up a long time ago, but Asami fits saying those things well. It would bring up a lot of gray-gray morality in the future, if I use such a ploy~ Yes, I love your inputs! I'll definitely consider them in the future!"

 **irwegwert:** "Don't worry! It's instinct to love characters! I don't blame you for loving Asami! Everyone's human, no one is perfect... Glad you loved Asami more despite what she did during the trial! Haha, well, Monokuma's just that type of person (thing?) who prioritizes despair more than anything. It was mostly pitch black, but there would always be light in some way or form. I should've explained it better in the trial or investigation, huh? Sorry... Yes, there will be a lot of things needed to be discussed in the future!"

 **Agrael:** "Haha, well, you were half-right! Aw thanks, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!"

 **DryBonesKing:** "Well, sorry for scaring you then, haha! I'm glad you seemed to enjoy the trial too! Yes, maybe if this story wasn't Danganronpa, then there might've been a happier, hopeful ending. Alas, that isn't so. Your inputs are very interesting too. It'll definitely help when I write future chapters~ Hope you enjoy this chapter~"

* * *

Hours had seem to passed by. Hours had seem to passed by since Minori was silent, staring at nothing but the lonely trial grounds. Kamui had already left after a moment, the mortician too pale and stunned for the pseudologist to even look at. What time was it? Was everyone sleeping? What's happening with the others? Minori didn't know. He was simply still, staring at the empty trial grounds in a daze.

Hours had passed. _I should leave. Everyone's probably sleeping already..._

Minori had to force himself to even move, his body stiff and legs heavy. He didn't even realize he had staggered into the elevator, his mind only circled on the fact that Haruko and Asami were dead. They were dead, and he doesn't know what to do next. What would those two want him to do? Minori wasn't sure. He didn't know, and he waited silently as the elevator began to move up.

The elevator was moving. Moving, slowly.

A moment passed, then the doors opening. Minori was now inside of the auditorium, the room dark and silent. There was nobody in the room, as expected. No one was present. No one was near for Minori to see. No one, no one at all.

Yes, it was dead silent.

Minori sighed inwardly to himself, beginning to make his way out of the room. It wasn't too dark, however he had noticed the clock on the wall. It was past midnight. It was about two in the morning. Honestly, he wasn't surprised. He couldn't even bother.

He made his way out of the room and began to walk down the hallways, roaming around to who-knows-where. He took a quick detour to the infirmary, however to his shock there was nobody. Nobody was in sight. Haruko's body. Haruko's poor, poor body was nowhere to be found. Did Monokuma dispose of him? He wasn't sure, but he didn't want to think. He couldn't allow himself to cry again.

Minori made his way into the dormitories. There was a small light from the ceiling which illuminated the area, however that creepy feeling didn't bother him at all. All he could focus on was getting into his room. Everyone else was asleep, after all.

He was about to turn the doorknob when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Minori quickly whipped his head back, almost wanting to scream before realizing it was a familiar face. He sighed as he looked at the person. "Seiga? I thought you were sleeping..."

Seiga scratched his head, an awkward smile on his face. "I mean, some of them are. Nezumi and Kaniza are still out cold and some of the others are literally dead exhausted." He chuckled a bit, though it was obviously forced. "So, how about you? Are you gonna sleep?"

The pseudologist nodded slowly. "I mean, it's been a long day. I honestly do not know what else to do. You... You aren't going to sleep? Why're you still awake, Seiga?"

The stunt double crossed his arms, quickly averting his gaze. "N-nothing special! Just thought it'd be fitting for the hero to make sure the supporting cast's fine." He laughed for a couple of moments before looking back at Minori. A sigh escaped his lips. "I was with the rest of the others who're awake."

"Really?" Minori frowned. "What are the others doing?"

"Discussing tons of depressing shit about this and that. Honestly, I can't take it all, so I got out to take a breather and saw you walking." Seiga bit into his lips. "You should go to the dining hall, Minori. I'm pretty sure you'd want it."

The pseudologist averted his gaze. "The dining hall..." _Right. Ko's chocolate._

"I mean, I'm not here to nag you. That's very unheroic like, after all." Seiga forced another chuckle. "Uh, I'll be resting a bit for now, but you could go ahead. I just...need a bit of time to think."

"I see. Thank you." Minori watched the stunt double who waved to him, then walking to his own room and closing the door. The pseudologist sighed, exhausted. His heart was now racing erratically. His head was aching. _Should I go to the dining hall...?_

Minori thought for a long minute. He clenched at his heart, a pained expression on his face. _I should go._

The pseudologist forced himself to move, making his way slowly, slowly to the dining hall. His footsteps were heavy and his breathing was hitched. However, he forced his way into the room, finding the lights open and a few people present. A few people were inside of the room, melancholic and firm. They were serious, pained. Though only a few people, Minori was still shocked. Fuwari, Kakuma, Amyto, and Sheina.

Amyto was the first to notice Minori, her eyes red and watery. She was holding a particular chocolate in hand. A chocolate which was handcrafted particulary for her. It was the chocolate Haruko had made. "M-Minori..."

Fuwari crossed her arms, although her face was pained as well. "Are you here to discuss or remorse? Ko's chocolates were all made and finished too, after all."

"I can't believe he still made one for me." Kakuma had his hand over his forehead. "Jesus Christ, this situation is too... It's exhausting to even think about this all."

Sheina bit into her lips. "I hope that Asami and Ko will reach the Duat safely, however I am much more concerned about what we discussed beforehand."

"What were you guys discussing about?" The pseudologist frowned as he slowly made his way to a seat. He eyed the plate in the middle, then noticing a small handcrafted bunny chocolate piece. His heart clenched. _Shit... I shouldn't have looked. My eyes are beginning to water._

Kakuma eyed the pseudologist for a short moment before lifting his head, frowning. "I do not think it would be wise to discuss such things. You don't seem to be mentally stable at the moment."

Minori understood what the wedding planner meant, but his mind circled to a thought. He rubbed his eyes as he forced himself to not turn his direction to the middle of the table. "It's... is it about Kamui?"

The wedding planner scoffed. "Yes, that was who we were talking about before."

"... Oh." Minori nodded slowly. "He did play a part in Ko's death, but-"

"There are no 'buts' in the conversation." Kakuma shot a look at the pseudologist, shooting him down in an instant. "Kamui is still someone to be wary of. He still had the intentions of killing Ko, after all. I do not think we should trust him completely. I mean, I do not trust all of you, however Kamui may be someone that we all need to look out for."

Amyto sniffled, wiping her eyes. "I-I don't think I'll be able to talk to anyone too long for a while... I don't even wanna listen to what anyone plans now."

Sheina nodded her head. "I understand how you feel. I cannot believe Monokuma will try to push us this far...!"

"Yes, Monokuma is definitely at fault." Fuwari crossed her arms, frowning. "I cannot believe Kamui would act out of his own free will. It's blasphemy."

Minori averted his gaze. He wanted to retaliate. He wanted to defend Kamui, however he couldn't. He himself couldn't come to the conclusion of forgiving the mortician, yet. He just couldn't handle the situation now.

"Are we going to give everyone their chocolate?" That was all the pseudologist could say instead.

Amyto's eyes widened and she silently placed back her piece to the platter. "T-that was what we were planning... F-Fuwari thought it would've been a good way for us to mourn over their deaths... W-we're just not sure if everyone will be present at the table t-tomorrow..."

"Ah, right." Minori hung his head low. Now that he really thought about it, it was mainly Asami who would drag the group together. She would pull the Ultimates together into the dining hall for them to discuss and speak. Although Minori knew there were plenty of others who advocated for movement like the knight, Asami really was the one who push forth that idea.

 _If our undeclared leader is gone from the picture...will we even continue to force ourselves to unite in a sense of 'togetherness'?_ Minori bit into his lips. It was that very sense of unity that led to Asami and Kamui to kill, after all. That sense of needing to protect the group was nothing more than an offense and defense.

"I doubt a lot of us are mentally stable, considering what we had been forced to witness and endure." Kakuma stated in a matter-of-factly tone. "I doubt any of you guys will be able to even talk amongst one another. Hmph. Pathetic."

"That begs the question- what do we do now?" Fuwari eyed the group who was now silent.

 _What do we do now? ... I don't know._ Minori was unsure of the future. How would they handle Kamui? How would this killing game continue? Does this killing game have to continue? How would they interact with one another now that a murder had actually happen? Minori didn't know. He didn't know anything.

Silence. Heart-wrenching silence.

A few minutes passed before Minori decided to walk into his room. Honestly, he couldn't handle the silence inside of the dining hall. To hear the group's breathing, to hear Amyto's choked sobs and Kakuma's exhausted sighs... Honestly, Minori couldn't handle it.

He fell straight into bed and was staring blindly at the ceiling. He could tell there would be dark circles under his eyes by the time he would wake up, but at the moment- no, he couldn't care less.

 _How long will it take before I fall asleep? How long will it take until I force myself up and eat?_

It was about three in the morning. Already was it a brand new day. However, time may mean nothing. He couldn't see the Sun. He couldn't see what was happening outside. Honestly, he couldn't even tell if the time was correct or not. Did it even matter? Minori wasn't too sure.

 _I want to go home..._

He hadn't even realized it, but he was desperate. That thought never crossed his mind till this very moment, and now that it did, his heart was breaking. He couldn't help but recall his family. What were they doing? Were they looking for him? Minori couldn't care less anymore. Damn this school to hell. He wanted to damn this school to hell and break it into shreds. He just wanted to go back home, back to safety, back to spoil his siblings and be spoiled by his parents. He wanted to go back home.

Minori didn't even remember what the name of this goddamn school was. He couldn't care less. He wasn't learning anything anyways. He could only laugh bitterly before falling, finally, finally falling into slumber.

...

... And, just as he had sleep, he had woken up.

Minori's eyes opened to view the bright lights. Honestly, he couldn't recall hearing the morning announcement. He had most likely fell asleep past that time. The pseudologist groaned, feeling stiff over his entire body. He groggily moved up and eyed the time. It was about one in the afternoon. He was right- he had been sleeping past the morning announcement.

 _Well, it doesn't matter._ Routinely, the pseudologist began to move into the restroom, changing his clothes and brushing his teeth. He took a quick shower and changed into the same attire, combing his hair for a bit before stretching. Honestly, despite wanting to stay in his room, he forced himself to move. He hated life at the moment, however he couldn't help but worry about the others. He opened the door and began making his way straight into the dining hall.

He opened the door and to nobody's surprise, there wasn't much people in the room. The only people to greet him at the moment were Kaniza and Seiga. The rest of the people who were inside of the room only exchanged him a look, those people being Rin, Sheina, and Fuwari.

"Thought you'd never get out." Seiga scratched his head, an awkward smile on his face. He waved to Minori and gestured him to a seat.

Minori followed his gesture and took a seat. Honestly, he was glad the stunt double wasn't too excited or perky at the moment. He couldn't handle sudden bursts of energy at the moment. He would consider it uncanny, after all. "Did the others get out yet?"

Fuwari shook her head, crossing her arms. "Only a few of us had woken up, and fewer had bothered to eat together. Most are either still asleep in their rooms or locked inside. They refuse to allow anyone in."

"Oh." Minori hung his head low, averting his gaze. _It makes sense though._ "How about Kamui?"

At that moment, the room seemed to stop. Everyone almost froze in an instant, Kaniza forcing a small laugh as she looked at the pseudologist. "He's still inside his room. No one bothered to check on him though."

"I-I see..." The Ultimate held his breath.

Seiga frowned. "I wanted to try prying everyone out of their rooms, but these guys didn't let me." The man scoffed, crossing his arms. "We should at least try to get them all here tomorrow though. I don't know. I just don't like the atmosphere here dude."

"I mean, it makes sense." Kaniza awkwardly smiled at the stunt double. "But I'm sure some people are still mentally unstable and tired. I'm sure it'll be better to give them time."

Sheina scoffed. "They shouldn't worry at all. The Gods are smiling upon them, after all." She then averted her gaze, her voice now quieter than usual. "We wanted to mourn together over Asami and Ko's deaths, but since all of us weren't here it's impossible at the moment."

Rin eyed the egyptologist sadly before looking at Kaniza. "How's Nezumi? Is he doing fine?"

"Nezumi?" The astrophotographer scratched her head, laughing nervously. "I-I just heard from Seiga that he fainted. I'm sure he'll be fine though. Sagiso told me he wouldn't open the door when she tried to give him his food though, so... yeah, but don't worry. He'll definitely be fine!"

"Shit, everyone's like mentally exhausted though. It's even tiring me, the hero, out." Seiga sighed deeply.

"Honestly, me too." Fuwari sighed, shaking her head. "I feel exhausted."

"So..." Kaniza eyed the group awkwardly. "What are we going to do here from here on out? I don't know what we should even do..."

"We should do some get-together shit or something like that." Seiga thought to himself, suggesting a few things from the top of his head. "Maybe we should do some truth or dare game? Maybe if this school wasn't so damn boring and had something, then we could do something special... Hm, maybe we should throw a 'everyone get better' party?" He then frowned. "Then again, it wouldn't be too happy if we threw it now though..."

"You just want the others to get out here, right?" The astrophotographer sighed, almost exhausted by the options the stunt double had. "Let's just get them out first thing tomorrow morning then and try to get them up and moving. Just leave them for today."

Seiga shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, gotcha girl."

"I do think throwing some party of sorts would be a splendid idea, of course, after we mourn over the duo's deaths." Fuwari crossed her arms. "I think it would be wise for us to stray our minds away from this whole 'killing game', after all."

Sheina nodded, her head held high. "Yes! Agreed, subject."

 _It would be a good idea... But, I could come up with a lot of different possibilities for how that would go down- Actually, no, I shouldn't bother. I'm just down in the weather, after all._ Minori nodded inwardly to himself. "It sounds like a plausible idea."

Rin seemed content with the idea, sipping into her glass of water. "I do not have any objections to it."

"So, we're really gonna do a party?" Seiga seemed genuinely shocked. He whistled, smirking. "Alright. I can get down with that."

"Of course, after we have a proper mourning for Ko and Asami." Fuwari smiled at the stunt double's way. "So, are we planning to talk this out with everyone tomorrow?"

Seiga nodded. "Yeah, we should all drag the guys outta their rooms and gather them here first thing in the morning. I still don't know where to throw the party since there's like, dude, a lack of entertainment in this place."

"How about the library?" Rin asked, suggesting with a joking tone.

The stunt double laughed. "Hahaha! Nah, the imaginary librarian would kill us. Still, I'm sure we'll figure some shit out! The hero is here, after all."

Minori smiled in return. Honestly, he would enjoy that idea. Honestly, that feeling of unity... He would love to feel it again.

To spend the next few days, weeks, or however long they would continue to be inside of the school- Minori would love for them to feel that sense of unity again. Although it may be impossible, he hoped for the best. He had to wait, at least wait until the next day. He had to wait until he can plan, until he can speak to the others. He hoped that Kaniza and Seiga will drag the others from their rooms and try, at least try, try to include Kamui into the storm. Minori knew that Kamui would be shunned, but he still hoped. He still hoped Kamui would be fine.

Still, he had to wait, and he had to wonder- _what will happen in the near future?_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1 - An Undesirable Beginning**

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **WOULD YOU LIKE TO START CHAPTER 2?**

 **[YES] NO**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2 - ?TITLE UNKNOWN?**

 **[START]**

 **SURVIVORS: 14/16**

* * *

Hey again! Sorry it is pretty short, I just wanted to write an aftermath seperately from the trial. I didn't want to make the trial to aftermath together and tire my readers out too much, but considering I have quite a fast sort of writing pace... Yeah, alright. Anyways, I am hoping in the future that my cases and story will flow better, and so I am hoping you guys will stick to the next chapter and help me out!

Fair warning though, but I suppose it isn't needed. This is a Danganronpa SYOC story, so I don't think anyone will be surprised to learn that murders and executions and, well, themes will continue to fall darker and darker down the line. I know it's already the second chapter (which is next), but there's still a need for a fair warning. I have everything planned out, so I would know.

Anyways, last thing! You can start voting who you would want for the Free Time Events! I'm putting it out early~


	14. Chapter 2 - Part 1, Part A

Hello, and welcome officially to the second chapter! I am glad everyone seemed to have enjoyed the first chapter, and I am hoping to meet expectations on this chapter as well! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story, and it makes me happy! Anyways, let us hope this introduction to chapter two will excite you all! Also, I have to note that FanFiction seems to be bugging out the reviews for not only me, but everyone... I'm hoping that I didn't miss any of you guys' reviews!

 **liammarklh88:** "Haha, I tried to not make it too depressing, but guess I failed on that note. Oops. Oh, yes, of course. That issue will be addressed in the future, hahaha... Well, trials do become quite easier when supernatural things are involved. I think I would've failed as a writer if I didn't address Kamui's role as an accomplice, after all. Of course, I am trying to give all of the characters development, whether now or in the future! I am hoping I can round off the characters well enough at least. Glad you liked the cover~ Haha, thanks for the suggestion!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Oh no, I'll give you a hug! Haha, well, cover pictures should relate to something... Thanks!"

 **ToonGuy:** "Haha, hooray! Oh, well, I've always wanted to do that sort of plotline/twist the moment I thought about making a Danganronpa SYOC, so yeah! Don't worry! You're amazing! Yes, I'm glad you noticed the variety of ways people cope with death! I wanted the characters to be as different and realistic as possible, after all~ Haha, well, that's Kakuma for you! Yes, unity is such a breakable thing... I hope you'll enjoy this chapter then!"

 **RandomWriter197 (For your previous reviews so far):** "Aw, I'm glad you're liking my story so far! I love your dedication to reading the chapters, so I commend you for that! I'm sure you'll be able to catch up, I mean, if you're reading this I'm sure you caught up!"

 **irwegwert:** "Yes, I wanted to portray this as depressing and realistic as possible. Glad you're loving it! Glad you liked it despite it being short! Haha, I want to make everyone the least bit realistic, so development is expected for a lot of the characters. I can assure you that! Kakuma's not that bad, but he's still an asshole. I like Kakuma though, so yeah. Kamui will have a hard time coping with everything, huh? Aww, I'm glad you love my story that much! I'm grateful to even have this story be considered a favorite to people! Haha, it's fine! I always wonder if I can break my own expectations, after all."

 **PoisonBanana:** "Yes, very sad indeed. I've always longed for an aftermath on characters being saddened by others, so I understand very well how you feel! Haha, Kamui is definitely becoming a noticed character I see. Of course, besides, I love making things suspenseful and dramatic~ Aw, thanks! It's sad that a lot of SYOCs tend to be discontinued, but there will always be a few ones that are still ongoing! Besides, a lot of the SYOCs mainly tend to be because of the author's busy schedule and life, after all."

 **Agrael:** "Haha, yeah, Asami really was the glue that stuck everyone together, huh? Haha, yes, of course the distrust for Kamui will be high. It will bring a lot of interesting conversation~ Yes, the motive, of course! Haha, thanks for the encouragement!"

 **DryBonesKing:** "Yeah, but they'll learn to love him soon~ Haha, well, people are different. We never know how humans react to certain things unless it actually happens. Of course Kamui's not Nagito. Yeah, I hope so too! Aww, I'm glad you seem to be interested in Kakuma! I hope you'll enjoy what Chapter 2 has coming~"

* * *

It didn't take long until the next day arrived. Surprisingly, Minori had woken up before the morning announcement, but to his expectations, Monokuma's voice rang throughout the school.

"Ahem! It is officially 8 A.M., so all you bastards should wake up and do something productive! Also, newsflash, but I have finally finished tidying up the floor upstairs! The floor upstairs is now officially opened, so feel free to traverse up in your free time! That is all!"

Monokuma's voice was now gone, and Minori was left finishing up in the restroom. He had finished washing his face, eyeing the dark circles under his eyes with a disgusted expression. Still, he couldn't complain too much. It was his fault for staring at nothing from yesterday. It was his fault for continuing to mourn to himself in silence and almost forget that he was supposed to be cheering himself up, not crying.

 _It's now officially two days since Ko and Asami died..._ Minori sighed, shaking his head. He promised himself to not think too much about it. He quickly made his way out of his room, moving his way into the dining hall where he met Fuwari who was setting Haruko's handcrafted chocolate to the middle of the table. The pseudologist smiled sadly as he walked towards the table, taking a seat down. _So, we're here to mourn over their deaths first thing in the morning, huh? Hm._

"Ah, pleasure to see you, Minori." Fuwari eyed the Ultimate with a nod.

Minori bowed his head back in return, quickly noticing that the spirit medium was eyeing him. "Oh, right. Hello. Have the rest woke up yet?"

Fuwari nodded, eyeing the kitchen. "Kaniza and Sagiso are cooking the food. Seiga is trying to wake the others up and drag them here." She then crossed her arms. "Did he try to wake you up?"

Minori shook his head. "No, I woke up of my own accord. I didn't even see Seiga on the way here."

"Oh, so you woke up before the morning announcement." Fuwari smiled to herself, acknowledging his words. "I heard that the floor upstairs is now opened. Have you seen it yet? The stairway isn't blocked, after all."

"Oh, yeah. Right." Minori took out his MonoPad, booting it up and sliding his finger through the screen. He first noticed that his truth bullets were empty, now back at 'zero'. He didn't bother to ask about it, instead clicking onto the map and realizing that there was a new sub-folder from the icon. The layout of the first floor was seen, however to the side was the folder titled 'Second Floor'. Minori clicked onto it, the screen now directing him to the second floor's layout.

 _Oh. Wow._ Minori skimmed through the area, eyeing the pictures from the MonoPad before eyeing the title of each room. _The gymnasium, game room... They're all entertainment-based areas. How fortunate, but strangely I consider it too coincidental..._ Minori's mind instantly rolled to the party Seiga had suggested. The floor above them would serve well in that regard, at least.

 _Wait, 'fortunate'? This floor is now opened... Why now? Is it because-_ Minori stopped. Knowing Monokuma, that was definitely the reason. _Everytime someone dies and another gets executed, a new floor is available a few days afterwards? Is that what he's trying to do? He's...he's sick._

Minori bit into his lips, shutting off his MonoPad and placing it into his pocket. He didn't want to think for a moment, now disgusted at the headmaster and saddened by his thoughts. He couldn't do anything but shake his head as Sagiso and Kaniza suddenly moved out of the kitchen, rolling in various plates filled with food.

"Oh, Minori." Sagiso eyed the man worriedly, taking ahold of a few glasses of water and setting them around the table. She stopped to observe the pseudologist, staring at him closely. "You should rest more."

"No, I'm fine." Minori smiled awkwardly back at the woman who frowned, but said nothing and continued to set the table. He thanked the women silently before standing up, helping them out. He took a few bowls of miso soup and began to set them down, unaware that someone had walked into the room as he placed the last one to the left corner.

"Only you guys?"

Minori looked back to find Amyto who was smiling awkwardly at their way. She wanted to throw a goofy expression, but she didn't bother as she instead took a seat down next to Fuwari. A sigh escaped her lips as she eyed the food laid before her eyes. "Woah, looks delicious," she said, throwing a look at Kaniza and Sagiso who acknowledged her words in return.

The pseudologist watched her eyeballing up her food silently. "Did Seiga wake you up?" He asked, speaking politely.

Amyto nodded. "Yeah. He literally banged on the door for a good three minutes. Apparently after I got out Sheina's deciding to help him. Aah, I feel bad for the people who're still asleep. The wrath of Sheina and Seiga... Eep."

Minori had to admit, he would feel immense pity for the people who would have to face the duo's insane wrath. He was honestly glad he had woken up early. Honestly, he was glad. The pseudologist sighed to himself before hearing the door open. He looked back to find Kakuma and Saori, both walking into the room within feet of one another. Obviously, they did not plan to meet each other of their own accord. It was obvious they just both met each other on the way, coincidentally.

"Hm? I thought I was late." Saori quickly moved to her seat, greeting the others with a small hum.

"Same." Kakuma scoffed and took a seat in the corner. Despite having entered into the room, it was still plainly overt that he wouldn't be speaking politely anytime soon. The wedding planner did not have any plans to play 'get along' with the other Ultimates.

Amyto sighed, nodding as she looked at the body broker. An awkward smile was still plastered onto her face. "How are you? Are you fine now?"

Saori frowned before slowly nodding to herself. It was as if she was taking a mental note of herself, noting everything that was fine and everything that wasn't. "I should be fine at the moment," she said, straightforward despite her look of disapproval. "I'm still a bit unstable, but I should be able to handle myself well."

Minori listened to the body broker silently. Obviously, she was not fine at all. "Saori," he began, crossing his arms. He was speaking politely and quietly. It was as if he was trying to act as sweetly as he could. "Please don't push yourself. We are all here to mourn. We're all feeling the same things as you."

Saori's eyes widened, but she quickly regained her composure and nodded. "I have to say the same for you." She eyed the pseudologist who let out a tired sigh. "Do not worry about death so much. Their bodies are nothing more than vessals. Their souls are resting peacefully, Minori."

"I... I see." Minori was stunned. He didn't expect for the body broker to speak so bluntly about death. He knew she was trying to comfort him in the slightest, but honestly her almost cold words came off a bit too bluntly for him. Still, he appreciated the gesture. "I understand."

Saori nodded before eyeing the miso soup from her seat. She seemed almost too interested in the broth, eyeing the soup almost lustfully. Minori could only assume she was a huge fan of soup.

Another few minutes passed before a few more Ultimates walked into the room. More specifically, the people who moved inside were Ryoichi, Rin, and Sheina. Ryoichi obviously still seemed distressed from what happened previously, eyes refusing to meet anyone's. Rin seemed the same as yesterday and headed to her seat, having greeted the others with a small bow as Sheina crossed her arms. "Hmph!" She began as she strided her way towards her seat. "Some subjects are so stubborn."

Amyto frowned, raising an eyebrow to the egyptologist. "Huh? Aren't you helping Seiga out?"

The woman turned to her. "Asking me such a question! Of course I was helping him out, however he told me he would be fine getting the rest of the remaining subjects." Sheina looked towards Sagiso and Kaniza. "Did you two cook the food? It smells delicious. May the Gods bless you both."

Sagiso awkwardly smiled towards Sheina's way. "Of course." The psychogeographer then turned to meet the jeweler's gaze, lips pursing into a frown. "Rin, you still seem a bit tired. You need to rest more."

Rin yawned, stretching her arms before shaking her head. "I mean, I just woke up, so..." She sighed. "I think I'll be fine. Thank you though."

The psychogeographer shook her head before looking at Ryoichi. The man was sitting close to Minori's sight. "Ryoichi," she began, crossing her arms. "You also need to rest more."

"I understand," he said, still refusing to meet her gaze. He refused to meet anyone's gaze. "I'm not too tired though, I can promise you that at least. Um, but... Is Mr. Setsushi going to be present here too?"

The room was instantly silent. Everyone was eyeing one another, begging for the other to answer. Even Minori wasn't sure if he should answer, instead eyeing Ryoichi who seemed to understand what that silence meant.

The investigator sighed to himself. "Seriously? I-I mean, he did play a role in killing Mr. Yoshikawa, but he meant no harm to us, right? He wanted to protect us, no matter how stupid killing someone was..."

"I mean..." Kaniza didn't know what to say. She honestly couldn't say anything. "I guess... Well, let's see if Seiga calls him over."

"Mr. Kosoku should." Ryoichi finally moved his head up, eyeing the group. A determined stare was on his eyes. "I cannot believe that Mr. Setsushi is that bad of a person. It's all Monokuma's fault. He's definitely the one..." He then averted his gaze, biting into his lips. "He might even be the one who..."

Minori clenched into his fists. Ryoichi was right. Kamui wasn't at all truly a bad person. He believed in that too, yet he doubted him. He was stupid. "I think we should give Kamui another chance," the pseudologist said, finally deciding on a concrete answer. He chose to believe in Kamui, fully. He will not hesitate any longer. "He doesn't deserve to be shunned by us."

"But he still killed Ko, no matter what we say..." Amyto bit into her lips, shaking her head. "I, I mean, I just don't know anymore. I just can't trust him anymore. I don't know, but I just... I just can't trust him."

Saori frowned as she crossed her arms. "We need to see it for ourselves. Whether he is trustful or not."

That conversation led to a weird awkwardness in the room. People refused to speak anymore except for the occassional politeness. Sagiso was nagging some of the Ultimates on their expressions as some others were eyeballing their food. Kaniza mentioned Haruko's chocolates for a small moment, however didn't speak anymore in fear of ruining any sort of tranquility in the room. They would mourn, of course, but later.

Minutes passed until the door opened, Seiga moving inside with a tired expression. He had walked inside with two people over his shoulders- Fumio and Nezumi. The stunt double had been carrying them throughout the way, the man now seemingly exhausted as Nezumi eyed the room out of fear. Fumio, on the other hand, seemed quite too tired to even respond with his notepad. Instead, his eyes were simply red and watery.

Seiga didn't bother to eye the others' expressions, instead he himself speaking. "Wait, Kamui's not here? What the fuck?"

"I thought he was with you..." Fuwari then eyed Nezumi and Fumio who were nonetheless fearful of their situation. She frowned. "Seiga? Why, might I ask, are you carrying those two?"

Seiga tilted his head before looking to his shoulders. An awkward laugh escaped his lips. "Hahaha, well, these two were the most reluctant to meet up. I had to carry them all the way here, especially Fumio here." The stunt double then placed the scholar down, the man wiping his tears off before walking slowly to his seat. Seiga eyed him strangely. "Yikes. Poor guy had been crying the entire time. He couldn't even write properly in his notepad."

Minori looked at Fumio who was now silent, still red from tears. The pseudologist honestly wanted to cry for the man. It was obvious that Fumio was afraid. It was obvious that Fumio considered him and the rest a threat now. _All because of that damn Monokuma..._

Seiga then looked to Nezumi who was murmuring to himself, almost hyperventilating at this point. The stunt double's eyes widened as he noticed that he was crying into his shoulder, Seiga quickly setting Nezumi down gently to a nearby seat. "Nezumi, dude, it's fine. You'll be fine."

Nezumi was sobbing, continuing to wipe his eyes with his arms. He couldn't even register the fact that Kaniza made her way to his side, throwing a comforting arm around his shoulder. "I-I just want to stay in my room though..." He then quickly scanned the room, eyes now widened. His voice fell into a fearful cry. "A-and where's K-K-Kamui? H-he's not here!"

"Kamui?" Seiga frowned. "Oh, right. Guys, where is he?"

Kakuma scoffed. "We don't know. We thought you were bringing him over."

The stunt double shook his head. "Nope. He wasn't in his room, so I thought he was already with you guys. You guys didn't see him? Seriously?"

"Maybe he's checking the new floor upstairs?" Kaniza suggested, pondering to herself. She did not know anything, at all. "I mean, there is a new floor upstairs, and I'm sure he's curious about it."

Minori's eyes widened. "W-wait, are we seriously going to just leave him be then?"

"I mean, he should be fine, right?" Amyto awkwardly smiled towards the pseudologist. "I-I think he'll be fine without us."

The pseudologist shook his head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He quickly stood up from his seat, almost desperate to speak his mind out. He needed to speak because, yes, he knew others would stand up for him in return. "I think we should look for him. He's still a friend, right?"

Nezumi shook his head, tightly clutching onto his cloak. "B-but what if he's planning to kill us again? I-I don't want that to h-happen to me..."

Minori bit into his lips. "Nezumi..." He shook his head. No, he couldn't allow the thief to demoralize him. No matter what, Minori had to stand up for Kamui. "Well, I'll go look for him. You can start eating. I'll be back."

Ryoichi's eyes widened as Minori began to make his way out. "M-Mr. Watanabe!"

Minori couldn't care less if people were calling for him. He couldn't care less if someone would follow him. He didn't care. All he could care about was finding the mortician. He first began to look in the dormitories, first knocking onto Kamui's door. Of course, nothing. Minori quickly began to look around the first floor. He looked into the library and the laundry room- no, there was nobody in sight. Minori quickly made his way down the hallways, looking through each room. He even made his way into the tunnel from the lab room- yes, nothing. He quickly moved back up and walked into the classrooms, then the auditorium and the infirmary and everything else... Everything else until he reached into the lottery room.

There, there, he saw Kamui. The man was staring blankly at the monochrome door. He was staring at the door, blank. He was empty.

Minori slowly made his way towards the mortician. He didn't know how to start or where to start, instead speaking in a docile voice. "Kamui."

Kamui said nothing. He didn't bother to acknowledge the pseudologist's presence. He was blank. He was empty. He never moved. He had continued to stare blankly at the monochrome door, blankly with dull eyes. The music playing inside the room did not matter at all. It didn't matter at all.

Minori bit into his lips. "Kamui, aren't you going to join us for breakfast?"

Alas, nothing. Kamui didn't respond.

The pseudologist felt his heart racing. He knew better than to ignore the man now. He clenched into his fists and took a step forward, forcing himself to raise his voice. "Kamui, you'll be fine. They'll understand that you did it to protect us." Minori's blood began to pump. "Ko and Asami are living peacefully in heaven now. I'm sure they don't blame you."

Kamui was silent. He was silent for a moment before turning around slowly. He was looking at Minori, dark circles under his eyes. "Why are you lying to me?" He began, speaking in a monotone voice. His voice was indifferent. His eyes were not shining at all.

Minori was taken aback. He almost felt like choking on his words at that point. "I... I don't know, alright?" His tone began to increase in pain. He averted his gaze. "We don't know what happens to people after they die. We will never know, but despite that, I think people have to continue on with life. Kamui, I know you value life and death more than all of us combined, but... You need to come to the conclusion that you yourself are not at fault here."

Kamui bit into his lips. "Even if I had a hand in killing Ko? Even if I was the one who helped Asami kill him?"

The pseudologist shook his head. "Even despite all that, you... I believe you still have to continue on with life. We're all still living, after all. I have to move on in life, and so do you and everyone else."

"I'm sure they will not forgive me though," the mortician said, crossing his arms. "Look, I know well enough that you're the only person who looked for me. It's written over your face."

Minori averted his gaze, a sudden surge of guilt overwhelming him. "Kamui..." He shook his head. "Please. You don't know if you don't try. I'm sure everyone will change their minds. It takes time."

"Honestly, I just don't know anymore. To try to do all of this... it sounds like a waste of time." Kamui averted his gaze, holding his head. "I hate myself so much for committing such an act, yet... I'm still alive. I wonder why I'm alive. It honestly should've been me who died. Not Asami."

The pseudologist shook his head. His heart was racing. He didn't know why, but his head began to ache. His entire body began to feel hot. "Don't say that!" Minori found himself yelling at the man, hands clenched tightly into fists. "Why're you disregarding your own life? Don't just say shit like that!"

Kamui's eyes widened. He had been stunned into silence, now unable to speak.

Minori took a deep breath, his eyes beginning to water. "Just try. We're all not in a stable state of mind right now! We don't know what will happen today or in the near future! We won't know unless we try! You have to help us. You have to help us trust you. You have to help us do this. Please. At least mourn Ko and Asami's deaths with us, Kamui."

Kamui stared at the man for a moment, silent. He slowly averted his eyes, biting into his lips before slowly turning to eye the monochrome door. He then looked back at Minori and nodded. "I understand. Let's go then."

Minori's eyes widened. "Kamui..."

The mortician looked at the Ultimate with a small smile, though it was obviously forced. "I'll try."

The pseudologist watched silently as the mortician began to leave. Minori couldn't help but sigh to himself, shaking his head before following Kamui out of the room. The duo had walked back into the dining room in silence, Minori unable to say anything without sounding forced. He watched Kamui as he entered into the room, instantly gaining the gazes from the rest. Everyone was staring, staring in silence and awe.

Minori bit into his lips as he watched Kamui walking inside slowly. The first person to speak was Kaniza, her forcing an awkward smile as she eyed the mortician. "I'm glad you're here," she said, almost sounding too nervous at that point. "You didn't eat yet, right?"

Kamui did not speak, allowing for the rest to speak instead. He took a seat to the corner, far away from the group. He even isolated himself from Kakuma, the wedding planner at the other side of the room.

"Here." Sagiso walked over to the mortician, handing him the glass of water and meal. He nodded his head out of courtesy as she walked back to her seat, sighing. She looked at Kamui who began to eat silently, the psychogeographer looking towards the pseudologist who sat besides her. She moved into his ear and began to speak, whispering. "I'm thinking that he should be the one who give the duo a prayer, but... I don't want to force him."

Minori eyed the psychogeographer, awkwardly scratching his head as he grabbed ahold of his chopsticks. "I'm not sure either," he said, plopping a piece of broccoli into his mouth. "It depends on what he wants."

Sagiso frowned. "Should we ask him now?"

The Ultimate shook his head. "No, I don't think that's wise. Let's ask him after we eat." The pseudologist eyed Sagiso who hesitated, but nodded anyways and began to eat herself. He sighed inwardly and began to munch on his food, the dining hall silent. It was tense, awkward, forced. Some people forced themselves to speak while others were simply silent. Minori could still hear a few sniffles in the room. _Damn, this is depressing._ Minori sipped into his miso soup before taking a glimpse at the mortician, eating to his lonesome. _Kamui... Shit, what should I do about this?_

"Sooo..." Seiga began, speaking loudly. He was exaggerating with his words, forcing a wide smile at the group. "What's new?"

Kaniza laughed awkwardly at the stunt double's words. "I don't think anything's new. We've been together for a few days, after all. I would've thought we would know what the other's doing at all times."

Fuwari nodded her head. "Hm, however, we could easily lock ourselves in our room and plot our day from there. We are not 'completely' within each other's proximity."

"We are in the Son of Osiris' though!" Sheina laughed as loudly as possible, haughty and arrogant as always. She placed her hand to her mouth and was laughing, smirking widely. "Hohoho!"

"I do not think that you are in my presence when I took a shower though." Ryoichi threw a humorous look at the egyptologist, albeit a bit sarcastic at that.

The woman was instantly offended. "Of course not, lowly subject!"

 _At least some people are trying though. I'm glad._ Before the pseudologist could speak however, Kakuma let out a disgusted scowl and slammed his fists onto the table. "I do not understand why you guys feel like doing this," he began, glaring at the group. "It's already obvious that trusting one another is not wise, especially in this sort of circumstance. We're just here to mourn, right? Why are you guys still forcing this sense of unity? All we're doing here is to mourn, that's it. I don't understand why you guys have to act so united with one another."

Minori bit into his lips. "Kakuma, now's not the time for that."

Kakuma scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Why? I'm only here to help mourn over Ko and Asami's deaths, not here to make do with the concept of 'friendship is magic'." He then looked at the mortician who was silent, Kakuma biting hard into his lips. "What I don't understand at all is why he's here."

Minori's eyes widened, heat suddenly reaching into his head. "Kakuma!"

"There are a lot of us who are against being near his presence, right? Why are you guys forcing this sense of unity?" Kakuma crossed his arms. "Remember, Kamui is an accomplice. He is an indirect killer of not only Ko, but Asami as well."

The pseudologist could not handle it anymore, hands slamming to the table. He didn't know why he was so enraged, but he suddenly found himself glaring at the wedding planner. "Kakuma, excuse me, but you are going too far!"

Kakuma smirked Minori's way, then shaking his head and sighing. "I'm just trying to warn you guys that putting your blind trust in someone will always lead to disaster. Why trust a killer if you know he might do it again?"

"He..." Amyto didn't know what to do, hanging her head low. "I mean, he has a point..."

Nezumi was worried, nervous to death. "I-I don't want to see anyone else die either..." His eyes then widened and he quickly threw his hands up, positioning himself in a defensive stance. "B-but, I-I don't hate you or anything, K-Kamui!"

Seiga frowned and scratched his head. He thought for a moment, thinking to himself before cracking his fists. "Uh, well, I think it's understandable," he began, stretching. "But, like, dude, I think Kamui's not that bad of a guy. He's here to help us mourn, right? I think he deserves a second chance, and since I'm the hero, everyone should agree!"

"I honestly have to agree with Mr. Kosoku." Ryoichi was disgruntled, shaking his head. "Why are we isolating Mr. Setsushi? He did this to protect us! Ms. Karihime didn't want to kill Mr. Yoshikawa, and Mr. Setsushi didn't either! He and Ms. Karihime are not bad people!"

Saori sighed, shaking her head. She was looking at the group, irritated. "I believe we aren't here to argue. We're here to eat and mourn over the souls of the dead, correct?" She then looked at the tomatoes in her salad and frowned.

"Right..." Minori forfeited, cheeks blushing out of embarrassment. He moved back into his seat and slowly began to eat, the tension in the room now higher than before. He eyed Kakuma who was now silent as well, then looking at Kamui who did not look back at the group. The pseudologist shook his head inwardly. _Shit, I feel so bad for him._

"Oh, right. Seiga." Kaniza caught the stunt double's attention just a few minutes after the tense silence. She smiled a bit, although it was obviously forced. "Do you want to tell the others about the party?"

"Huh? Oh, right." Seiga cleared his throat loudly, catching the others' attention within an instant. "Ahem! So, like, I got this really cool idea that'll help us be more joyful and all that. I mean, well, it's gonna be after the mourning, but I believe this will truly benefit us!"

"What?" Rin's eyes widened. "Are you actually planning to throw a party?"

Seiga nodded, smiling widely at the jeweler. "Yeah! Since a new floor opened up and after checking what that bastard Monokuma has in store up there, I think we'd be able to throw an awesome 'let's try to be happy and cheer each other up' party upstairs! I mean, it'd be a lot of planning, but with me, the hero, by you guys' side, I think it'll be possible." He then eyed Kamui for a moment. "Dude, I mean, I think we definitely need it."

Amyto slowly observed the group before throwing a small goofy smile. "Yeah, I could see that. Sounds like a good idea."

"How are we going to set up this party without Monokuma ruining it?" Fuwari asked, crossing her arms. "I believe he will try to ruin the party either during or before the party, after all. He may be plotting something this very moment as well."

"Let's not think about shit like that for a moment, 'kay?" Seiga sighed. "Anyways, yeah, we definitely need some planning to do. We need some chefs, some party clothes, an event planner, and some awesome stunts being pulled! Of course, I, Seiga, will definitely be your action guy."

Fuwari raised a brow. "You are planning to participate in a stunt?"

"Well, it'd be cool for you guys to see what shit I can pull off!" Seiga laughed. "Well, whatcha think? You think we should do it?"

The hypnotist hesitated for a moment and plopped a piece of cabbage into her mouth. "Mm, I mean, I think it's good. Right?"

"I'm fine with it." Ryoichi nodded. "I'm quite excited."

"I could help set it up," Kaniza said, smiling at the stunt double. "I can cook the food as well."

Nezumi eyed the group worriedly, but didn't even speak his denial and instead nodded quickly. "I-I guess i-it's fine... I-I might just stay in my room though."

"Everyone should definitely join the party though!" Seiga crossed his arms, widely smiling at Nezumi who flinched in response. He chuckled. "Alright, I'm planning to throw the party in the game room. Is that fine with everyone? I mean, we could always just go to the swimming pool and swim too if we feel like it."

"Sounds perfect." Amyto seemed content.

The group had decided on it. Minori couldn't help but smile. Although a few people were wary or unwilling to help, most were willing to bring that idea into reality. Seiga was talking happily with the group, and although that alone was a step forward, Minori couldn't help but notice Kamui. The man had refused to move or even speak ever since he entered into the dining hall. Minori bit into his lips. He didn't know what to say to drag the man into the topic. He didn't know, and he could only watch from a distance as he continued to eat with the others.

They were eating. They were drinking and eating while speaking. Although it was still awkward and forced, they were trying. They were trying their best to mediate the tension. They talked and talked, discussing the plans for the party and then speaking about each other's roles. Seiga had dragged Nezumi into helping him perform a stunt, the thief wanting to scream out of fear. Kaniza, Sagiso, Amyto, and Sheina would help with preparing the food. The rest would be working on setting the party, decorating the room and planning the events. Although the roles and plans sounded rushed and clunky, it was a start. It would be a start.

Still, it was also, also as if the group was trying to prolong their time eating. It was obvious that they were still tensed. Still afraid.

They were prolonging their time at the table simply to continue, to force that sense of unity and happiness. They continued to speak while eating slowly, dying to prolong the happiness that would disappear. It was obvious. They were still afraid. They were still afraid of reaching the time of mourning. They were afraid of reaching out to their emotions- their emotions of sadness and depression. They had continued to speak in order to mask that sadness.

Almost an hour had passed since then. The conversations had died down, yet no one bothered to speak as of yet. No one. Nobody until Saori who stood up from her seat, eyeing the group. "I finished my food."

"H-huh? Oh, yeah..." Amyto looked down at her food. She had finished her food. Her plate was completely clean. "Same."

"Are we going to start now?" Kakuma asked, frowning. He had his arms crossed. His expression was quite that of irritation and annoyance. "Let's not beat around the bush, okay?"

"You're such an asshole," Seiga sighed underneath his lips, then looking at Fuwari. "Are we ready?"

"Yes." Fuwari pushed the bowl of chocolate to the middle of the table, the chocolate pieces in an extravgent glass bowl, angels having been carved around. She then grabbed a few candles which she had set aside to her seat, taking them out and gesturing for Fumio to close the lights. Once the lights were closed she began to light up the candles, placing them around the bowl. "Now, someone must do a prayer."

Minori eyed Kamui. Everyone else seemed to look at the mortician, hesitant. "Kamui," the pseudologist said, quietly calling the mortician over. Kamui eyed him, almost stunned that the pseudologist would speak to him. "Please."

Kamui averted his gaze. He hesitated, a pained expression written over his face. He slowly stood up from his seat and eyed the group, doubtful and unsure of himself. "Are you truly fine with me doing it?" He asked, eyes shining in sadness.

"Of course we're fine with it," Kaniza answered, smiling at the man, albeit somewhat sadly. "Well, I mean, I wouldn't know what to say anyways. You also look like you have a lot to say."

"If you need help, then just ask." Saori eyed the mortician, crossing her arms. "I'll help."

Kamui bit into his lips, but slowly began to walk towards the group. He stood in the middle, staring straight at the bowl of chocolates. He eyed the candles. A sweet aroma filled the room. An aroma of dandelions and poppy. He cupped his hands together and took a deep breath. His heart was beating, pounding. Sweat was trickling from his head, trickling down to his chin. Everyone was waiting, waiting for him to speak.

"We..." He breathed. "We are here on behalf of allowing ourselves to wander off. We are here to bring Ko and Asami to rest, to give them a proper send-off despite the hardships the headmaster has given us. Asami and Ko are two dear friends to us, to all. Their bodies may be dead, however their souls will be brought into the afterlife in peace."

Minori felt his heartbeat. His eyes were closed.

"Those two were the most inspiring of this entire group. They were the ones to lift our spirits no matter what would happen. They would always cheer us on and fight against the dread of despair. They were truly the lights of this group. They were all of our lights. They were the people who held us down, grounding us."

Kamui began to breathe, shallow. His voice was shaking. "It is a tragedy that those two are dead. They were the ones who brought light to us when we were in our worst, however unfortunately their lights have been burnt out. We can do nothing but to give them a proper burial and send-off, also reflecting on how much they have impacted our lives. They were and will always be our dear friends, and may we wish them a beautiful farewell from Earth, and a welcome in the afterlife."

"Asami... Ko..." Amyto was wiping her tears, sniffling and choking.

Seiga bit into his lips, hard. A pained look was shown across his face. "Damn, this is depressing."

"Let's hope their souls are at peace now," the body broker said, nodding her head knowingly.

Ryoichi agreed with a nod, his eyes watering. He was rubbing his eyes however, using his arms. "I-I hope they'll be fine there..."

Rin was cupping her hands together, silent. She seemed to be praying silently, eyes closed. Some of the others were the same, some simply silent and eyeing the bowl in grief while others were mumbling to themselves. Some were even on the verge of tears, others already crying and shaking their heads.

A few minutes had passed. A few minutes had passed since then and few have left the room, Kamui having left after his eyes became watery. The lights were now opened and some were eating their piece of chocolate, others refusing to eat in order to salvage their memories. Minori himself was staring at his chocolate bunny. Honestly, he could not stand to eat it. Not only was it perfectly crafted, but he knew it had been created out of love and care. To even think about the chocolate bunny made him remember the group's first breakfast meeting together. Everyone, mostly everyone, was certainly united by then.

 _Ko... Asami... I will make sure your lives won't be at stake!_ Minori clutched the chocolate bunny with care, having put the chocolate into a small bag. He would most likely eat it later, most likely hours into the day when he wasn't feeling too sensitive at the point. _We won't falter now. I'm sure... I'm sure we'll be able to rebel against Monokuma. Somehow... I just know we won't fall for murder again! You guys can be sure of that._

Minori took a deep breath as he watched the others beginning to move, some inside of the kitchen to wash the dishes while others were conversing. Most had left by then, and Minori found himself eyeing Seiga and Ryoichi.

Seiga was the first to notice Minori, a smile on his lips as he gestured him over. "Yo, dude. Are you alright? Even the hero, I, almost wanted to cry there."

Minori chuckled. "I should be fine." He then thought for a moment, wondering what to do now. His thoughts then wandered to the floor upstairs, his curiosity now piqued. "Excuse me, but have you seen the second floor yet?"

The stunt double shook his head, laughing and placing a hand on Ryoichi's shoulder. "Naw. I was gonna check it out with Ryo here. I just checked the map on the MonoPad, and that's how I knew what was up there. Pretty sure a lot of other guys are checking it out too. I mean, Fuwari told me that and so did Amy, so I'm guessing most of them went out to check the floor."

Ryoichi smiled at the stunt double, but then frowned and crossed his arms. "Unfortunately, I believe Mr. Fujiyoshi and Mr. Jirokichi went back to their rooms." He sighed. "I can't blame them though. We should give them time, right?"

"Yes." Minori nodded. "Some people do take a while to recover, after all." His mind then circled to Amyto. "Oh, may I ask if Amyto's fine? She seemed to take their deaths the worst out of all of us, so I'm worried about her."

"I understand what you mean. Poor girl's been a mess ever since Ko's death. Didn't fucking help when Monokuma pulled that sort of shit." Seiga frowned, displeased. "She said she was heading out with Fuwari, so she should be fine."

"I honestly believe a lot of us are now wary of each other." The investigator's face saddened. "I mean, we're now telling each other what we're doing and we're now hanging out in pairs, at least most of us. Even Ms. Yakamuro seemed stressed out. You also saw how people treated Mr. Setsushi, right? It's horrible."

"Yeah, it's horrible." Minori shook his head. Honestly, it was demoralizing to even think about. Still, he knew best than to pry. "Do you guys mind if I join you? I have been thinking about checking the second floor as well."

"Of course you could join!" Seiga chuckled, throwing Minori a wink. "A hero can never say no to a kind supporter!"

Minori couldn't help but smile at the man's words, nodding his head as he decided to follow him and Ryoichi out of the dining hall. The walk to the stairway wasn't too far, the stairway being a few feet away. The moment the trio met the stairway they noticed how beautiful the stairway was. The stairway was a beautifully polished redwood color with a velvet rug coating the center, the group eyeing up to find how high the ceiling was. There was even a small silver chandelier atop, hanging quite comfortable from the middle. The way up was quite extravagent, though not long, to say the least.

"I wonder how Monokuma was able to remove the metal that blocked the stairway," Ryoichi said, murmuring to himself in awe.

The trio walked up the stairs, a few seconds passing before they reached the top. There, they saw a beautifully spacious hallway, the redwood ground being covered well with a velvet-forest green plaid patterened rug. The walls were a dark green hue, glass lanterns being built to the walls just a few feet away from each other. It was a beautiful floor, honestly, almost royal at that point. The men were left stunned for a while, taking in the scenery before Seiga noticed a huge, tall redwood doorway close by to the left.

"I think that's the gym," the stunt double said, walking over to the door. He could see the silver plate at the center titled such. He smiled. "Let's go in!"

Minori and Ryoichi eyed one another before nodding, following Seiga who widely opened the door. The duo followed suit before noticing how spacious and wide the gym was. They could see the basketball hoops hanging from the top of the ceiling, the ground below a light, polished wooden color. They could see the white linings of the court as well, then looking to the left and right to find the seats where the audience would stand. Strangely, the seats inside of the gym were akin to massanger seats, a cup holder to each side and a small remote to the side, the buttons most likely either going to roll the leg stools high or allowing the chairs to vibrate.

 _Well... this school is called the "Reigning Academy of Ultimates"... I guess it shouldn't be too surprising for whoever built this to make the school so extravagent._ Still, it was surprising. To see the gym built in such a way was surprising. Never would he have imagined the court to be so beautifully spacious and clean. Never would he have imagined the audience to be able to relax while watching a high school match. He even saw the storage room to the right foremost corner, but even then did he spot how beautifully crafted the door looked.

"Hey, Minori, look!"

Minori turned back to find Seiga and Ryoichi eyeing a control pad from the corner. He frowned, walking over to their side. The duo were eyeing it with interest. "Is that the device that brings down the hoops?"

"I guess? But, like, dude, there's so many buttons here." Seiga was eyeing the buttons in awe. He looked at the green button to the red button, then to the flicker and etc. "I wonder what each one does."

Ryoichi frowned. "Mr. Kosoku, I don't think it's safe to-"

 ** _Boop!_**

The ground beneath them began to rumble. A slight rumble, but nonetheless Minori and Ryoichi couldn't help but panic. "M-Mr. Kosoku!" The investigator's eyes were widened, face paling. "I told you to be more cautious!"

"Hey, I didn't press the red one." Seiga threw his hands up in mock surrender. A sarcastic grin was on his face and he turned back to eye the gym. His eyes widened. "But, guys, look at the court! It's changing."

And, to their shock, Seiga was right. The court was changing. The wooden court began to split in half, moving into the side and disappearing from view. As the ground rumbled, another court began to move up. Slowly, but meticulously. It was not a basketball court at all. Instead, the trio could only watch in shock as the court which was moving up, slowly and slowly, was a humongous ice skating ring. An ice skating ring with beautiful metal bars to hold onto, the ice being perfectly crafted and at equilibrium.

"W-what?" Minori's mouth stood agape. He whipped his head back to Seiga who smiled. "Do you think that those buttons..."

Ryoichi nodded, walking slowly to the ice ring. He bent down to touch the ground, feeling the coldness of the ice. Yes, it was real. It was a real ice skating ring. "I think so. Those buttons change this entire gym to whatever sport is being played."

Minori frowned. "But aren't some sports played outdoors? I mean, for instance, there's rugby."

Seiga shrugged. "Guess we have to find out for ourselves, right?" He eyed the duo who stood back, the stunt double then pressing another button.

 ** _Boop!_**

Again, the ground began to rumble. The ice skating rink began to disappear from view, first splitting into two before disappering to the sides similarily to how the basketball court did. Again, another court began to move up, slowly, slowly from the ground. A boxing ring was being shown, suddenly the ceiling beginning to rumble as well. Slowly, the ceiling opened up to a huge dual-screened television. The television was being lowered down, down to the center of the ring, hanging high for the audience to see. It was perfect. A perfect arena for a boxing match.

"This is insane." Seiga whistled, pleased by what he was seeing. "There's like so many more buttons in the control panel, so it'd be hard to go through all of them... But wow. Shit, this is amazing."

Ryoichi nodded. "Honestly, it is."

"I doubt the court will change to anything water-related," Minori said, thinking to himself. The duo eyed him as he began to explain himself. "There is a swimming pool on this floor, so I am doubtful they would hold a swimming pool inside here as well."

"True." The investigator sighed, eyeing the boxing ring. "I'm just wondering how many different kinds of courts are available."

Seiga scratched his head, eyeing the panel. "It'd be hard to go through them all, but let's see..."

And that was what the trio spent the next hour doing- going through each and every single button or mechanic available. They started from the colored buttons, from yellow to blue to orange... Everything. They continued to observe each court and awe at the sight of each one. There was an ice hockey one to a volleyball court. They also noticed the differences between indoor tennis to paddle tennis, then checking the pickleball one to the ping pong one as well. There was also a bandminton one, unsurprisingly, but the gym also surprisingly had futsal and a wrestling ring as well. There was even one which held nothing- nothing but a comfortable space for people to dance in.

It was then did the trio checked the switches and uncolored buttons did they completely lose their sense of comprehension. From one click from the switch, the lights began to disappear. There was now a disco from the center, moving and flashing lights to and fro. The disco then changed to colorful beams, then to regular lights which centered to the ring. They even noticed that the chairs would change as well. The massanger chairs would disappear to the ground, now regular wooden chairs to be seen. There were all sorts of chairs as well- from simple benches to club chairs to longue chairs to even (to their complete surprise) personal jacuzzis, the trio was left stunned as they finally changed the gym back to normal.

"I think I've been shocked enough for today," Ryoichi sighed, sighing out of complete exhaustion. "This place is crazy, even more so than aliens... Somehow."

"Well, guess this would be a great place for us to throw games in," the stunt double said, laughing. He was slapping Ryoichi on the back. "We should tell the others about this. Maybe we should change the location here for the party."

"I suppose that's a fine idea to consider as well." Minori nodded, smiling at the thought.

Seiga chuckled. "Yeah, I'll probably ask Sagiso about what she thinks later."

Minori agreed in silence. He decided to check the storage room next, going to the corner and opening the extravagent door. Of course, to his expectations, there were all sorts of sporty goods inside of the room. Surprisingly, it was quite dirty inside, though the pseudologist supposed it was because of the lack of use. He even had to switch the light on to realize that the only light inside of the room was a lightbulb. Minori could spot a few bandminton rackets and birdies, then looking to the left to find gym mats spread across the floor. He also found a basket of balls inside to the right corner, basketballs, tennis balls, and more to be shown. It was a simple storage room, nothing too surprising.

"You good there?" Seiga asked, peeking from Minori's shoulder.

The pseudologist nodded as Seiga backed off, the man closing the door. "I think we searched everything here. We should move."

"Yup."

Seiga gestured the investigator to head out, Ryoichi doing such as he opened the door for the duo. Since the gym was the only room to the left, the group were forced to move to the right. They were walking down before they noticed another door, that door being the cafe. The group eyed one another before opening the door, heading inside to suddenly found themselves engulfed in the tasteful aroma of fresh coffee beans.

"Holy shit I could go for some coffee right now," Seiga said, smelling the air to the best of his abilities. He quickly made his way over to the counter, easily jumping over the table to eye the machinery. He could see the coffee grinder to the left side of the center sink, then eyeing the different arrays of liquids then eyeing the syrups. The stunt double also found a coffee machine to the left corner, just hidden from the metal utensils.

"How fancy," Minori mumbled to himself, first eyeing the counter where the stunt double was then looking around the room. He found that besides the counter was a different array of pastries. He spotted a few crepes and brownies, then eyeing the croissants and cake pops. They seemed to have been freshly made, the chocolate croissant Minori was eyeballing steaming. Delicious. Everything, everything was pastry and dessert. _This place would definitely suit Ko's needs..._

Minori inwardly sighed before looking, instead, at the scenery. The cafe had, as expected, a relaxing and peaceful atmosphere. Tranquility at its best. The tables which surrounded the cafe was were round and dark, almost a dark chocolate color to that extent. The chairs were quite suiting to the needs of peace and relaxation, being comfortable cream-white longue chairs. There were two chairs at each table, each table having a small vase with a beautiful rose flower at the center. The walls were a relaxing light yellow, the ceiling white. The lights which brightened the room was a beautiful chandelier at the top.

 _Why is everything in this floor so royal-like so far?_ Minori wondered to himself, but shook his head as he noticed Seiga whipping up some coffee. The pseudologist eyed the man questionably, the stunt doble having brewed three small cups of mocha. The pseudologist sighed as he took the drink, sipping into it slowly in comparison to Ryoichi who was not at all burnt by the hotness of the drink.

"I'm glad it's not too bitter," the investigator said, smiling happily at Seiga. "I don't have a tough stomach, honestly."

The man grinned widely, throwing a thumbs-up while dropping his own drink in the process. However, he quickly snatched it without warning, his reflexes dangerously quick. "Well, I just thought mocha's the one everyone likes," he said, speaking as if nothing had happened.

"Everything in this floor is unlike below..." Minori said, speaking his thoughts as he sipped into his drink. "It's as if we're living in a completely different area."

Ryoichi shrugged, frowning. "I suppose Monokuma is trying to make us comfortable here." He then noticed what they were doing at the moment. "Um, I think it's working too."

Minori and Seiga's eyes widened and they quickly spilled their coffee to the sink. Ryoichi couldn't help but chuckle nervously as the group frowned. The pseudologist cupped his chin. _Trying to make us comfortable here, huh? ... Why? He could force us to kill and participate in a class trial without trying to make us happy in this place._ Minori bit into his lips, his heart beating. He had a horrible hunch that something, something much more bigger was being kept secret. "Should we go?"

"Um, yeah."

The group headed outside, now moving downwards further into the hallway. It didn't take long for them to find their next destination, a door being shown in the naked eye. The silver plate had read 'Game Room'.

Ryoichi opened the door. "This is place where you want to host the party, right Mr. Kosoku?"

Seiga nodded. "Yeah, from the picture the MonoPad showed me earlier, I think this place's good."

Minori walked into the room, deciding to look inside. He noticed how spacious the room was, then eyeing the red colored walls. Red, the color of passion and fire. Definitely befitting that of a game room. Minori then took notice of the arcade booths at the sides, finding all sorts of goodies lying in wait. From the left side of the room were various old games such as the original Street Fighter, Pac-Man, and even a racing game and pinball machine. He noticed the two different chairs for the racing game, then noticing a steering wheel in the front of each chair. A highly competetive game, for sure.

Minori then eyed the right side of the room, finding a shelf full of different video games. He spotted Super Mario Bros, then Call of Duty, etc. There were all sorts of games for different sorts of systems, Minori spotting each different system tucked away in small shelves which held a gigantic television atop. There were bean bags chairs led at the television station, then various other bean bag chairs scattered around the room. The lights which brightly lit the room were atop of the ceiling. There was also a white door at the end, Ryoichi having entered inside, to which Minori and Seiga followed suit.

A spacious, empty room. There were wide folding tables spread across the room, a few having been folded and sitting at the corner. The room was, in comparison, a dark ocean blue. It was a room which fit something akin to a reservation room. There were dining chairs around the tables as well, then a television screen shown in the middle of the room. From the bottom of the screen was a cabinet, Ryoichi opening it to reveal all sorts of movies inside. The pseudologist nodded. Minori definitely understood why Seiga would want to hold the party inside.

"This place should work," Ryoichi said, observing the room with a knowing nod. "I think we'd be able to fit everyone inside, given how spacious and wide the room is. We're also right besides the games, so it'd be easy for us to play around as well."

"Right?" Seiga widely grinned. He stood tall, almost enjoying the praise the investigator was giving. "I think this would work."

Minori smiled as well. He agreed wholeheartedly to the duo's words. "We should be able to set the party here easily too."

"Yeah, see? I'm awesome!" Seiga threw his hands to his hips, laughing.

Minori rolled his eyes playfully. "Yeah, I believe so."

The group nodded to themselves before leaving, moving out of the game room. They headed towards the next room, which, surprisingly, had a glass door instead of a wooden one. Curious, Minori walked towards the door, eyeing it. His eyes widened. There were all sorts of plants inside.

"Is... is this a greenhouse?"

Ryoichi opened the door as they walked inside. The air was strangely humid, and strangely enough they could see butterflies and all sorts of insects scattering the place, hiding in bushes and trees (which hung low because of the ceiling), then hiding underneath roses and herbs. "Wow, it really is a greenhouse..."

Seiga's eyes widened, mouth hanging agape. "I just realized we've haven't been outside in, like, forever."

The investigator nodded rapidly. "I know right?"

The group were standing atop of a wooden bridge, just looking down to find a beautiful pond surrounding most of the place. The pond was beautiful, clean with water lilies and khoi fish swimming around. A beautiful Japanese garden, Minori noticed that as they walked through the bridge, they found themselves now walking down towards a small pathway. The sides of the pathway held bushes, flowers, and the such around the place. Grass was to be seen, the trio stepping atop of it as they toured the area. There were bonsai trees around, near benches where the trio could sit on. They headed down until they reached the utmost end, finding themselves eyeing a collection of small plants and a garden. A garden with tomatoes, carrots, etc. Plants which would bloom into either fruit trees or flowers. Certainly, it was certainly a gardener's dream.

"I wonder how Monokuma even managed this place," Ryoichi said, curious as he eyed each potted plant. "To think he'd even manage to keep a garden here, let alone an entire greenhouse alive and beautiful..."

"Maybe he actually cares about things?" Seiga then deadpanned. "Actually, scratch that. Doubt he'd care about anything other than killing."

Ryoichi frowned. "But this greenhouse is amazing... I can't believe anyone other than Monokuma would tend to it. We are the only people trapped here other than Monokuma, after all."

Minori cupped his chin, thinking for a moment before looking at the man. "I wonder why Monokuma even trapped us inside this school. He could've easily thrown us far away from society, and I doubt a school would be 'far' from public eye. I'm also wondering if he even considered that people would be searching for us."

"Honestly, Mr. Watanabe, I've been wondering that ever since Monokuma told us we were trapped here." Ryoichi bit into his lips, staring at the garden. "He could've kidnapped us all and throw us into a ship and sail us off. He could've done anything, but yet he trapped us in a place which is always seen and watched by the public." The investigator crossed his arms. "Maybe Monokuma threatened the public somehow?"

"I would think that help is already coming our way." Seiga sighed, scratching his head. "But let's not worry about it too much. We'll just end up freaking out if we continue to talk about this shit."

Minori understood where the stunt double was coming from, and nodded. The group eventually decided to head back out, deciding best to not speak about such topics again. Seiga opened the door, Ryoichi and Minori thanking him as they headed outside. Seiga closed the door carefully and turned to the group. "Well, we should be done soon!" He said, smiling widely. "I think we have one left to search."

"Hope so," Ryoichi said, sighing underneath his breath. "I feel like it's been hours since we started!"

Minori nodded. "I think so as well."

The group headed down, walking to the next door which was not at all glass, but now wooden like the rest. The silver plate was titled 'Swimming Pool'. The group opened the door and headed inside. As expected, they were met with beautiful pristine water, laid inside in a swimming pool. On one side was the short pool, the feet at which the water stood at being about four feet. It wasn't quite as big as the main pool, which was in comparison eight feet to ten, but nonetheless it was quite big. Minori could even spot a jaccuzi to the right side, being warmed up strangely. It was awaiting for its next victim.

Around the swimming pool were pastel-colored beach chairs, laid to the sides. Strangely, there were umbrellas covering the top of each chair, though Minori supposed it was to intensify the feeling of summer. He didn't mind, after all, noticing there was a control to the side that controlled the temperature of the room. There were three functions of the buttons- chilly, lukewarm, and humid.

Other than that, Minori spotted the changing rooms at the end of the room. The male changing room being located with a picture of the typical blue male body, the right side being the female with the pink girl. The doors were white and the doorknob was golden. Minori could also spot a security camera near the top of both rooms, the pseudologist concluding it was to secure the chances of a woman entering into the male's room and vice versa as little as possible.

 _... Not like I'd go in the girl's room._ Minori made his way to the male's changing room, opening the door and heading inside. Unsurprisingly (though it may be a surprise), the changing room was normal. It was akin to any male changing room. Akin to any sort of changing room. There were benches at the middle with lockers at the sides, then a small hallway leading down to a bunch of small shower rooms, white curtains to cover whoever would use them. It was a normal changing room. Nothing too special aside from the bonsai plant to the left side from the door.

Minori headed back out and eyed the duo. "There's nothing too special here," he said, crossing his arms.

Ryoichi nodded. "I see. This is the last room on this floor, right?"

"Yup!" The stunt double grinned. "Good job guys, we did it!"

The pseudologist laughed awkwardly as Seiga began to high-five them, chuckling in the process. Well, Seiga was correct. They had investigated the second floor as well and effectively as they could. It was a job well done.

Seiga smiled widely and threw his hands to his hips. "So, since we're already here, let's go for a swim!"

"Huh?" Minori's eyes widened. "Now?"

"Well, it'd be a good way for us to relax, right?" Seiga's eyes brightened. "C'mon man, I think it'd be fun. I think it'll help cheer you guys up a lot more too."

Minori and Ryoichi eyed one another, then looking back at the stunt double. He seemed desperate for an answer, and so the duo sighed. What harm would it do? The duo began to change out of their outfits, Seiga having somehow finished changing from the shower room and wearing the school's black trunks, his clothes in his arms. He threw the clothes into a nearby locker as Ryoichi and Minori finished changing as well, the duo eyeing his toned body. Seiga seemed oblivious to their almost envious looks, tilting his head with an awkward smile.

Minori had to admit, he was embarrassed. Although changing into gym clothes was common at school, he was never the type to boast about his body. In fact, he was a bit more sensitive about his body. He knew that he was much more feminine than other boys, and so he felt a bit intimidated by them. Even despite wearing a white-and-ocean-blue boardshort, he was still quite bashful. He couldn't help but eye his own body, almost wondering how slender his build was. Even Ryoichi was more toned than him, wearing dark green trunks. Ryoichi is rather dashing, after all. However, Ryoichi and Seiga did not speak much on it, and so Minori was able to move out to the swimming pool fairly easily.

Well, fairly easily, that is, until the girl's changing room opened.

"H-huh?"

Minori's eyes widened, cheeks blushing a dark red as he noticed that there were a few women who had gotten out of their changing room. Amyto, Sagiso, and Sheina. They had gotten out of their room, in their swimsuits. Amyto was wearing, strangely, a dark red bikini. And, because of how curvy she was, the bikini almost made her stand out more. Sheina and Sagiso were wearing one-piece swimsuits, Sagiso's being a dark blue with Sheina's being a maroon color.

"Oh." Amyto eyed Minori for a moment, her lips then curving into a mischievous smile as she made her way over to him. "Hey there, Minnie. You look nice in that."

Minori's heart was beating. "U-um, you too?"

Sheina held her head high as she observed Minori and the others. "Hmph! The Gods haven't told me that you subjects would be taking a swim."

Ryoichi tilted his head. Honestly, he seemed stunned at what the women were wearing. "Uh, yeah."

Sagiso did not seem to care much about her quite dashing look, instead heading over to Minori and eyeing him closely. She was, of course, right in his personal space. "Are you sure you're not too tired?" She asked, feeling the man's cheeks. She frowned. "You look tired."

"I-I'm fine." Minori felt himself choking, eyeing the psychogeographer who sighed and release him from her grip. He inwardly sighed to himself and eyed the women. "I didn't know you three were inside."

"Us as well." Amyto chuckled, smiling a goofy smile. "We didn't know you guys were gonna swim. You should've told us you guys were gonna host a swimming pool party too."

"It was Mr. Kosoku's idea," the investigator answered, looking over to Seiga who had already jumped in the pool. He sighed and eyed the women. "Are we of a bother to you three?"

The hypnotist shook her head, laughing. "Nah, the more people, the better. Besides!" She suddenly stopped, eyeing Ryoichi for a moment. She then looked at Seiga and Minori before whistling, teasing the men. "I think I'll have fun eyeing you guys out."

Ryoichi wanted to speak, but instead was prompted to say something else. "Why does this school allow bikinis?" He said, asking himself quietly as he eyed Amyto. He then sighed and made his way over to Seiga, jumping straight into the pool.

"Hm..." Minori didn't know what to do. He watched as the women began to jump into the pool as well, smiles on their faces. He watched them for a small moment, seeing them smiling and having fun. Sheina and Ryoichi were prompted into splashing water at one another, Seiga and Amyto deciding to join in while Sagiso flustered over their safety.

 _Oh whatever._ Minori ran over to the pool, throwing himself into the water. He swam around comfortably as he watched the quartet beginning to splash each other more and more violently, staying behind with Sagiso as they worried over when they would stop. Seiga and Amyto seemed much more excited, the stunt double beginning to act out some strange superhero movie as Amyto began to taunt the men.

"These four are such children," Sagiso groaned, wanting to sink to the bottom of the water.

"You're certainly right," the pseudologist said, unable to hold back a playful chuckle as he eyed the woman. "However, they're having fun, so I think it's fine."

Sagiso smiled back at the man. "Of course."

And so, hours had passed. The group were having fun, either fighting playfully or by relaxing on the side. It was a way to spend time- to spend time by forgetting about the real world for a few hours. Certainly, it was fun.

 _If only time could stop and allow us to all have fun, together. Without worries and hardships. To have Ko and Asami besides us... and for us all to spend time, laughing and smiling._

 _I wish time could just allow us to be our teenage selves. I wish we didn't have to worry about anything. No Monokuma, no killing game...nothing._

Minori wished and wished, but he knew better than to hope that his wish would become reality. Still, he wanted to have fun. He needed to have fun, and so he continued to swim around the pool with the others, racing against them and throwing each other down, wrestling. Time was wasted quickly and quickly until they suddenly were stopped by the nighttime announcement.

"Ahem! It is now officially nighttime! And, because I haven't stated so, I will allow the people hanging in the pool to continue without punishment! However, for further notice, the swimming pool will always be officially closed at nighttime! This rule will be added in your MonoPads as well! Ahem, that is all! Have a great night, you bastards!"

Of course, it was Monokuma who ruined it.

Everything, everyone, the world would be ruined by Monokuma.

* * *

And here's the end! Thank you for all the kind words you've left so far since these chapters! They really mean a lot to me! I'm hoping this chapter would have a lot of different feels being grinded out from you all! From happiness to sadness (mainly sadness though, not gonna lie), I'm hoping this chapter have touched you guys' hearts!

Unsurprisingly, it seems the focus now rides on Kamui. What will become of him, I wonder? Well, the next few chapters will be focused on what Chapter 2's all about. Of course, expect a lot of drama, development, FTEs (of course!), the motive, and most importantly... the murder. This chapter is mainly the official introduction to chapter two as we do gain mostly information about the new floor available and what is to come, so let's hope expectations will be reached on what's to come!

Anyways, thanks again for all your support, and see you all soon!


	15. Chapter 2 - Part 1, Part B

Hello, and welcome to the next part of this chapter! Anyways, this chapter isn't anything too special. This simply sets up the party to come and a few more dialogue. It also sets up the characters, whether it is their new mindset or relationships with the others~ Anyways, hope you all enjoy this one! Note, awkwardness and timing is in Minori's name.

 **liammarklh88:** "Haha, I honestly was going to post it a few days later, but since I was almost done, I decided to stay late and finish it! No, why would you make yourself even more sad?! Glad you enjoyed the chapter! Haha, well, there will be a lot of development, but development always sometimes lead to a death right the next day... Oh no, not the hope and bagels! Aah! Haha, yeah, I'll be interested in your story and what happens from there."

 **ToonGuy:** "Yeah, Chapter 2! Haha, true. Haha, don't worry, lots of character development will come~ Asami definitely had a role in Minori's development, so go, go Asami! I doubt anyone expected him to go through this. Glad you're loving what happened before this chapter haha XD I love heartfelt speeches, and yeah, Seiga is a beautiful man. Let's all hope that there will be more ship teases!"

 **Agrael:** "Aw, glad you liked it! While it lasts, haha... Yes, well, us readers will always want the best for poor Kamui~ Thanks, glad you're loving the new floor! I hope you'll enjoy what's to come!"

 **Kukasabe Swift:** "Hello, and welcome! Thanks! I'm glad we made it to the next chapter! Yeah, I don't even know why I'm so quick sometimes. Yeah, the POV change would be quite jarring, but I will certainly plan something akin to what you said possibly in the future or my special event story. Haha, glad you enjoyed the aftermath, and interesting to see your input on that. Haha, Kamui is sure being held under fire! Yeah, Minori is certainly growing some backbone, and glad you saw that tiny reference to his lie! Of course I'd listen to what you say! You were the one who created him, and if I do not portray him to your liking you are supposed to tell me so! Yeah, I wanted some break for a bit, a bit... Thank you!"

 **Tario Ed:** "Oh, welcome! Glad you enjoyed the last few chapters! Of course, I'll take your inputs into consideration for future chapters. Haha, let's hope Kamui will be safe. I'm glad I'm portraying Amyto well! Haha, glad you don't seem to mind too much."

 **PoisonBanana:** "Yes, a lot of interesting feelings have been seen! The mixed reactions to Kamui from our cast is very interesting, so of course I'd want to create more tension between Kamui and the cast! Yes, we have Asami and plenty of other people (maybe) to thank for that. I'm glad you found his lashing on Kakuma and Kamui to be executed well! Haha, this will be a fun ride~ Yeah, I do not want everything to be too sad."

 **DryBonesKing:** "I'm glad you enjoyed the mourning! Yeah, the unity was amazing, fun to see it while it lasts... Glad you enjoyed Ryoichi! I'm trying to give a lot of the other characters development, and I'm glad you noticed Ryoichi's development! Glad you're enjoying the new layout! Haha, glad you enjoyed the swimming pool event! I'm very happy that the plot's going well and you're enjoying this so far~"

 **RandomWriter197 (From your previous reviews):** "Yeah! Glad you're liking this!"

 **irwegwert:** "It's fine! Nice to see you anyways! Yeah, at the time being, that is. Yeah, it's going to be hard to bring Fumio into the group since he can't really communicate. Mhm, Kamui has it rough. Everyone needs to love him! Yeah, I want every character to get their part in the story and develop in some way or another, especially for right in the last chapter with Ryoichi. Haha, rewards for killing someone... It's sad, honestly. Haha, parties always mean death in any circumstance. Yes, everyone needs to recover mentally still."

 **KiibouMon:** "Nice to see you here! I'm glad you're excited for this chapter."

* * *

It was the first dream he had since he had been trapped in the school.

There was a person. It was a person whom he had no knowledge. He did not know who that person was nor did he recongize that person, but he listened to the person silently with a worried stare.

"I know who you are, Minori, but you do not know who I am."

Minori eyed the person strangely. His eyebrows were raised in confusion, and he slowly opened his mouth. "Um, excuse me, but who are you?"

"Oh, simple. I'm here to strike a deal with you. My name? Well, I am..."

* * *

Minori's eyes opened, and he suddenly found himself hearing the morning announcement. He had been woken up abruptly, Monokuma's voice brimming with excitement as always.

"Yoooo, my favorite little bastards! It's 8 A.M., so wake your asses up!"

The pseudologist couldn't help but groan. His body was a bit stiff from having swam for hours yesterday, and it took a longer time for him to move from the swimming pool in order to change back. He walked slowly to his room to sleep, after all. Seiga and Amyto did waste his energy yesterday, and especially with Sheina and Ryoichi somehow trying to drag him and Sagiso into the game as well. Though they had been stopped abruptly by the nighttime announcement, they did still have fun.

Still, a new day was a new day. Minori had little to no choice but to move. Besides, he did promise to help Seiga host the party, after all.

Minori stood up from his bed and changed into his clothes, washing his face. It was his daily routine. To brush, shower, change- he did the same, same daily routine and left. It was almost, almost strangely a ritual at this point. _It's like I'm used to being stuck here._ He sighed. He made his way straight into the dining hall, not surprised to find Kaniza and Sagiso inside with breakfast in hand. Minori waved at the duo, a kind smile on his face. "Hello, Kaniza. Sagiso."

Kaniza smiled kindly at the pseudologist. "Hello, Minnie."

Minori eyed the psychogeographer for a moment, then recalling what happened yesterday. His cheeks flushed as Sagiso suddenly appeared to his face, eyeing him closely. "You don't seem too tired," she began, cupping his face. _Does she even understand what 'personal space' is?_ Minori's cheeks grew hot as she continued to stare at him. A moment passed before she released him, nodding to herself. "Glad you seem better than before."

"Do I?" Minori felt his own face. Honestly, he never cared much about how he looked in the morning. He didn't know if he had circles under his eyes or not. Although he washed his face, he didn't take hours to stare himself down. He frowned. "I guess so."

Kaniza was bringing her plate to her seat, then passing Minori and Sagiso their's. Although the two women have prepared food for everyone else, they did not bother to set the table. If anything, they had only set the table for themselves and Minori. Kaniza cupped her hands and mumbled for a moment, speaking a prayer to the stars. She then began to eat to herself before noticing the confusion on the pseudologist's face. An awkward smile escaped her face as she nervously began to speak. "Oh, you didn't hear what happened?"

"What?" Minori shook his head as he slowly moved to his seat. "No. What happened?"

"I mean, most of us were doing our own things, so I guess some of you guys didn't know..." The astrophotographer scratched her head, anxious. "Um, well, a few people ended up arguing over Kamui and what to do with him. They said that they didn't want to even see him, and so they came to the conclusion that we should just do our own things now... I just heard their argument when I was in the restroom, so I didn't say anything and I wasn't able to see their faces, but, um, now a lot of people told me that they're gonna eat at their own time."

Minori frowned. "So, they want us to not be around each other for any longer."

Kaniza nodded. "I honestly don't understand it. All because they didn't want Kamui to be near them? I... I just don't know what to feel about that. I mean, only a few people agreed on that, but it's still bad. We're just getting more and more anxious over one another. I don't even know what the rest are gonna do from here on out. Can Seiga's party even happen at this rate? I can only wish I can look at the night sky and read what's gonna happen."

Sagiso shook her head, eyeing Kaniza with a stern gaze. "I'm sure we'll be able to do it. Knowing who Seiga is, he'll definitely make it happen. There are a lot of us who want this party to happen, after all."

"True..." Kaniza nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, guess you're right." She began to smile. A determined smile. "So, let's start planning then! What do you think we should cook for the party, guys?"

Minori frowned, cupping his chin. "Um... I'm not exactly a chef, so I wouldn't know."

Sagiso chuckled, a sweet smile on her face. "Us as well. I think it is best to get input from other people."

The pseudologist sighed. He understood where the psychogeographer was coming from. "True," he said, nodding his head. "Well, if I had to base it off of my taste buds... I would love for there to be sweets after the main dishes. For the main course... Hm, I'd say something like roast chicken, salad, and the like? Oh, but I'm a huge fan of fish, so... Wait, we do have to think about the workload too, right?"

Kaniza laughed. "Glad you seem to have a lot of ideas. I'm charmed." She smiled brightly at the man, almost wanting to tease him by squeezing his cheeks. She held back however, knowing how easily flustered the man could be. "I'll have to ask Nezumi and the others too. I'll be sure to ask Sheina and Amyto to ask the others too when I see them. I think Amyto's hanging out with Fuwari and Sheina at the moment though in the cafe? She told me she wanted to try the pastries there."

"Oh, right." Sagiso crossed her arms. "I've never tasted what was inside the cafe yet."

"Me neither!" Kaniza giggled. "We should go there later, Sagi!"

Sagiso smiled at the woman. "Of course."

Minori couldn't help but smile at the duo. He was glad that friendships were being forged. He honestly hoped that everyone could get along, but, well, reality was much more cruel. Of course, reality isn't that easy. Life isn't that sweet. Hardships will be faced, and so far, that was what was happening to not only Minori, but to everyone inside of the school.

Besides, Minori was curious. He was eating into his food as he pondered on a few questions. _Who were the people who agreed that this unity should be broken? What is Kamui doing at this moment? Is Seiga working on hosting the party right now?_ Minori didn't know the answers to such questions, him slurping into his noodles and frowning. He would have to finish his food first.

And, so, that was what he did. He gulped down his bowl of udon and ate into his tempura, sipping down his water and thanking the food gods and goddesses for such a delicious meal. He also thanked Kaniza and Sagiso, the two women smiling at him. He stood up from his seat and placed the dishes to the sink, washing them before heading outside the dining hall.

 _Alright, I should try to find Kamui first. I hope he's doing fine._ With such thoughts in mind, he quickly made his way back into the dormitories and searched for Kamui's door. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself before knocking on the door. He knocked. Once. Twice. He waited. A moment passed.

A moment passed, and the door slowly creaked open, just enough for Minori to see Kamui peeking his head out. "Um, Minori?" The mortician looked shocked. His eyes were widened. "Do you need something? You... You shouldn't talk to a killer. People will begin to suspect you too."

"I don't care about that," the pseudologist said instantly, shaking his head. "I'm just checking up on you."

Kamui hesitated, but then frowned at the man. "I'm fine. Please, leave me alone."

Kamui was about to close the door until Minori suddenly grabbed ahold of the door, struggling to keep it open. "Look, nothing will improve if you do this to yourself." The pseudologist looked at the mortician, stern. He was determined to open himself to the mortician. He was determined to aid Kamui. He was determined to help someone- to help someone as Asami had helped him. "At least talk to me. You can tell me anything. Even if no one else is going to look after you, I will. I will make sure everyone will include you."

"Minori..." The mortician averted his gaze. "I... I don't understand why you're willing to go this far to talk to a murderer."

The pseudologist eyed the man. "You're still a friend, Kamui. I understand that you did this to protect us, and I understand how hard it must've been for you to plan such...such a thing with Asami. It must've been painful, I'm sure." He bit into his lips as he eyed Kamui. He was still hesitating, still doubtful. "Please, at least for a bit, let me talk to you. Let's... Let's just talk."

"I... No, I can't. I'm sorry. I can't let you associate yourself with someone like me. I'm sorry, Minori." Kamui shook his head before quickly shoving Minori off, making the pseudologist stumble a bit before falling to the floor.

"Ugh!" Before Minori could process the pain on his bottom, the door was shut instantly, now locked. His eyes widened as he realized that Kamui had just shoved him. His heart ached in pain. The mortician was not willing to open up. Kamui was doubtful of everything, of himself, of the trust of others... He was doubtful of everything and everyone around him. _Kamui..._

Minori almost wanted to throw his fists to the ground. He honestly wanted to punch something, but at the moment all he cared about was how pained Kamui looked. The pseudologist clicked his tongue as he slowly brought himself to his feet, sighing. _I think I need to pester him more later. I'll check Seiga out first then._

Despite wanting to pressure Kamui more into answering, he had no choice but to leave. He decided to walk up to the second floor, having concluded that Seiga should've been inside of the game room. He made his way down the hallway and opened the door, and, to be his expectation, Seiga was present.

"Oh, dude!" Seiga smiled widely at the pseudologist, him holding a box of what seemed to be decorations and confetti. Other than Seiga, the people inside of the game room consisted of Ryoichi and Saori who were, most likely, planning the setup of the party and schedule. "Here to help?"

"Yeah." Minori smiled back as he closed the door, now walking to the group.

Seiga cracked his fists. "Awesome!"

Saori acknowledged the man's presence with a silent nod. Minori nodded back in return.

"Hello." Ryoichi eyed the pseudologist with a curious gaze, him having almost dropped the folding chair that was on his hands. "Mr. Watanabe, have you seen the others?"

Minori frowned and shook his head. "No. Kaniza said that most of us are only doing their own thing, so..."

"I see." Ryoichi sighed, a saddened gaze apparent on his face. "Mr. Jirokichi and Mr. Fujiyoshi are still in their rooms as well... Ms. Uchida and the others are trying to get them out though."

Minori was saddened by that fact as well. To think that Nezumi and Fumio were still hidden in their rooms, locking themselves away from the public eye. He couldn't blame them, but, of course, he hoped that they would heal themselves mentally soon. _Maybe I have to talk to them too. I hope Amyto and the others are helping the two, at least in the slightest bit..._

The pseudologist looked at the stunt double. "What do you need help with?"

Seiga observed the room for a moment before looking at Minori. "Well, for starters, I'd say we should set up the room inside first."

The man nodded. "Alright. Let me help."

Minori watched as the stunt double set down the box, the pseudologist now searching through it for the supplies. Saori and Ryoichi gave him pointers for the layout of the room where the party would mainly be held, and so Minori nodded and took ahold of a few supplies. He took a few honeycomb tissue paper balls that he could hang on the ceiling, then taking ahold of a few balloons Seiga had blown up. Minori headed into the next door, setting up the decorations around the room. He carefully hung each pom-pom on the ceiling, making sure they align either parallel or symmetrical to one another. He then tied a few balloons together and set them to the corners, afterwards hanging all sorts of wall decorations around the room.

"Is it fine?" Minori would ask, eyeing the stunt double.

Seiga would then cup his chin before giving the man a thumbs-up. "Muy bueno, man!"

Minori smiled and continued to decorate the area, now setting the table with a beautiful red royal cloth, placing it to the middle and spreading it across the whole table. He then took ahold of a vase, placing it to the middle. Though the flowers in the vase were fake, it still looked pretty nonetheless. A beautiful bouquet, so to speak.

A few hours passed since then, and the room now looked quite festive. Seiga high-fived Minori as Saori and Ryoichi were still inside the main gaming room, planning the schedule of the party. Minori headed outside. "Are you guys alright?" He asked, somehow sweating from the work he had done.

Saori nodded. "Yes. We are currently managing the time restraints and the possibilities."

Seiga walked into the room, a large smile on his face. "Alright, since we got the place all festive and shit, now we gotta worry about the schedule and the events! I also gotta ask the girls what they're gonna cook." He then looked at Minori. "Great job man! You did great. Thanks for the help!"

Minori smiled. "It's not a big deal."

The stunt double chuckled. "Anyways, I gotta go practice my stunt!" He began to make his way to the door, eyeing the group with a wink. "Gonna go get ahold of Nezumi first though. Be right back."

Ryoichi frowned. "Are you sure he's gonna- Aaannnd he's gone."

"You think he'll be able to convince Nezumi?" Saori asked, eyeing Minori.

The pseudologist shook his head. "I'm not sure." He then eyed the duo for a few seconds before sighing. He honestly did not know why they were so interested. More likely, they simply wanted to know the results of Seiga's antic, however they are held back by their planning. So, they turned to Minori for aid. "Alright, I'll check him out just in case. Are you sure you don't need help planning the schedule?"

Saori nodded. "Thank you, and, no, we do not need any help."

Minori frowned. "Are you sure?"

The body broker nodded. "I'm sure. We almost have everything planned, after all. We might be finished in a few hours despite the lack of people helping. We'll be fine. You don't need to mind us at all."

 _Yeah... People really aren't helping with the party at all. Geez, they should at least try to care..._

"I see. Well, I'll take my leave." Minori headed out of the room, now moving his way down the stairs and heading straight back to the dorimtory. He was about to call for Seiga, the stunt double in front of Nezumi's door, before he then also noticed Amyto, Fuwari, and Sheina walking down into the dormitory as well.

"Minori?" Fuwari's eyes widened. "Where are you going?"

Minori eyed the trio as they all made their way into the middle of the dormitory. Seiga seemed to notice them, however he didn't care much and continued to knock on the door. "To the dormitories. Um... You three are heading there too, right?" He eyed the trio who nodded, the pseudologist then crossing his arms. "I see. Are you three here to convince the others then?"

Amyto nodded. "Yeah, we were gonna call Nezumi since Kaniza said he didn't even eat yet, but..." She eyed Seiga who was continuously pounding on the door. "... I think Seiga can handle this."

Minori eyed the stunt double, understanding why Amyto sounded so sure of herself. He then eyed Fuwari and Sheina who were both content as well, eyeing Seiga. The pseudologist couldn't help but inwardly laugh. _You really made a name for yourself here, Seiga._

"Yo, Nezumi, dude! We gotta practice our skit!" Seiga continued to pound the door, yelling as loudly as he could. "We can't start shit if you don't get out!"

"What is he talking about?" The hypnotist asked, eyeing the pseudologist.

Minori frowned. "Simply about the stunt he pulled Nezumi into doing for the party."

Amyto whistled, an interested smile on her face. She crossed her arms and eyed the stunt double who was now, strangely, kicking at the door. "Oh. That'd be interesting to see."

Fuwari nodded her head slowly. "Well, that is, if Nezumi can be convinced to open the door."

"Nezumi, I'm gonna break the door down if you don't get out in three seconds! You don't want me to vandalize, right?!" Seiga began to prepare himself, cracking his fists. A murderous smirk appeared on his lips, almost bloodthirsty to break down the door. "Alright! Three!"

Amyto's eyes widened and she turned to Minori. She was looking at Minori and the two other women. "W-wait, isn't this bad? If he breaks down the door, wouldn't Monokuma get mad?"

"He's crazy," Sheina said, crossing her arms.

Seiga began to position his footing, confidence written all over his face. "Two!"

 _Wait. No way. Oh no, what if he's actually..._ Minori's heart began to race and he began to make his over to the stunt double. "Um, hey, Seiga-"

"One!"

Minori was about to scream as Seiga began to throw himself at the door, however before his fists or foot hit the door creaked open, the stunt double's eyes widening as he quickly jumped back and stopped himself. Nezumi was right at the door, eyes teary and face paling. "S-Seiga, that's dangerous!" The thief cried, almost angry at the stunt double. His hands were clenched into fists, his voice shaky. "W-what would happen if Monokuma sees you?!"

"Nice to see you, dude." Seiga didn't seem at all bothered, a bright smile on his face as he scratched his head. "You ready?"

"Ugh... I-I hate you!" Nezumi groaned, almost wanting to yell at the man. However, he ended up rubbing his eyes and walked over to the stunt double, knowing that his fate was sealed. "D-do I really have to do this though?"

"Yeah!" Seiga moved closer to the thief, grabbing ahold of his hands and lifting them to the thief's own chest. A determined stare was in his eyes, his lips curved to a confident grin. "C'mon man, you're awesome as you are. I'm confident that you'll be just as amazing as the hero can be."

Nezumi's cheeks began to flush a red hue. "W-why is everyone telling me this? First Kaniza, then you..." He shook his head and quickly backed away from the stunt double. "I-I'm just someone who's afraid of dying..."

"A lot of us are." Seiga stared firmly at the thief. "Fumio's scared, Kamui's scared, hell, everyone's scared. But, like, dude, Amy's a real inspiration here, huh? She's still kicking despite being so distraught over Asami's death."

"S-Seiga, I'm not that amazing honestly." Amyto awkwardly chuckled, then looking at Nezumi. She ruffled the man's hair and smiled. "I bet you'll be awesome performing whatever stunt Seiga throws your way! Just believe in yourself, and maybe you'll forget aaallll about your fear of dying." A giggle escaped her lips. "I'll help you guys out too! This sounds like fun honestly."

Fuwari nodded her head. "Do not fear death, Nezumi. It will only hinder you."

"I-I mean, you guys are right, b-but still..." Nezumi averted his gaze. "I don't know..."

Seiga shook his head. He grabbed ahold of the man's hands again, now staring straight at him. "C'mon, you've gotta try it out! It'll be fun, I promise. I'll even promise you that I won't pull some crazy shit, alright?" He then threw the thief a sneaky smirk, his tone now much more quiet. "Besides, you're gonna get the chance to impress Kaniza, after all."

Amyto's eyes widened. She had somehow heard the stunt double from a few feet away. Her eyes were glowing with interest as she whistled to the thief. "Aaawww, that's so cute! I'll cheer you on!"

"N-no! S-Seiga!" Nezumi's face was now wholly red. He was panicking, stuttering and fidgeting in place for a few good minutes. He then stopped slowly, silent. He pondered for a moment. He eyed his door for a second before looking back at Seiga and the others. He bit into his lips, taking a deep breath before nodding his head. "Okay, fine, I'll do it. Just, please don't do something like that again? T-to break down the door when it clearly goes against the school rules is... Don't be too reckless!"

Seiga laughed, releasing his grip on the thief. "Haha, yeah, of course! I'm just glad you agreed!"

Nezumi sighed, shaking his head. He didn't even realize that Amyto threw an arm around him, her face brightening up as she smiled a goofy smile. "I'm proud of you, Nezumi! You go impress Kaniza, you hear me?!"

Minori's eyes widened. "Ah, so you do like her."

The thief was panicking for a second time. "G-guys!"

Sheina smirked, hands to her hips. "Heh! How very entertaining indeed! Now if only we could convince Fumio as well. He's quite the stubborn subject, after all."

The pseudologist nodded his head, adjusting his scarf in the process. _Him and Kamui both..._ He then looked at Nezumi who was blushing from the amount of attention the rest were giving him. He smiled. _It's relieving to see Nezumi though._

Seiga clapped his hands together and turned to eye the thief who was being held tightly by Amyto and Sheina both, Fuwari and Minori simply watching from the background with interest. "Alright, Nezumi, you ready to roll?"

"Y-yeah, I'm good." Nezumi sighed, eyeing Amyto and Sheina who released their grips from him. "Where are we going to plan this?"

Seiga grinned. "Let's go to the gym. I got, like, a lot of cool ideas we could do in there."

"Huh? I mean, sure, I guess."

Seiga was about to speak until he then frowned, recalling something. He looked at the thief. "Have you even eaten something yet?"

"Huh?" Nezumi's eyes widened. "Um, no..."

"Alright then! We should first check the cafe out! I'll whip you a batch of coffee too, so let's go."

"Um...sure?"

Nezumi did not seem to understand where Seiga was coming from, Minori concluding that the thief hadn't investigated the second floor yet. He watched the duo heading down the hallways, walking up the stairs. Minori couldn't help but sigh to himself, a bit out of relief and a bit out of exhaustion. _Now if only Fumio and Kamui could be convinced... I know it's going to take me time to convince Kamui, but how should I approach Fumio?_

Amyto eyed Minori for a moment, then smiling and crossing her arms. "You wanna help us convince Fumio, right? Well, I was thinking we should do it later. We already bothered him an hour earlier, so I don't think we should be too much of a bother right now."

Fuwari frowned. "You sure? It may help to persuade him into opening the door though."

The hypnotist shook her head. "I think that's a bit too mean, Fuwari. I don't want to be too much of a bother..."

"Hmph! Well, our subject will submit sooner or later." Sheina crossed her arms coyly. "He'll open up soon."

"You think?" The spirit medium cupped her chin, thinking to herself. She then sighed, forfeiting. "I suppose we should try later then. Amyto, do you want to check the greenhouse? I've been meaning to eye it for a while now."

Amyto giggled. "Of course! Let's go!" She turned to Minori. "Bye for now, Minnie!"

"Um, right. Goodbye." Minori watched the three women nodding their heads, deciding on that fact. The pseudologist watched the trio moving down the hallways, the man now alone with nothing to say or do. He sighed, deciding that he should take a quick break in his room. He was quite exhausted, after all. He had spent most of the afternoon setting up the party decorations, after all.

The pseudologist opened the door to his room and headed inside, suddenly falling down to his bed. He was staring up at the ceiling. He sighed, closing his eyes. _Guess it won't hurt to rest for a bit. I'll eat later and then try to convince Kamui again, after all..._

And, just when those thoughts rolled across his mind, his body drifted to sleep.

... And, almost ironically at this rate, he had been woken up to a sudden announcement. An announcement which was definitely unneeded and uncanny.

"Upupupu! Hey bastards, I've finally got ahold of the next motive! Please head to the auditorium to hear the motive! Also, refusal to attend will be considered cutting and will be punished. So, hop to it, kids!"

The announcement ended, and it was now silent. It was now silent, and the air grew tense. Minori felt like choking. He couldn't breathe. Even when he had woken up, the moment he heard Monokuma's voice he had began to choke on his own saliva. He just couldn't bear hearing that bear's uncanny voice at the moment, especially if it was about 'that'. _Shit... W-we still have to continue this game. It's to be expected, but damn, right now?_ Minori clenched his fists. _He's deliberately trying to ruin everything we've been planning...!_

Of course, Minori had little to no choice but to move. With the superiority Monokuma held over his students, they were forced to listen and obey his every desire. Minori stretched his arms, rubbing his eyes as he walked over to the door. Turning the doorknob, he headed outside, taking a deep breath and slowly beginning to make his way towards the auditorium.

Minori could feel his legs growing heavier and heavier as each step was taken, each step that moved him closer and closer to the auditorium. _What could Monokuma be planning to do to us next? What sort of motive will he have?_ These questions continued to linger his mind as his eyes began to blur, his sight now blurry. His heart was racing, his head was aching. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to find out, but he was being forced to move. He was being forced to move because Monokuma was the headmaster. The headmaster had a say in the students' lives, after all.

 _And that's the most scary part._ Minori breathed a shaky breath as he found himself a few steps away from the auditorium. He was now in front of the door, his body frozen. He didn't want to open the door, however he slowly raised a hand and proceeded to push open the door. Slowly, slowly, the door opened.

Everyone was present. Amyto was eyeing Minori in worry, almost wanting to tear up. Nezumi was shaking, Seiga standing firm, almost annoyed at this point. Kakuma and some of the others stood very calmly, although very cautious. Kamui was in the corner of the room, silent and averting his gaze. Minori could even spot Fumio who was trying to hide himself, at the far end of the corner as well. Everyone, everyone was anxious.

"Shit," Minori could hear the stunt double say, the man cursing underneath his breath. His frown was apparent on his lips. It was obvious he was on the brink of irritation. "This evildoer's trying to ruin the party... Coming up with a damn 'motive' the moment the party's being planned so perfectly."

"I'm not surprised he would do such a thing," Kakuma said, scoffing underneath his lips. "This so-called headmaster of our's is quite the bloodthirsty, despair-loving individual, after all. I am not surprised he would try to ruin these plans of 'unity', even if this 'unity' is being broken already."

"W-where is he?" Amyto asked, looking around the auditorium. She was afraid, her body trembling. She was lying close to Fuwari and the other women, teeth clattering. "W-what is he planning to do to us this time...?"

Minori held his breath, unable to answer. He was unable to speak, unable to say anything but worry endlessly. The looks of anxiety from his classmates were heartbreaking. They all knew what was about to come- tension and the escalation to a murder.

 _No, we should know better than that. There's no way we'd allow a second murder to come._

Minori wanted to convince himself of that statement. He desperately wanted to convince himself because, well, he desired for everyone to stand united. He desired unity. Monokuma was one who fought against it, and he's the only one who was standing in the group's way of being 'normal'. Being normal teenagers, normal people living normal lives- Monokuma had destroyed all of that.

The pseudologist hated it. He despised Monokuma. Monokuma, he was the one who had killed Haruko and Asami. He was the one who caused Kamui pain, the one who made the other Ultimates cry and weep. He was the one who would laugh at their disgrace, their misfortune. It was truly, most utterly, disgusting.

The bell sounded, and the voices which filled the room were silenced immediately. The bell sounded off for a few moments, a few long, long seconds.

Then, as usual, Monokuma appeared from the bottom, jumping up from the podium into the air. Everyone was silent, tensed as they watched their headmaster land perfectly to his seating.

Monokuma eyed the audience for a moment. He looked through each and every one of the audience, then a sigh escaping his snout. "Aww, come on! No 'oohs' and 'aahs'? I thought for sure at least Mr. 'I'm the hero' Seiga would clap his hands in excitement."

Seiga was silent. Instead, he was cracking his fists, almost ready to fight. He was only being held back by Nezumi and Ryoichi, the duo staring at him worriedly.

Monokuma scoffed. "Hmph! Fine then!" He threw his paws to his back as he observed the group, standing straight as he began to speak. To speak in a confident, superior tone of voice. "Anyways, thank you all for being here today! I'm proud to announce that we have our second motive!"

Silence filled the air.

"Still no applause? Sheesh, tough crowd." Monokuma lowered his head, feigning sadness. He didn't seem to mind though, a second later his chuckles escaping the room. He threw his paws out, suddenly numerous black envelopes in hand. "Anyways, here's your motive! It's kinda of a generic motive, but I'm sure your hearts will be pounding!"

Kaniza's eyes widened, face palming. "W... What are those envelopes?"

"Glad you asked!" Monokuma's smile widened. He was waving the envelopes to and fro. "These envelopes contain you guys' most inner, deepest, darkest, juiciest secrets!"

"Secrets?" Kakuma frowned. "I highly doubt that you'd be able to do research on what secrets we've been hiding."

"And you'd be wrong, silly Kakuma!" Monokuma giggled menacingly, the red in his eye shining. "Why don't you guys find out for yourselves?"

Within seconds the envelopes were thrown into the air. Shouts and gasps filled the entire auditorium as everyone scrambled to catch ahold of the envelops which, strangely, seemed to be pinpointed directly to their owners. Minori caught ahold of his, the envelope having flown rather gracefully towards him.

He stared blankly at the black envelope, mind circling and sweat trickling from his forehead. _Monokuma can't be serious._ He thought to himself, fingers scratching into the skin of the paper. _How can he know our secrets if we're mere strangers to him? We're teenagers that he might've researched a bit on, but... Figuring out our secrets is pretty hard..._ Minori inwardly chuckled as he nervously began to open the envelope. _He can't..._

He opened the flap, slowly reaching his fingers into the envelope. A single, single white sheet of paper. He held his breath and slowly raised the paper, words being read in a tiny, tiny black font in the middle. Minori read through it silently, eyes then widening as he quickly shoved the paper back inside. He darted his eyes back and forth, realizing the emotions of the people around him were the same- it was that of shock, confusion, and fear.

"H-how did you figure this out?!" Amyto cried, face paling. Her body was shaking tremendously. "T-this..."

"There's no way you could've figured this out!" Kaniza cried, eyes widening. Sweat was trickling down her forehead as she was clenching tightly onto her envelope.

"H-how do you even know whether or not this is true?" Ryoichi asked, his tone desperate as he eyed Monokuma. "I refuse to believe that you could've figured this out through profiling alone!"

"It's a secret~" Monokuma grinned, having watched the reactions of his students with interest. It was amusing to the eyes, pleasing to the ears. "But, let me just tell you this Ryoichi sweetheart- by the reactions of you guys alone... I can safely say that your secrets are the truth. Believe it or not, but everything that is said in you guys' envelopes are the absolute truth!"

Seiga was biting into his lips, having already crushed the envelope with his bare hands. "He's lying!"

The headmaster giggled. "You say that, but the reactions of the others definitely tell the opposite story, right~?"

Minori was looking at the others, and Monokuma was correct- everyone's secrets were true. Whatever was in their envelope were the absolute truth. Minori's secret was true, and so were the rest.

Fuwari crossed her arms. "This is the motive, huh? What are you planning to do with our secrets if we do not harm one another?"

Monokuma cackled, throwing his paws up in avid excitement. "Easy! You should've known by now that if a murder does not occur in a few days, then your secrets will be spilled! All your dirty, dark little secrets will be spilled throughout this entire school! All your so-called friends will learn the horrors of your lives!"

"Y-you can't just do that!" Amyto cried, shaking her head rapidly. "T-this is obviously a crime! This is a misconduct of our rights!"

"Rights? Blah, blah, who cares about that?" Monokuma sighed. "Society doesn't give a shit about 'rights' or 'personal space' or all that shit. Everyone invades others' personal lives without giving a damn, soooo why even bother about it now?"

Amyto's mouth fell, face paling. "But..."

The headmaster cackled as he walked place to place on the podium, entertaining himself with a hum. "Anyways, you guys will only have a few days to kill until I share your little secrets with everyone. And, well," Monokuma then stopped in place, his smile somehow becoming more sinister, "I might share it to the public itself. Who knows?"

"The public?" Nezumi's eyes widened.

"W-wait a second." Ryoichi shook his head, a disgruntled frown on his face. "Why would you share our secrets to the public? Wouldn't that allow the public to be able to know where we are? I'd think that someone could link the sources to this place-"

"You guys are labeled as 'missing'." Monokuma eyed the investigator. "The police are stupid, aren't they? You would think they're getting closer and closer to finding you guys, but let me be honest with you guys- they're not. Y'know how long it usually takes for the police or investigators to find someone if not in under three days? When they're dead or broken."

Everyone was silent. One thing was circled in their mind- _Monokuma was right._

Monokuma chuckled and threw his paws to his mouth, as if trying to hide his menacing smile. "I'm glad you all seem to understand! Now, let's have a murder in under three days, alright? Toodles~"

Monokuma vanished from thin air, now everyone silent and unable to speak, shocked.

Minori bit into his lips. He wanted to speak, he wanted to jump at the middle of the stage and yell at the group. He wanted to cry, "We will be fine!", but, yet, he cannot. Instead his thought revolved around one single, depressing thought. His thought ran alike to everyone else's, and that, in itself, was- _I can't let anyone know about this. No one should know, ever, about this._

He hated it. Honestly, he just wished he could share this information to the public. However, he couldn't. His stomach was churning and his heart was pounding, forcing him to hold back his breath. He couldn't say it. He just couldn't say it, and he hated himself for it. He can never tell anyone, ever.

"So..." Fuwari slowly looked around the room, eyeing the Ultimates inside. "What will we do?"

"Fuck whatever Monokuma says!" Seiga cried out, his envelope having already been ripped in pieces. He was eyeing the group with a determined glare. "We're still gonna throw a goddamn party, alright?! And everyone's gonna be there and laugh! I don't care who helps setting up the party and who cooks, as long as you're all present!"

"Shit, you're eager..." Amyto sighed underneath her breath, but forced a goofy smile and eyed the stunt double. "But I agree. If we don't throw a party, we'll be falling straight into Monokuma's hands. He'll be laughing at our despair."

Sheina scoffed, crossing her arms. "Certainly, that is what he is hoping- to break the unity."

"B-but what do we do about it?" Kaniza asked, eyes full of worry. She was holding tightly onto her envelope. "With the threat of our secrets being leaked to the public... What should we do?"

Kakuma frowned. "If I had to make a suggestion for you guys, then I'd say we share our secrets."

Kaniza's eyes widened. "W-what? Really? I can't just believe everyone will agree to it though."

"Exactly." The wedding planner stared directly at the astrophotographer. "That's why Monokuma made this the motive. We will never be that willing and open to sharing our secrets, and considering that our secrets are at stake of being released to the public..." He sighed. "It's obvious he's trying to pressure us into killing simply by making us worry over keeping our secrets safe and secured."

"I can't share my secret." Saori was blunt, eyeing the group with a stern expression. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"R-really?" Seiga frowned. "I mean, my secret's kinda crazy, but I'd be willing to share it if-"

Ryoichi shook his head. "I can't share mine either."

Fuwari sighed underneath her lips. "I'm not willing to share mine, unfortunately."

"Seriously?" The stunt double looked around the room. The entire room was filled to the brim with doubt and fear. Everyone was unwilling to speak, unwilling to say anything. They were afraid. They were scared. Seiga bit into his lips and sighed. "Damn, I mean, as a hero I can't pressure someone into answering... That would be too villainous of me..."

"Sorry," Ryoichi said, averting his gaze.

 _This is definitely going as what Monokuma planned..._ Minori clicked his tongue, shaking his head. It was now dead silent in the room. No one was willing to speak. No one was willing to move until Kakuma scoffed and began to move, and that is when everyone started to move out. No one bothered to speak to one another for a while, and although Seiga wanted to speak, mostly about the party and the unity, Nezumi and Ryoichi ended up calming him down before he could speak. Even Kaniza and Amyto wanted to speak, but they were forced to leave as mostly everyone had left. Fumio had shakily left as well, tears in the corners of his eyes as well as the paled faces of the others. Everyone was gone. Everyone, except for Kamui.

Minori didn't know what to do, eyeing the mortician from the corner of his eyes. Kamui was simply silent, crossing his arms as he held his envelope with one hand. The mortician seemed bothered, but Minori couldn't say anything. He honestly knew better than to speak happily when he himself was someone who was afraid of sharing his own secret.

The pseudologist averted his gaze as he noticed the mortician's stare. Minori glanced down at his envelope and cursed inwardly to himself. _If the world was so simple and forgiving, then I'd be able to share this out with everyone... Everyone would be safe around one another and not fear for their lives... Damn you Monokuma._

Minori's attention was then caught as he noticed the mortician walking over to him, albeit slowly and with hesitation. The pseudologist was shocked and flabbergasted, but made his way towards the mortician. "Kamui?" The Ultimate began, worrying. "Did you want something from me? I thought..." The pseudologist bit into his lips. "I thought you didn't want to talk to me?"

Kamui averted his gaze. "I did, initially..." His voice went silent, however he continued to speak and eyed the pseudologist. "Do... Do you think we could share our secrets?"

"Huh?" Minori's eyes widened. "Kamui, are you sure? You don't need to share it. I already trust you."

Kamui eyed the pseudologist for a moment, then frowning. "... Are you afraid of sharing your's out?"

"What?" Minori was stunned, however he masked an act of confidence and forced a genuine chuckle. "No, I'm fine. My secret's embarrassing, but it's something that I wouldn't kill someone over. If the situation's that desperate, I would share mine out." He then crossed his arms, observing the mortician. "Kamui, I know you don't want to share your's. You're obviously uncomfortable just approaching me, and you don't need to say anything. Remember? I trust you."

"I..." Kamui bit into his lips, hanging his head low. "I don't know how much I can believe that, but... You were the only one who's been looking out for me so far. You were the only one who even bothered to pester me earlier."

Minori frowned. _Amyto and the others didn't try to knock on his door? They were trying to help Fumio and Nezumi though..._

"I-I'm obviously uncomfortable, sure, but..." The mortician took a deep breath, then looking at the pseudologist. "With what Monokuma's doing, I know that something must be done. I don't think anyone will listen to me except for you Minori, so..." A stern, firm expression appeared on his face. "Can I ask you for your help? I... I still want to protect the others. I hate myself so much, but I still... I still think that I need to focus on protecting the others."

"Kamui..." Minori felt his heart clenching. He honestly was shocked. He didn't expect for the man to speak so suddenly, so firmly. It was almost uncanny. However, Minori knew. He knew that Kamui's change was because of Monokuma. Monokuma was forcing them to kill, after all, and Kamui held huge value on the dead and living. Kamui still held a strong desire to keep the others safe, no matter how much they would isolate and outcast him. "I'll help you, but do you have a plan?"

Kamui's eyes widened, but he quickly averted his gaze. "No, I mean, yes. I do, but I don't think it'll work-"

"Kamui, whatever you say will be taken into consideration." Minori eyed the man, a frown on his lips. "Don't doubt yourself, Kamui. I will be the one who'll handle things. Just tell me what you're thinking and I'll try to set it into action."

"But..." The mortician bit into his lips. "I'm still worried. If the others realize you're helping me, then you'll become a suspect. I am the one who helped Asami murder-"

Minori groaned. "Kamui, don't talk about that. I'll handle it if it comes down to it, alright?"

Kamui seemed hesitant, but shook his head. He rid of the thoughts despite sweat seeming to trickle from his forehead. "If you're that certain..." An exhausted sigh escaped his lips. "I was wondering what Kakuma said, you know, about us sharing our secrets and all. I know there are... Well, there are some of us who're willing to share out our secrets, so I was thinking we should gather those people together and have them share one another's secrets..."

The pseudologist frowned, crossing his arms. He pondered on the thought. "Hm, I see..." He nodded his head. "So you want to bring the people who are open to sharing their secrets together and have them speak out? It would tighten the bonds between them and it will lower the chances of each person being stressed over the other... Hm..."

"I'm certain I cannot be present though nor speak for it." The mortician eyed Minori. "You would have to be the one to tell the others and conduct it. If they knew I thought of the idea, they would most likely not listen."

 _Because they'd expect you'd use their secrets to kill them._ Minori could read Kamui's expression easily. He didn't speak that out loud and nodded his head. "I see. I think that should be good. I'll ask the others tomorrow then. I'm not sure how many would agree, but I think it's worth a shot."

"You really think so?" Kamui seemed genuinely shocked. "I... I honestly thought you would've laughed at me."

Minori shook his head. "And why would I do that? Kamui, I care about you as much as I care about everyone else. What you say holds value as much as everyone else's does." The pseudologist chuckled. "Besides, I think that's a good idea. It'll be good to try to rally up as much people as possible so we can work towards our sense of unity."

"Unity..." Kamui closed his eyes.

The pseudologist realized what he had said, now backtracking. "Ah, well, I'll definitely try to persuade the others into talking to you more. I'll see if I can get you to participate whatever we plan to do from here on out, alright?"

"You... You don't need to do that." Kamui smiled sadly at Minori, shaking his head. "I've already been labeled as a killer, and I'm fine with observing things from afar. I still have to reflect on my actions, after all."

Minori wanted to counter against the mortician, but instead stayed silent. _See, Kamui still cares about us... I can't understand why he'd be shunned so harshly. He deserves a second chance..._

"I... I should go. Someone might see us together. You should start talking to others as soon as you wake up tomorrow... Bye."

The Ultimate eyed Kamui. "I-" He stopped, understanding what Kamui meant by those words. He sighed and nodded his head. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Kamui was walking towards the door before he halted, hearing Minori's question. He didn't look back at the man, instead humming in response as he left, the door now shutting itself closed.

Minori was alone. His eyes wavered as he looked down to his black envelope. A disgusted, melancholic look appeared on his face as he gripped ahold of the envelope, nails trying to dig into the surface. He almost wanted to tear the envelope as Seiga did, but he held himself back, instead sighing and eyeing the podium where Monokuma once stood.

 _I can't believe he would know this about me._

Minori sighed, taking the time to calm himself. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them back, now deciding to head into the hallways and towards his room.

* * *

... I'm sure you all are wondering what Minori's secret is. Well, that's actually going to be much more important in the future. Minori's just trying to hide his secret from not only his peers, but to the readers as well. Don't worry, he'll share it one day, but just... Not right now.

Anyways, I decided to post this at this specific day because I heard of Valentine's Day. What even is Valentine's Day? More like Single Awareness Day! Haha, I'm kidding, but for our special holiday, I decided to post a quick little poll on my profile. Please check it out if you want to see a certain special event~ Also, the first set of Free Time Events is coming up, so prepare for that!

Well, now that the motive is out, what do you guys think? The motive's quite generic, but still effective nonetheless. Anyways... Who's your choice for potential victims and potential murderer?


	16. Chapter 2 - Part 1, Part C

Hello, and welcome to the next part of Chapter 2! Things are starting to push forward, and we will also see the first set of Free Time Events! Let's hope you all enjoy this chapter~

 **PoisonBanana:** "Haha, usually a lot of things tend to fall downhill, whether or not it is that the worst person dies or the most loved one kills. Yes, friendships are a thing in Danganronpa, no matter how murderous a killing game is. Haha, nice to see your thoughts on who will die though! Let's see if you're correct. I was honestly hoping I could utilize a better and more unique motive, but honestly this one hits home for its effectiveness the most so far. Yeah, Minori wanting to hide his secret is definitely a clue that the group is unwilling to share their personal information. You have a point there, I honestly would've thought the same if someone killed like that in my life. Lol."

 **liammarklh88:** "Haha, thanks! I did see your chapter, very interesting! Oh no, you've grown too attached to them! Anyways, thank you for your thoughts on Kaniza~ Yes, Sagiso is becoming slowly into a favorite so far, and yeah isn't that great? Don't worry, maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong. Glad the chapter made you feel better! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!"

 **Agrael:** "Yes, the motive had been dropped! Ooh, glad you love the motive despite it being used often! Honestly, I feel bad that Kamui's going through such a thing, but this is a story. Everyone has to suffer. Interesting to see who you think will die. Now, let's see if you're right when the time comes..."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Haha, guess I'm gaining a reputation for my quick update rates. Yes, and that is why I decided to use the secrets motive! Also, what a coincidence that this motive is in our second chapters! Haha, everyone does care in their own right and own way! Kakuma's definitely becoming quite the well-known character here, popularity wise. I'm also glad Minori is reaching out to Kamui, haha. Interesting ideas! You could totally use that for your future stories! Thanks so much, and thank you for the continuous reviews!"

 **ToonGuy:** "Yes, generic, but effective. Hm, yes, a lot of possible victims and culprits, just how Danganronpa would like it. XD Haha, glad you're enjoying Sagiso and Minori's interactions. Yes, Nezumi with the character development! Let us hope he will awe Kaniza with what he and Seiga has in store for the party. Yes, poor Kamui! I wish I could just give him tons of hugs right now. Haha, thanks!"

 **DryBonesKing:** "Yes, dreams that the main characters dream would always be ominous. Haha, yes, while generic, it is effective. There is no shortage of culprits now, huh? Yes, well, they are teenagers and teenagers are quite the hostile ones at times. I myself can be quite foolish too. The standing against Kamui is irritating, and yes, the hypocrisy would truly be present if such a thing were to happen. Oh, poor Kamui. I'm glad you're excited for what I'm doing to him! Your list of suspects are interesting and understandable! Let's see if you're right!"

 **zephryr:** "Oh my gosh. I'm relieved! I'm glad I'm writing Fumio to your liking, I was beginning to worry that he's a bit too stubborn in his desire to stay secluded from the cast. Haha, I have to admit, RoseShadow is known for making quite the detailed and realistic characters. Everyone will get their development soon, I promise! Your love-hate relationship with Seiga very much interests me, and that's good! Characters are not meant to be perfect, so your relationship with Seiga and even Ryoichi makes total sense! Everyone's human, so there would be flaws and exaggerations somewhere... Interesting input!"

 **KiibouMon:** "Hello again! Yes, I'm glad you loved the motive despite how cliche it is! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter too."

 **VioElcina:** "Aw, thanks! I'm glad you enjoy this story, and I hope you will enjoy this next chapter. I'm glad you like Minori too!"

 **Kukasabe Swift:** "Yeah, a lot has happened! Haha, yeah, it might be good to keep note of the dream sequence... Haha, I'm glad that Seiga's recklessness allowed Nezumi to be on action though! Haha, everyone seems to suspect Nezumi or Seiga and Kamui as the victims... Haha, Nezumi and Kaniza, huh? Yes, the unity is definitely forced. A lot of people do not bother to try to reach to Kamui, only Minori. It's sad, honestly. Haha, the investigation duo, huh? Yes, the motive isn't new, but yes it brings the suspense. I'm glad I wrote/handled Seiga well that scene! Yes, Kamui still cares, after all. Haha, it's fine!"

 **irwegwert:** "Haha, true. Yes, the party will still continue, but there will only be a few helping it. Seiga and Nezumi are getting a lot of focus, huh? At least they have their little friendship there. Glad you're liking Kamui, and let us hope he'll continue with his friendship with Minori! Honestly, the secret motive is standard, but yes effective nonetheless. Haha, yeah the party will be awkward. Thanks!"

* * *

After tossing and turning on his bed for a few minutes, Minori finally decided to move. He had been worried overnight about the others, wondering if they would be fine with the new motive- the motive of their secrets being at risk. Minori worried for everyone, most importantly those who seemed to pale at the slight sound of their envelopes crumpling or tear from the sight of the words on paper. The pseudologist bit into his lips and eyed the envelope he had on the table, right next to the MonoPad.

Minori frowned and tossed himself right out of bed, grabbing ahold of the envelope and securing it in a well-hidden place. He placed in into the closet, hiding it inside of a small basket hidden to the corner of the darkness of the closet. He shut the closet closed and stretched his arms, deciding to take his daily shower.

As he took a shower, he could hear the slight sound of Monokuma's voice. Most likely, it was the morning announcement. Minori couldn't care less however, instead shampooing his hair and basking himself in the lukewarm water which bathed him. He honestly felt relaxed in that situation, minutes passing before he decided he was finished. He closed the showerhead and headed out to change, eyeing himself in the mirror and putting lotion on his body.

Minutes passed by and he was able to finish quickly, using the nearby hairdryer to dry his hair. He combed it within a few strokes before deciding he was done for now. He had plans to do, time to waste. He took ahold of the MonoPad and headed outside.

Minori eyed the area. It was fairly empty. He supposed that either most of the Ultimates were still inside of their rooms or that they were already touring around the school. He wondered if Kamui was still inside of his room, but remembering what Kamui feared, he decided against it. _I can't just ignore his statement that people may suspect that he and I are planning something sinister. I don't want to ruin his plans, after all._

The pseudologist frowned to himself, but walked down the hallways and towards the dining hall. Routine, he supposed. He supposed that he had continued to fall to the dining hall simply not because of the need for hunger, but also that he's used to it. Besides, knowing that some people would be inside comforted him. He desired to see the faces of his classmates.

As expected, Kaniza and Sagiso were inside, preparing the meals for the rest of the Ultimates inside of the kitchen. Minori could see Ryoichi and Rin at the dining table however, the duo engaging in small talk. Rin was yawning and seemed to be in a daze, however she seemed content listening to what the investigator had to say. Most likely, the duo were waiting for their food to come. Minori waved to their way as they waved back, the pseudologist then heading into the kitchen.

"Hey, Minnie!" Kaniza greeted, smiling brightly at the man. Though it was obvious she was still worried about the motive, she was doing her best to mask her fear. At the moment she was brewing some chicken noodle soup, the aroma reaching into the pseudologist's nostrils. She chuckled as she eyed the man. "Are you hungry already?"

"I was planning on helping you two," the Ultimate began, crossing his arms. "However, I believe you two are almost done."

Sagiso nodded. "You can help us set the table once the food's cooked." She observed the man for a short moment before a smile escaped her lips. "You look better than most people here. I'm glad you don't seem as stressed out as the others."

Kaniza stirred the pot. "That's good on your end, Minnie. Sagi was basically lecturing me on how to wash my face and calm myself better a few minutes ago. It was a hot mess, haha."

"I see." Minori couldn't help but sigh. Sagiso was definitely noteworthy of her care for the others, that's to be sure. He watched the duo for a moment, the two women talking with one another, them giggling and murmuring. They honestly seemed to have fun gossiping, and Minori couldn't help but feel out of place. _Should I talk about Kamui's plan now?_ He looked around the room before sighing, a minute having passed. He hesitated before finally deciding to speak. "Um, sorry if this will hinder the mood, but do you mind if I talk about the motive for a bit?"

The duo stopped. They eyed one another before Sagiso crossed her arms. "What's the problem, Minori? Please ask so I could be of assistance to you."

Minori averted his gaze. "Well, it's not a problem, it's more of a question..." He scratched his head before looking back at the two Ultimates. "Would any of you two be willing to share your secrets out? I'm planning to ask everyone, not only you two. I'm planning to have the people who are willing to share their secrets hold a private gathering. The people who will be in the gathering will all share their secrets to one another. I'm thinking it'll help us mediate this situation a bit better, but I know it's essential to ask people first before acting it out. We will gather around nighttime, I'd hope."

Kaniza shook her head, a melancholic, disappointed smile on her face. "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to do that yet." She obviously looked guilty about it, eyes darting back and forth. "I wish I could share mine out, but I... I just don't feel confident enough."

"Of course." Minori nodded. "I understand. How about you, Sagiso?"

Sagiso thought for a moment, pondering. She then nodded her head slowly. "As embarrassing as my secret may be, I believe your idea will greatly mediate this situation Monokuma had thrown at us. I'll be willing to share mine."

Minori's eyes widened, his lips curving to a smile. He honestly doubted the idea for a second, but now with the psychogeographer agreeing with confidence he was inclined to believe the opposite. "Thank you."

"Wow, you're brave!" Kaniza smiled brightly and threw her arms around the woman. "You go, Sagi! Let's hope the stars align for a chance for you to find your special partner!"

"In a Romeo and Juliet situation?" Sagiso smiled playfully, eyeing the other woman. "I hope not."

Kaniza laughed, but then threw on a determined look as she stared at Minori. "If Sagiso can share her's, then I..." The woman pursed her lips before shaking her head. "I should share mine."

The pseudologist was shocked. "A-are you sure?"

The astrophotographer nodded. "Honestly? I still don't want to share mine, but... Seeing people trying to change Monokuma's whole killing game is inspiring. You guys are all trying to do your best to stop him, and I believe that in order for us to get somewhere, we... We have to trust each other."

"That's true." Minori could tell that Kaniza was uncomfortable, but he knew she was trying. She advocated for change. "Thank you too, Kaniza."

She smiled, her cheeks flushing a pink hue. She released her embrace from Sagiso, then realizing that the pot was boiling. She quickly turned the stove off, eyeing the soup with a careful eye. Drinking the broth, she concluded it was fine and smiled back at the pseudologist. "Guess the soup's ready."

"Ah, yes." Sagiso walked over to the pot, eyeing the broth before nodding her head. "It's perfect. I'll go start pouring the soup into the bowls then."

Minori watched Sagiso who began to reach into the cabinet, taking out sixteen small bowls and beginning to pour the soup into each one. He watched her for a moment before looking back at Kaniza who eyed him back. "You alright?" She asked, curious.

The pseudologist nodded. "Mhm. I'm just...worried about everyone."

Kaniza laughed, playing cheerfully with her skirt. Her hair was swinging back and forth, wavy midnight black hair flowing to the left and right. "I totally see that. That's why you wanted to do this whole thing, right?"

Minori smiled awkwardly. _It was honestly Kamui's idea though._ He didn't say such, instead nodding his head. "I really do not want Monokuma to do as he wish. I wish we could all hold superiority over him, but... It's quite a difficult task."

"Well, worth the effort, right?" The woman smiled brightly. "You know what Minnie? I'll help you! If I find any of the others, I'll ask them if they can join us to share our secrets later!"

"Really?" The Ultimate bowed his head. "Thank you, Kaniza."

"It's no problem! Honestly, seeing you act so assertive makes me want to do more for the group!" Kaniza pulled her fist up, smirking confidently. "It feels like I'm almost being forced to share my own secret, and I'm the one who told the stars that I was going to willingly share mine!" She giggled to herself before then frowning, now pondering. "Hm, do you think Nezumi would share his? O-oh, I mean, not just him. Everyone's important, but I'm just curious... I mean, he isn't a bad person and he tends to worry a whole lot, so why would he have anything to hide? He's pretty much what people would call a cinnamon roll!"

Minori wanted to smirk to himself. _Well, he's hiding the fact that he likes you, for one._ He crossed his arms. "We would need to ask him. It won't be hard for me to find him, as he is most likely practicing his stunt with Seiga, after all."

"I mean, I guess so." Kaniza shrugged, her lips curving into her usual smile. "Well, let's not worry too much about it! I'll just pray to the stars that the victory god will bless those two when they perform it live!"

"Yeah, I'll do that too." Minori nodded his head before a sudden thought ran through his mind. He had thought about Kaniza's words for a moment before an epiphany hit him square in the face. _Fumio. Is he still locked up in his room?_ Minori bit into his lips. Honestly, he didn't know Fumio a whole lot. As much as he would like to believe so, he wasn't at all close to the scholar. He didn't know what Fumio was feeling, what he was doing. _I hope he's doing fine. I hope Amyto's group will persuade him out, if not me. I'll try to call him out later._

"Minori, please head outside." Sagiso was eyeing the pseudologist, a tray of bowls at hand. "I will hand you your bowl, alright?"

Minori's eyes widened, but he shook his head. He walked towards the psychogeographer's side, taking ahold of the second tray which held the glasses of water atop. "I could help," he said, looking back at Sagiso.

Sagiso shook her head. "I could handle it. You need to preserve your energy, Minori."

"N-no, I think I'll be fine." Minori shot the Ultimate a small smile as he began to walk out of the door, holding the tray of glasses at hand. Kaniza and Sagiso followed, the duo following suit with their own props as Rin and Ryoichi looked back.

"Do you guys need any help?" Ryoichi asked, beginning to stand up when the psychogeographer shook her head. He frowned, hesitant, but slowly sat back down.

Minori and the others set their trays down, now passing it to each chair as Rin and Ryoichi nodded their heads. Minutes passed before they had finished, and by then did the dinner table look like a marvelous buffet. The pseudologist had not even realized that the two women had cooked pancakes, waffles, and crepes as well. He eyed the bowls of fruit, then the bowls of soup. He was honestly shocked by how beautifully each simple item was cooked or prepared. Truly, truly marvelous.

"We should really cook for you two one day," Rin said, speaking with a polite tone as she clapped her hands together in a small prayer. A moment passed before she lowered her hands, now beginning to stand up to take ahold of the dishes at hand.

Kaniza laughed, shaking her head. "No need! Honestly, it's satisfying to just cook for everyone. I'm just glad you like our cooking!"

Ryoichi bit into his waffle. "Ms. Tsukitaiyo, you really don't need to be so kind. If you're ever feeling down, we will gladly cook for you. You too, Ms. Hazuki."

Sagiso shook her head, however there was a slight smile on her face as she dug the slice of orange to her mouth. "I'm honestly fine. I would not want to be a bother to any of you."

Minori looked at the psychogeographer. Honestly, he wanted the woman to at least respect Ryoichi's suggestion and take it. He knew how hardworking Sagiso was, how hardworking Kaniza was. Honestly, he wished everyone else could be of great help as they were. Still, he bit into his pancakes and stayed silent, knowing that he'll most likely turn the situation awkward if he were to discuss his thought.

"Do you like fruits, Rin?" Sagiso asked, eyeing the jeweler who was indulging herself in her fruit bowl. "You seem quite happy."

Rin's eyes widened, cheeks flushing a faint pink hue. "Ah, yes. I just like how they taste..."

"It's refreshing to see someone love fruits this much!" Kaniza said, reaching in to ruffle the jeweler's hair. "Mostly everyone would care about meat, hamburgers, and all that oily stuff!"

"Ah, right." Ryoichi turned to the jeweler. "About what we were discussing beforehand about the connections between aliens and gemstones, I believe there was this particular gemstone that intruiged me. It was multi-colored and quite the marvelous sight."

Rin smiled, suddenly interested and engaged as she looked at the investigator. "I think you mean the multi-colored fluorite."

Kaniza's eyes widened, suddenly slamming her fists down with an excited tone of voice. "Oh, I've heard of that! It's so pretty! I saw it once when I was researching on celestial gemstones. Honestly, I wanted to buy one myself, but since those types of stones are rare and beautiful, they cost a fortune!"

Somehow, someway, the conversation began to drag on from various topics. From Ryoichi and Rin's initial topic about the possible connections between gemstones and the galaxy far and beyond, the conversation transitioned from various topics- to different genres of movie to the topic of celestial gemstones, many topics have been made with many different expressions from the group of people present.

Honestly, it was a fun atmosphere. An atmosphere which was soothing, calm, and most importantly, casual and fun. An atmosphere which Minori knew Monokuma would despise. He honestly wished this type of atmosphere would last, forever and ever.

But, it didn't. Minori knew that the motive would deter such tranquility or humor. He had to take action, he had to be assertive. No matter if he was breaking the atmosphere or not, he had to do such. "Ryoichi, Rin, I need to ask you two something."

The jeweler eyed the pseudologist. "What is it?"

"I'm trying to ask around to see who's willing to share their secrets. I am planning to have those who are alright with sharing their secrets talk to one another about it in their own private area." Minori crossed his arms. "I believe this would lower the chances for murder and it will help strengthen the bond between us. Of course, you do not need to join. If you do not want to share your secret, then it is fine. Please tell the others though, it'll greatly help."

Rin and Ryoichi eyed one another. The jeweler awkwardly crossed her arms. "I can't share mine," she spoke, blunt yet quiet. "It's...a bit too complicated to explain."

Ryoichi nodded his head. "Sorry, Mr. Watanabe, but I cannot share mine either. If I lied to you about my secret if I were to discuss with the people who are willing to share, then you'd notice it instantly. I would love to join, but... I can't." He then quickly put on a smile. "I'll definitely try to find the others and ask them though!"

 _Lie about your own secret, huh._ Minori bit into his waffle and gulped it down. "I understand. It is fine. Thank you for answering."

Minori finished his food. He was thankful that Kaniza tried to not make the atmosphere so awkward, quickly speaking about a topic which engaged the duo in. Sagiso smiled at Minori as he finished, thanking them as he brought his dishes to the kitchen, putting them down on the sink and washing them.

A few minutes passed until he finished, and so Minori was prompted to find the others. _Let's start with the people who I know would be somewhere... Nezumi and Seiga would be in the second floor, right? The...the gym I think._

Minori pondered on the thought before shrugging, deciding to take his chances and walk up the stairs. Honestly, he was still dumbfounded by how majestic the second floor looked, but knowing that Monokuma most likely wanted them to feel so 'royal-like', Minori did not bother to speak on it for a second time. He turned to the gym and opened its doors, heading inside.

The pseudologist was about to speak when he found himself eyeing Seiga who was cheering as loudly as he could, Nezumi just having landed perfectly on the floor. Minori didn't know what to say, instead slowly making his way into the gym.

"Oh, hey dude!" Seiga smiled widely at Minori, cracking his knuckles. He was standing near the control panel, hands eagerly atop of the buttons. "Are you here to watch or something?"

Minori shook his head. "I would rather see the performance at the party. It'll amaze me more." He smiled at Seiga who chuckled sheepishly. He then eyed Nezumi who walked over their way, a confused expression on his face. "Hello, Nezumi."

"Hello." Nezumi observed the pseudologist. Though he was breathing heavily, he did not seem tired at all. In fact, it was the opposite. He looked more refined, refreshed. "Do you need something?"

Minori felt tired just by the sight of the thief and stunt double. He honestly had to wonder what sort of action sequence they were plotting to pull. "I was planning to ask what you two would feel about sharing your own secrets."

"Oh, I was wondering when someone would say that. Ever since Kakuma mentioned it, I've thought that it was an awesome idea." Seiga nodded his head. "I'm fine with sharing mine out to people. Mine's not even that bad, especially if it shows how much of a hero I am!"

"I see." Minori crossed his arms. "I was planning to ask everyone around and to gather those who would be willing to share their secrets to a private room. I was thinking we should discuss our secrets to help lower the chances of a murder occurring."

"Makes sense." Seiga frowned. "But aren't a lot of the side characters going to disagree? Some of them are afraid of sharing their secret, strangely."

The pseudologist sighed. "Of course, but that is an obstacle to face. Just a small amount would make a difference." Minori then turned back to eye the thief who was fiddling with his fingers. "How about you?"

"Me?" Nezumi averted his gaze, unsure of what to do. "Um..."

Seiga turned to eye the thief. "C'mon, it can't be that bad. I think no one will judge you just for your secret, right? You should share your's out!"

Minori sighed. _Seiga's always the insistent one._ He looked at Nezumi. "It's your choice. I won't be mad if you say no."

Nezumi pondered on the thought. He seemed worried, but a moment passed before he slowly looked at Minori. He nodded his head, shocking the pseudologist who was now stunned, Seiga clapping his hands happily. "I think I can trust you," he said, almost confident. "Everyone's been helping me out... I think I should try to trust others more. I'll... I'll do it!"

"Y... You're right." Minori was shocked. _What did Seiga do to him?_ Still, the pseudologist was glad that the thief had someone to care for him. He nodded his head, smiling at the thief. "Thank you. Please report to the dormitories around nighttime then, and if you find anyone, please tell them about my idea."

Nezumi sheepishly smiled back at the pseudologis, nodding before Seiga cracked his fists. He was to clear his throat, grinning a toothy grin. "Alright, now that that's settled, let's continue where we left off, Nezumi!"

"O-oh! Right!"

Minori watched Nezumi quickly ran back to the center of the stage, Seiga following suit. The pseudologist couldn't help but smile at the scene, then deciding to leave and closing the doors behind him.

 _Alright, I just have to think where the rest would be... Fumio and Kamui would be locked in their rooms and I doubt Kakuma would hang out with anyone at the moment. Saori... Amyto should be with Sheina and Fuwari, considering they're all close to each other now... Hm... Do I have to investigate the school to find the others?_

That would take quite a while, Minori would conclude. He can only hope Kaniza and the others were helping him out, even if it was only discreetly or a bit. Still, he had to continue. He did not want to falter now.

Minori decided to look around the second floor for a while, considering he was here presently. He toured around, looking through each room. He first looked at the nearby rooms, then the entertainment/game room before looking through the rest, finding Amyto's group together inside of the greenhouse. Fuwari was looking at the pond, eyeing the khoi fish which swam as Amyto and Sheina dropped down their food. The khoi fish were gathering around happily, eating the food given to them.

Fuwari was the first to notice Minori, the man walking over to the bridge. "Hello, Minori," she said, her mysterious presence still able to freak him out (if just only a little). "Are you here to feed the khoi fish as well?"

Sheina turned to look to the pseudologist, a haughty smile on her lips. "Hmph! These khoi fish must now feel blessed with my presence! As Fuwari said, the Gods would be pleased with our respect to nature!"

Minori was not at all surprised to hear those words from the egyptologist's mouth. He was used to them. "I've been looking for you three."

"Really?" The hypnotist was shocked, eyes widened as she finished throwing the last bit of fish food down to the pond. "What's wrong, Minnie?"

The man shook his head. "I don't have a problem, more of a request and question." He crossed his arms and eyed each of the women closely. "I've been asking around. I'm asking people if they're willing to share their secrets out and discuss them in a private room with others around nighttime. I'm hoping that this will help strengthen our bonds with one another and counter against Monokuma's plans, but it is optional. I am not forcing you to share your secrets out, of course."

"I see." Amyto tilted her head. "Did people agree to it though?"

Minori relaxed as he answered. "Yes. A lot of people have decided to meet up later, and I am hoping that I can find the others and ask them as well. You three do not need to come. I am not going to force you to blurt out your secrets to the others."

"I would gladly help you," Fuwari began, speaking calmly, "but I'm afraid I am unwilling to share mine. Mine is a bit too personal, after all."

The pseudologist nodded. "I understand."

Sheina scoffed, holding her chin high. "Heh! My secret isn't something befitting of a secret, so I would gladly share mine would you, loyal subject!"

Amyto looked at Sheina with a smile. "Haha, you're eager." She then looked back at Minori, a guilty look on her face. "I don't think I'm ready to share mine, Minnie. I know it's ironic for me to say this, but I can't trust everyone with my secret."

Minori understood completely what the hypnotist meant. He himself wasn't an avid lover of sharing his own secret, after all. "It's fine," he said, trying to comfort Amyto with a nod. "I'm not forcing anyone to speak, remember? It's fine if you cannot speak." The pseudologist then crossed his arms. "If any of you three find the others, please inform them of my offering."

Fuwari nodded knowingly. "Of course. Even if we cannot share our's, we would do our best to aid you, Minori."

"Mhm. Thanks." Minori smiled at the trio before leaving, closing the door behind him. A sigh escaped his lips. _Who else do I need to search for? Kakuma, Saori, Fumio... I have no idea where the first two are, but Fumio... Can I really convince him to open the door? Should I even try?_

Minori was honestly unsure of what to do, and, honestly, he was tired at this point. He decided to roam around the first floor for a while, then noticing that there was nobody in sight. He sighed and decided to move into his room, resting for a moment. He closed his eyes, and had a peaceful nap.

About half an hour passed until he woke up, feeling energized. He still didn't know where Saori and Kakuma would be, only hoping the others had found them and told them about the plan. To meet outside of the dormitories around nighttime- that was what Minori was hoping for.

 _Well, in the meantime, I should continue to focus on finding the others, but hm... It won't hurt to relax a bit. I should hang out with someone, but who?_ Minori cupped his chin, pondering on the thought. Though he only knew of a few people's locations exactly, those being the people locked in their rooms and Seiga's little duo, he held no knowledge of everyone else. His mind reeled to Kamui, and Minori was interested in the mortician. He worried about him, after all.

Minori jumped out of his bed and walked out, closing the door behind him and moving to Kamui's door. He took a small breath and knocked on the door. He waited. A moment passed before he heard a clicking sound, the door creaking slightly. Kamui peeked his head out to find the pseudologist, his eyes widened. "Minori?"

The pseudologist waved at the man. "Do you mind if I come in? I want to talk to you for a bit."

"Are you sure?" The mortician hesitated, eyes darting back and forth. "If someone spots you with me..."

"Look, I don't care about that." Minori crossed his arms, firm. "Can we just have a normal chat for once? I'll tell you about what happened so far too, but I just want to hang out with you if it's fine."

"Um..." Kamui averted his gaze. About ten seconds passed before he sighed, creaking open the door. "If you're really sure about this."

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Kamui?**

 _ **Yes, like do it!**_ / No way, dude!

* * *

Joyous that the man would open the door, Minori accepted the offer and walked straight into his room. Kamui closed the door as Minori took a seat down on a chair, the mortician sitting on his bed and eyeing Minori. "So," he began, curious. "What exactly did you want to talk about?"

"Oh. I just wanted to inform you that your idea from yesterday is running smoothly. That's all." Minori smiled. He didn't bother to eye the mortician who raised an eyebrow. "Let's just have a normal conversation now, alright?"

"A normal conversation..." Kamui crossed his arms, averting his gaze. He was looking down at the ground, silent. "What would you want to talk to about other than the fact that I indirectly killed Ko and Asami?"

"Plenty of things, I assure you." Minori frowned. "Let's talk about your talent, more specifically."

 **Kamui:** My talent? A mortician is someone who directs a funeral. Morticians are also called undertakers.

 **Minori:** Yes, I know that. I'm well-aware of what a mortician does, and I'm also quite aware of the backlash a funeral in general receives.

 **Kamui:** Backlash. You are right about that. People consider the practice of a funeral to be another part of commericialization. Unfortunately, some undertakers do lean towards the side of directing simply for money, however I know that most morticians direct a funeral because they want to bring the dead to peace.

 **Minori:** I understand. You are one of those people who value the deceased and living, after all.

 **Kamui:**... Correct. It only takes death for someone to realize how special that person was to them. A funeral is the place where we realize how much that person means to us. The deceased's life is seen at its finest once we actually take the time to remorse. I believe that a funeral is not a place for commercializing how beautiful a corpse can be, but a place of solace and reflection.

 **Minori:** You really are someone who reflects a lot, huh? I've never even thought about death that way.

 **Kamui:** Yes, and even if death is commonplace in this world, it is still a sad sight to witness one. A person's living their life so beautifully, yet it has been cut short either by a tragic accident or murder. We can only provide them a proper burial and service in order to rest their soul in the afterlife.

 **Kamui:** For Monokuma to deny a funeral service is despicable...!

 **Minori:** Life truly is beautiful, but death itself reflects beauty in some sort of way, huh?

 **Kamui:** Yes, I believe that there is a certain beauty to death. It is only through a person's death that we realize how beautiful and amazing that person was.

 **Minori:** _Jesus Christ, Kamui's quite the philosophical one. I almost feel intimidated by how intelligent he is._

 **Kamui:** Ah, sorry. Did I speak too much?

 **Minori:** Huh? No, of course not. I enjoy hearing you speak, Kamui. It's nice to learn more about you, more particulary about your values. I can see why you're a mortician now.

 **Kamui:** I-is that so?

 **Minori:** Can I mention this? For doubting the idea of us having a normal conversation, this conversation flowed smoothly. Kamui, we are perfectly capable of talking to one another, so don't doubt yourself simply because of what you did.

 **Kamui:** I-I mean, sure... I still do not believe I deserve to be forgiven by you, Minori.

 **Minori:** Look, the world will always be gray, no matter how black and white a situation may seem. Maybe you could've done something else to stop Monokuma, maybe you couldn't. I don't even forgive you completely for killing Ko, and with Asami gone my anger only risen... But, if I don't try to forgive you, then who will? Kamui, you value life and death more than any of us. Don't put yourself down constantly, alright?

 **Kamui:** I see... I'll try to.

 **Minori:** Alright, thank you. I also enjoy hearing you talk. We should do this more often, huh?

 **Kamui:** R-really? I mean, it's up to you.

Minori smiled at the mortician who averted his gaze. The pseudologist waved to him and walked away from the room, closing the door behind him. _Alright, things are progressing well with me and Kamui. I hope he'll open up to me more..._

* * *

 **Kamui's Profile Card: 1/1**

 **Note: Kamui considers life and death to be of high value, calling not only life a beauty, but death as well. He argues that death allows for people to realize the true beauty of the person who had passed. He also mentions that while there are morticians who direct a funeral simply for commercialization and money, he directs simply to allow the deceased to be at peace.**

* * *

Minori thought to himself for a moment, wondering what to do now. Should he search for Kakuma and Saori, or walk around in hopes of running into them? He frowned. He honestly was not sure. He reached a hand to his stomach. His stomach was grumbling. _Guess I should eat a snack._

The pseudologist headed straight up the stairs, deciding that he should try the pastries at the cafe. He walked up the stairs and into the cafe, opening the door to reveal Amyto who was drinking a cup of coffee. He waved to her and grabbed ahold of a blueberry scone, about to leave until the hypnotist gestured him to sit next to her. He hesitated, but walked over and sat down.

Amyto threw an arm around the pseudologist, flustering him as she began to ruffle his hair. "Hey there Minnie! Doing awesome today?"

"I-I think I'm fine," the man said, clearing his throat as she released him. "Have you possibly seen Kakuma or Saori?"

"Oh, I did!" The hypnotist smiled widely, a goofy smile on her face. "I saw Saori a while ago. She said no, but y'know what? SUrprisingly when I told Kakuma he said yes! I mean, he still acted like a huge jerk, but he agreed. It's mindblowing."

"R-really?" Even Minori was shocked, though at the same time he should've known- the wedding planner was the one who suggested the idea in the first place inside of the auditorium.

"Mhm." The woman played with her locks of orange hair, then a mischievous smile on her lips. "Sooo~" She began, leaning close to the pseudologist, whispering into his ear seductively. "What do you say if we stay here and mess around, all night?"

"A-Amyto!" Minori's face blushed a bright red hue, speaking through his mouth full of scone.

Amyto began to laugh, reeling her head back. "Aww, it's so fun teasing you, Minnie. You get flustered so easily."

Minori pouted, frowning as he watched the hypnotist regain her breath. He sighed and shook his head before Amyto began to speak again. "So, Minori, do you want to talk for a bit? We never really hung out much, right?"

"Oh." The Ultimate took a bite out of his bread. "You have a point. Hm..."

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Amyto?**

 _ **Sure, she's offering**_ **anyways.** / No way, bro!

* * *

Minori smiled. "I would gladly chat with you."

Amyto smiled widely in return. "Great!"

 **Amyto:** So, what do you want to talk about, Minnie? Oh, I know, let's talk about who you like!

 **Minori:** W-what?!

 **Amyto:** Haha, I'm just kidding. I know you like me the most, hm~?

 **Minori:** I-I hold no such feelings towards you!

 **Amyto:** Ah, so it's not me. Interesting to note! Thanks for the info!

 **Minori:** A-Amyto?!

 **Amyto:** Teehee! Sorry about that, dear Minnie!

 **Minori:**... T-that's not fair! At least tell me if you like someone then!

 **Amyto:** Woah, you became quite nosy there! Haha, well, it makes sense to share if I pry into your love life.

 **Minori:** So, do you have someone you like here?

 **Amyto:** No, not particulary. I'm not interested in anyone romantically. I'm just focused on making friends with everyone here. I mean, I do have someone I'm fond of though, just not here...

 **Minori:** Oh, so you have a boyfriend?

 **Amyto:** Yeah, something like that? He's more of a best friend though. I'm stuck here though, so I really can't meet him right now or talk to him... I wish there was a phone here at least. Geez, Monokuma really doesn't know anything about relationships!

 **Minori:** Well, this is Monokuma we are talking about.

 **Amyto:** Haha! That's true! Minori, I really like you, you know? You're so nice! Everyone here is nice, well, except for Kakuma, but still! I'm glad I'm at least trapped here with you kind folks!

 **Minori:** Despite the people here, I wouldn't particularly say that I'm glad to be stuck here though. So, can I at least know who your friend is?

 **Amyto:** Oh, are you that interested in meeting him? Well, his name's Sai! He's really nice, just like you! If we were out of here, I'd totally introduce you to him, but... Well, we're stuck here, aren't we?

 **Minori:** Unfortunately, but when we do get out of here, I'd definitely want to meet him.

 **Amyto:** Glad you're so interested in him! Haha, I'll invite you then when we get out of here!

Minori chuckled to himself. He was glad he had something to look forward to, eyeing Amyto who sipped into the last of her drink. Minori had finished his scone minutes ago, however he hoenstly felt inclined to stay besides the hypnotist.

* * *

 **Amyto's Profile Card: 1/1**

 **Note: Amyto has a best friend named Sai. From what she said, her best friend seemed to be nice and friendly. She and Minori are planning to meet together with Sai once they get out of the killing game and escape.**

* * *

The pseudologist stood up and turned to the hypnotist who smiled at him. "Thank you for the small talk, Amyto."

Minori decided to move out, having thanked Amyto politely for the short conversation as he waved to her. He walked out of the cafe, now knowing that Kakuma and Saori have been spotted, and left to move downstairs. He found himself walking to the library, wanting to make himself think by finding a nice novel to read.

There were all sorts of stories that Minori liked. In all honesty, Minori was an avid reader of both mystery novels, horrors, and tragedies. He loved reading the works of Stephen King, and he did hold a soft spot for "To Kill a Mockingbird" as well. He did read a few light novels and manga at times, but, honestly- he was an avid reader.

Minori looked through the shelves before slowly taking out a small book. It wasn't a fiction per se, more of an encyclopedia detailing the history surrounding the genre of mystery itself. A relaxing smile escaped his lips and as he was about to open the cover- he felt his MonoPad vibrating.

"Huh?" Minori set aside the book, a questionable expression escaping his face. His MonoPad had never done such a thing before, and Minori could only assume something quite suspicious had happened. He reached into his pocket and took out the device, eyeballing it curiously before turning it on.

The screen brightened, and it brought Minori to the small icons. However, there was something off. The pseudologist eyed the bottom-left corner to find a small sprite icon of himself. It was an icon of Minori's head. Cute, if not for the fact that it suddenly appeared. _What's Monokuma doing this time?_ Minori questioned, fearing the worst as he hesitantly clicked onto his icon.

The screen switched, and Minori was now met with his full-on sprite who was, at the moment, walking around on the title screen. The title screen was nothing more than black, only white bolded words spelling out the title of the strange screen, "Game: Minori's Adventure". The pseudologist watched as his sprite moved from wall to wall, disappearing and reappearing. He could then see the menu bar with the same RPG-styled terms- "Start", "Continue", "Options", "Extras", and "Quit".

 _What the hell is this?_ Minori bit into his lips. He slowly moved his finger onto the "Start" option, the screen transitioning and bringing his sprite into a pixel world. Well, it wasn't exactly a pixel world, but a pixel version of his own room. His very, very own personal room.

Minori's eyes widened at the sight. _This is exactly my room... What the hell?_

Suddenly, a text box appeared from the top of the screen. ["Hello! I am the developer of this game, Monokuma! Welcome to your very own version of this game called 'Game: Blank's Adventure'! I decided to create this as a way to kill off time and help motivate you guys, so have fun and enjoy!"]

The text box disappeared, now replaced with Minori's sprite thinking as a thought bubble appeared near his head. Minori, hesitant, clicked onto the bubble.

["Minori: 'It's Monday. Mom and Dad should be at work. What time is it? Oh, my siblings should be awake already. I should go downstairs and cook for them before they nag me.'"]

It was a direct representation of his ordinary, 'normal' life. On Mondays and the weekends, both of his parents would be working. Since his parents were such busybodies and were strangely obsessed with their work, Minori was usually alone to fend for his younger sibling. He didn't mind it, however his siblings did love to mess around sometimes.

Minori frowned. He quickly shut down the MonoPad and stuffed it back into his pocket. Monokuma was trying to make them feel homesick. The headmaster wanted to drill those feelings of dread and fear quickly into the students' heads. Disgusting. Truly, utterly disgusting.

He eyed the encyclopedia that he had wanted to read. Now, at the moment, his need for reading had died down. He grabbed ahold of the book and placed it back to the shelf, sighing as he left the library. That is when he found himself walking towards Saori whose eyes widened, shocked to see him.

"Minori." She crossed her arms and eyed him. "Did you see the game from the MonoPad?"

Minori nodded, sighing. "Yeah, I just saw it a while ago. I don't think it's wise for us to play through it."

The body broker bit into her lips. "Agreed. I believe Monokuma is doing this to create a sense of home-disease in us."

The pseudologist tilted his head. "Do you possibly mean homesickness?"

"Mhm, that's what I meant." Saori eyed the Ultimate. "Have you played through it though?"

Minori shook his head. "I did take a look at it, however once I entered into the game I didn't do anything. I just checked what it looked like. That is all. How about you?"

Saori opened her mouth to speak, but frowned for a moment. "I did play through the first stage, but that is it. I was curious to how accurate it represents our lives, and it's pretty accurate." She frowned. "It's honestly uncanny. Did Monokuma stalk us all throughout our lives, or was it by mere coincidence?"

"I honestly don't know." Minori crossed his arms, pondering. "We should talk to the others about it." His eyes widened. _Ah, right, we don't meet together at breakfast anymore..._ Minori bit into his lips. "Well, if we see them down the line, that is."

Saori frowned. "I'm sure we'll see them at the party. Even Fumio."

"Oh, right." Minori was honestly unsure if the party will commence considering the lack of attention his classmates have been giving it. With the motive and with the game implanted into the MonoPad, Minori was honestly doubtful that the party will commence without a droplet of tension within the Ultimates. Still, Saori was confident. She had assured herself of that, and to her- it was fact. Minori had to believe as well. "Yeah, we'll all be together at the party. Oh, and, did you ever see Fumio come out of his room yet?"

Saori shook her head. "I haven't seen him since the motive was announced."

Minori's mind was now overwhelmed with worry. He wondered how mentally scarred the poor scholar actually was. "Damn, really? But shouldn't he be hungry?"

"If I had to make a guess, I'd say he'll be sneaking around nighttime to eat." Saori averted her gaze, a saddened expression on her face. "I wish he wouldn't dwell on the vessels of the dead. It really scarred him, after all."

 _If he opens the door, then it would be possible for us to help him... but he won't open it, no matter who's trying to convince him._ Minori bit into his lips. He wondered how he'd be able to persuade the man to open the door, then wondering if it was even possible. _I might have to stake out at night to find him then, if what Saori's saying is right... Hmm..._ The pseudologist eyed the body broker. "Saori, you do not need to say yes, but can I ask if you're willing to help me wait out for Fumio when it's past the nighttime announcement? I want to help him, and I think it'll be easier to spot him if there's two of us. I'm thinking he'll be trying to sneak out when he's sure everyone would be sleeping, after all."

Saori's eyes widened, almost as if she wasn't expecting the man's words. She thought for a moment before slowly nodding her head. "I could help then. I could say this is the apology I owe for not being able to meet with you and the others in your secret exchange meeting."

"O-oh, I don't mean it like that, Saori." Minori awkwardly smiled. "But thank you. It means a lot to me."

Saori hummed in response before speaking again. "Are you heading to the dormitories?"

"Huh? What time is it?" Minori took out his MonoPad, eyeing the time. His eyes widened. It was about 7:30 at night. The meeting should be starting soon, or, at least, everyone should've been gathered there at the moment. "Ah, right. I have to go. Bye, Saori. I'll meet you later by your room."

Saori watched him leave. The body broker left the opposite direction as Minori headed to the dormitories, finding a couple of people talking to one another. Seiga waved to the pseudologist as some of the others greeted him as well, nervous smiles on their faces.

"Hello, Minori," Nezumi greeted, nervous as he bowed his head down as a greeting. The thief looked around the area. "U-um, is everyone here?"

The pseudologist looked around the room. Mostly, everyone who had agreed to meet had gathered. Only a couple of people had yet to come, but the pseudologist was certain they'd appear soon. "Let's wait a couple of minutes then."

And, as a couple of minutes passed, the rest of the people had gathered. Minori had checked them off mentally in his head, and as everyone gathered, he concluded that it was time to move. "Alright," he said, getting the attention of others. "Let's move to the library. We need to put ourselves in a calm atmosphere in order to feel comfortable with one another."

"Great idea, Minnie!" Kaniza smiled widely and walked down the hallways, everyone following suit as she opened the door to the library. Everyone headed inside and took their seats, either on the ground or on the chairs. It was as if they were surrounding a campfire, ready to share scary stories with one another. It was definitely a fun-loving scene, or so it seemed.

Seiga was sitting next to Nezumi and Minori, cracking his fists and grinning a toothy grin. "Alright! Who's starting first? I'm up to go if you side characters are afraid!"

Kakuma scoffed and eyed the stunt double. "Side characters, huh?" He rolled his eyes before turning to eye Minori and the others. "I want to ask this first though- all of you had gotten the strange game on your MonoPads, right?"

Sagiso nodded her head, slow. "Yes, but I haven't played through it yet. I merely glanced at the title screen."

Kaniza tilted her head. "Everyone got their own 'versions', I assume? Mine had a sprite of me, after all. It's very cute too!"

"I don't think it's wise to play it though," Minori said, frowning and crossing his arms. "From just looking at the game, it is obvious that Monokuma wants to increase our feelings of desperation in order to push us to kill. The feeling of fear from the motive, and this game he says will 'kill off time'... He wants another murder to occur."

"Hmph! What a sinner!" Sheina put her hands to her hips, disgusted. "The Gods must strike him down!"

The astrophotographer giggled. "Wow, you're eager."

"So, just don't play the game then." The wedding planner scoffed. "It should've been obvious though."

Obvious isn't exactly the word to describe the statement. If anything, Minori knew that the temptation would be overwhelming the Ultimates. He himself was feeling that same level of want. What did the game have in store for him? Was the game completely accurate to his life? Why exactly did Monokuma decide to throw a game out now and not later as another motive? Minori bit into his lips.

"Let's not worry about that for too long now." Sagiso eyed the Ultimates. "Let us discuss our secrets."

"Right..." Nezumi nervously looked around the room. "W-who's going first?"

Kaniza crossed her arms. "I think we should have the people who are 100% comfortable share their secrets out first. It would give us time to relax and be comfortable. Of course, I'm not forgiving anyone if they leave in the middle of the discussion!"

Kakuma frowned. "That person would never be forgiven by not only me, but even you guys. It wouldn't be wise to try such a thing, so I doubt it would happen."

Minori turned to the stunt double. The man seemed the most comfortable out of anyone, but, then again, the pseudologist knew him best out of everyone. "Seiga, do you want to start then?"

"With pleasure!" Seiga grinned widely and cracked his knuckles, a dramatic look on his face. It was as if he was going to encounter the final boss of a stage. "Alright, let's start with the main character's juicy little secret!"

Applause rang throughout the room, though, not as loudly as people would expect.

Seiga didn't seem to care, instead basking in the glory of his rumored 'support characters'. "Alright! As the hero, Justice always needs to be served. I have a group of well-meaning people who got horrendously thrown into jail for the stupidest, most chaotic reason out there- to have fun." The stunt double gasped as loudly as he could. "So, to counter this unruly act, I'm planning to break them out of the horrible Hell's Gates!"

"You really like to exaggerate your stories, huh?" Kaniza laughed, amused. "Interesting. So you're planning to break these guys out of jail?"

Kakuma cupped his chin, murmuring to himself. "Fun... If I had to guess, 'fun' would mean committing acts that are basically unacceptable under the law. Basically, his gang got thrown into jail for being 'thrill-seekers'."

"If your group was truly innocent, then do not fret!" Sheina grinned. "I, the Son of Osiris will protect them!"

"Well, that secret isn't too bad," Nezumi said, awkwardly smiling. "I mean, we're not under the police force agency, so you won't get arrested for that..."

Seiga chuckled. "Luckily."

"Alright, thank you, Seiga. Let's not pry into his background too much now." Sagiso cleared her throat, eyeing the group. "Is anyone willing to go next?"

The stunt double grinned widely, slapping the thief on the back. "Dude, you should go next!"

"W-what?!" Nezumi's eyes widened. He looked at the group with a hesitant, worried face. "Um..."

"Don't feel pressured, Nezumi." The psychogeographer eyed him cautiously. She smiled in order to comfort the man. "You have the choice."

Kaniza smiled and clapped her hands together. "I'm sure whatever your secret is, we won't judge you at all!"

"Um..." Nezumi thought for a moment, fiddling with his fingers. He looked at Kaniza who tilted her head for a moment, the thief then nodding his head slowly. "A-alright, I'll go next."

Minori smiled at Seiga who smiled in return, the duo joyful that the thief was growing. The astrophotographer whistled to Nezumi, applauding him. "Yeah, you go, Nezumi!"

Nezumi held his breath, his heartbeat pounding as he began to speak. "I- Um, well, it relates to my talent as a thief..." He averted his gaze. "I... I steal wallets from people...!"

Kakuma frowned. "I mean, I would think it's a given, considering you're a thief."

The astrophotographer shot a look at the wedding planner, but shook her head and eyed Nezumi who was shaking. "Keep going. You're doing great!"

Nezumi nodded. "Um, I steal wallets s-so my parents could have money!" He then rolled to a ball. "Don't hate me for this! I don't even like stealing!"

Minori's eyes widened. "Nezumi, we won't hate you for that."

Kaniza worriedly looked at the thief. "Of course we won't hate you! I understand completely why you would steal now! You're doing it for your parents, right?"

"Mhm..." Nezumi bobbed his head.

The astrophotographer smiled and moved over to Nezumi's side, affectionately ruffling his hair. "You're a sweet person! You're stealing because you wanted to help your family, and that's not something we would isolate you for at all! You're honestly a really kind person, you know?"

Nezumi's eyes widened, cheeks blushing as he watched Kaniza move back to her seat. He bit into his lips and slowly eyed the group. "Um, that's my secret."

"I see." Sagiso nodded to herself.

 _Hmm..._ Minori pondered, inwardly frowning. He eyed Nezumi and Seiga, whom who have both shared their secrets. He eyed the rest of the group, then thinking to himself. _This motive is..._

The psychogeographer turned to eye each person. "Who would like to go next?"

Sheina held her head high. "Let the mighty Pharaoh speak!" Silence, and she then continued. "My secret isn't something worth fussing over about, my lowly subjects! For I, the Pharaoh and Son of Osiris, have a dead human mother who died during a mugging. My human father, who, of course, is not Osiris, homeschooled me because of it! Heh. How about that?"

Sagiso nodded her head, listening intently to the egyptologist's story. "I see."

"Thank you for sharing, Sheina." Kaniza smiled widely, throwing the woman a thumbs-up.

"I will go ahead and share mine then." The psychogeographer eyed the group who nodded, silent and listening intently. "As a psychogeographer, I like to travel around cities. 'Drifiting', as people would call it. However, I also tend to map out routes from place to place."

Sagiso sighed, crossing her arms. "To map out routes, it is very important to go through every single area. Even private property. I ended up trespassing into a private property when I was trying to map out a route in middle school."

"I mean, you were young, so it's not that bad, right?" Minori awkwardly scratched his head. "You were only in middle school at the time."

Seiga grinned. "Well, I believe that you should do what you want to do. You go, Sagi! If you want to trespass shit, then trespass shit."

"That is not all." Sagiso silenced the crowd. "When I entered into the property, I ended up falling into a hassle with a police officer. We ended up arguing and things escalated from there... After one of the policemen called me a bossy brat, I ended up punching him."

"W-what?!" Minori's eyes widened.

"Jesus Christ!" Kaniza threw her hands over her mouth. "I never knew you had that in you, Sagi."

"Honestly, I dislike the cop, but that was very childish of me..." Sagiso shook her head, cheeks blushing a bright pink hue. "I'm still embarrassed about it to this day, however I do still run into him sometimes. I dislike him, but punching him just ended up with me getting into more trouble."

"Y-you could've gotten arrested for that..." Nezumi muttered with a quiet tone, fiddling with his fingers. "You're fine though, right?"

The psychogeographer smiled at the thief. "Do not worry about me. I'll be fine. I place my trust in you all, after all. You will not judge me for making such a horrendous mistake. I trust you all."

"Of course!" Sheina smirked.

"Alright!" Seiga threw his hands to his hips. "Next!"

Kaniza took a deep breath before standing up on her two feet, a confident gaze on her face. "I'll speak. The stars are aligned perfectly today, I'm sure of it." She grinned and clenched her fists. "Alright, let's start. I'm, well, how to I put this lightly? Hmm... Well, my talent revolves around taking pictures, so... Um, I'll just say it! I secretly make money off of taking pictures of invading enemy missle launches and spying on their flight patterns for the government!"

Silence, until Seiga ruined the tension. "What?"

The astrophotographer awkwardly laughed. "U-um, well, since I'm known as the Ultimate Astrophotographer, the government always took an interest in my skill. In order to make money, I figured helping them would be a good way to make some cash. I'm not exactly some government spy or some crazy thing like that though, I just want to earn money. That's all."

"Huh. Interesting." That was all the wedding planner said. It wasn't that he was suspicious of her, more that he considered it not at all too shocking.

"Well, that sort of secret would certainly stir a bit of worry, but I believe in you." Sagiso eyed Kaniza with a knowing nod, then looking at the others.

"Yeah, I think that's amazing!" Seiga winked at the astrophotographer. "You should totally send me some pictures! I'll run into the enemy's base and defeat them, girl!"

Nezumi tilted his head, questioning the stunt double. "Uh... I-I don't think that's a good idea."

Minori observed the astrophotographer closely before inwardly smiling. He then pondered for a moment. He didn't know why, but the idea surrounding the entire motive, that of 'secrets', was beginning to overwhelm him. Especially with Monokuma's words of their secrets before their most 'deepest, darkest', and so forth. _I think I know what he means by those words though... He's relating to what we feel are our deepest and darkest secrets, not what the public would think._

Minori frowned. _Interesting..._

"I suppose it's my turn then?" Kakuma eyed the group who nodded their heads, slowly. He pursed his lips before sighing. "Alright. I suppose an embarrassment isn't something to dwell over on. My secret is that..." He hesitated. "I actually want someone whom I can call a 'true friend'. That... That is all."

Before Kakuma was able to fall into the background, Kaniza clapped her hands together with a loud voice. "Aww! You should've told us that sooner!"

"Can that even be considered a secret?" Seiga questioned no one in particular, then looking at the wedding planner who scoffed. "Dude, we're all cool, aren't we? If you needed a friend, you should've just asked."

"I would rather not, thank you very much." And that was all the wedding planner would say now, rolling his eyes with a grunt.

Minori inwardly laughed to himself. He never expected such a thing from the wedding planner, but, then again, he did tend to ignore the man intentionally simply because of his disdain towards him. He then eyed the group, his heart racing. _Shit, it's my turn. What lie should I fabricate? Hmm..._ A few seconds passed within the pseudologist's mind before he masked an embarrassed smile, acting the part of a nervous individual. "My secret. Well..."

"You can do it, Minnie!" Kaniza said, encouraging the man with a warm tone of voice.

 _Sorry, but this is going to be a lie._ Minori hated how immoral he was at this exact moment, but honestly speaking, he knew better than to reveal the truth of his secret. He concluded that his was not going to be taken well, at all. Honestly, he hated lying. He hated lying to the point of hating himself. However, to be assertive, he had to do whatever it takes to keep Monokuma from winning- from winning this disgusting killing game. Minori thought a bit on the motive, recalling Monokuma's words then to his own input.

He nodded inwardly to himself and awkwardly eyed the group. "Well... My secret isn't something I would consider 'appropiate', but... Well, when I was in middle school, I snuck into a casino and lied my way into winning blackjack. I'm not sure why the casino owners didn't kick me out, but I suppose they wanted to try extorting my family. Looking back on it, I think that was the most likely reason."

"Jesus Christ, if you had lost, then you might've gotten your parents into debt." Sagiso shook her head, almost relieved at the fact somewhat. She then frowned and eyed him, staring at him at that point. "Do not ever pull a stunt like that again."

"H-huh?" Minori was shocked. _She's like my mom!_ He awkwardly smiled. "Yeah, I know."

Kakuma deadpanned, silent. "Are everyone here like criminals or what?"

"No, we are heroes of justice!" Seiga laughed obnoxiously into the air, hands on his hips and chin held high.

Minori inwardly sighed to himself. _They believe it._ He looked at the group for a moment as they all conversed with each other, seemingly comfortable and relaxed. Well, he had done it. He was able to release some of the tension between the group, if not partially. _If only Kamui could see this... His plan went well. If only everyone else can join in..._

Minutes passed before the group decided to split, the nighttime announcement easily coming forth. The group left with their goodbyes and headed forth to their rooms, Minori left as he watched Sagiso leaving with Kaniza, the two women talking as the door closed. Exhausted, the pseudologist threw his head back, staring at the ceiling. _Lying is such a pain... Ugh, I feel so bad for doing it..._

The pseudologist wanted someone to stake him at the moment, but mentally. He hated how he had lied. He hated it. Oh, so very much. Still, a few minutes passed before he stood up, crossing the list off mentally in his head as he headed to the dormitories. _Alright, next up- Fumio._

Minori walked over to Saori's room, knocking on the door. A few seconds passed until - click! - the door opened. The body broker creaked open the door and eyed him. "Oh, are we starting now?"

The pseudologist nodded. "Yes. We should head over to the dining hall. It'll be easy for us to catch him there." He then eyed Saori, noticing that she had took a shower earlier. Her hair was still a bit damp. He frowned. "I think we should bring something warm with us to the dining hall. It might be cold."

Saori shrugged, then looking at Minori. "You have an extra scarf, right? I think that'll be enough to keep me warm."

Minori frowned. "I could bring some extra scarves then. No, I also think we should at least bring a couple of blankets with us. I'm sure you're cold, right? I mean, it's forbidden to sleep anywhere other than the dormitories, but I think we should keep ourselves warm."

The body broker eyed the man for a bit, silent.

The pseudologist instantly wondered if he said something off. "Um, are you alright?"

Saori shook her head. "No, I was just surprised. You're surprisingly more caring than you present yourself." She crossed her arms. "I'll be back. You should get your things too then."

"Mhm." Minori watched Saori who closed the door, the pseudologist deciding to go to his room. He opened the door and walked over to the closet, fetching a few extra scarves before folding his blanket and taking it. He walked back outside, closing the door behind him as he creaked open Saori's door. "Are you ready?"

Saori nodded, having her blankets folded. She opened the door and headed outside, then closing it.

The duo headed to the dining hall, Minori opening the door for the body broker as she herself on one of the seats, then wrapping the blanket around herself. Minori took a seat next to the woman, placing down the scarves as she took one and wrapped one around her neck. Minori threw his blanket on.

"How long do you think it'll take before he appears?" Saori asked, eyeing the pseudologist.

Minori frowned. "Maybe a couple of hours at the most. I'm hoping he'll come in at least half an hour."

"Hm, I see."

A couple of minutes had passed. Half an hour had passed as Minori fetched a couple of warm drinks, handing a cup of warm hot chocolate to the body broker before sipping into his.

"So," Saori began as she blew into her cup. "How did the meeting go?"

Minori sipped into his drink before placing it onto the table. He looked at the woman who adjusted the scarf around her. "It went well. I think it helped loosen up the tension between the people in the meeting. I'm hoping the party will help lower any possible chances of a murder occurring."

Saori nodded. "I see. That's good then."

Silence. Minori awkwardly eyed the body broker, wondering what to say. "Um..." She was looking at him. _Oh shit, now I can't just say nothing._ Minori cursed his awkwardness. "Um... So do you like hot chocolate?"

He slapped himself. Saori nodded her head though, obviously unable to notice how distraught the man looked at the moment. "I prefer it over green tea. Green tea doesn't suit my tastes. I prefer chocolate, after all, so hot chocolate would be something that leans towards my liking."

"I see." Minori nodded his head, smiling a small smile. "You and I are similar then. I really enjoy chocolate as well, though I guess you can put it to 'sweets' as a broad concept. I like anything that is sweet."

Saori huffed, though it seemed to be more out of amusement than anything else. "Chocolate should be eaten in moderation though."

The pseudologist chuckled. "Yeah, I know that. I'm pretty sure my dentists told me that a couple of times before when I was little."

Silence. An hour passed since then. Minori yawned to himself, wondering what the time would be. He eyed Saori who seemed to drawing something on a piece of paper she found inside of the kitchen. She had also found a pencil, though stubbed, and that was what she was using to sketch at the moment. The pseudologist glanced at the paper, noticing that she was drawing a small husky dog. Minori instantly felt like cooing over the drawing, but held himself back. _Dogs are my weakness, after all._

Another couple of minutes passed before the duo stopped, noticing that the door was creaking. Saori and Minori eyed one another and stood up, ready to confront the person who would be walking through the door.

The door opened, and, unsurprisingly, Fumio walked in to open his mouth, eyes widened.

Minori quickly threw his hands up and slowly walked towards the man. "Sorry if we scared you. We just wanted to check up on you."

Fumio paled, but moved his trembling hands and began to write hastily into his notepad. The duo eyed his handwriting which was more messy and jumbled up. "Why're you two trying to check up on me?"

The pseudologist forced a soothing smile as he approached the man slowly. "We're worried about you. Everyone is."

"I don't see the point in you guys worrying over me." Fumio bit into his lips. "Can you leave?"

Minori shook his head. "Sorry, but we really are worried about you. You know, it's not healthy to eat only once, and especially at night." The pseudologist crossed his arms. "You should eat with us at breakfast, Fumio. We're all worried about you."

"I'll stay in my room." The scholar eyed the duo. "Please, just ignore me."

Minori shook his head. "Fumio, please."

The body broker nodded. "It won't help at all if you seclude yourself. It's better to face reality forward than hide."

"Still..." Fumio shook his head, moving past the duo and heading to the kitchen. He didn't bother to eye them nor listen to their pleas, taking ahold of a couple of snacks and heading back outside. He looked at Minori who was blocking the entrance, biting into his lips as he wrote messily into his notepad. "Please just leave me alone, Minori."

Minori shook his head. If he could convince Kamui to open up to at least him and if Seiga could convince Nezumi, he could convince Fumio as well. He had to push forward. He had to. "Fumio, at least eat with us tomorrow at breakfast. Not everyone will be present, but a lot of us will still be there. We'll talk to you, Fumio. We'll help you, no matter what problem you're having."

The scholar shook his head, tears beginning to form as Minori continued to block the path. Saori was eyeing the scene, watching it unfold with her very own eyes. She bit into her lips and walked over to the man, touching his shoulder. "Minori, I don't think he'll agree to that. We should let him go."

"What? But-" Minori eyed the man, then frowning. He sighed as he moved to the side. "At least..." The pseudologist shook his head, a determined glare on his face as Fumio began to scurry away. "At least be present when the party starts, alright? Everyone will be present at the party, so you must be there with us."

Minori watched as the man was now gone, the door closing. He bit into his lips, shaking his head.

 _Damn. Fumio, I wish I could help you more... How should I do this? How do I do everything?_

Minori didn't bother to wave to Saori who left, a worried glance thrown his way as she left to her merry road to sleep.

 _How the hell will I be able to put this group back together when I was never a leader in the first place?_

The pseudologist gritted his teeth, eyeing the scarves that Saori left on the table. He took ahold of one, clenching it tightly into his fists.

 _This party has to bring us together. It just has to._

* * *

And that's the end of this part! I tried to make this chapter extra long just for you guys, so I hope what happens here is to your liking because soon, the party will commence! Please vote on the poll who you think will be the victim! I'm seeing the results so far and they do make sense considering what is happening... Not that their right, but simply that they make sense... Hmm...

I do have a question for you all though- I'm not sure if it would be wise to turn an idea I have had into a SYOC story. I've thought about the plot line and the entirety of the trials/executions/events for a while, but I do feel like it would be nice to showcase that idea by engaging the readers in with their own OCs instead of mine. There are certain points in the story which fit certain characters, but it is merely an outline and I wouldn't mind turning my own special idea into a SYOC story. What do you think?


	17. Chapter 2 - Part 1, Part D

Hello, and welcome to the last of what I would call the 'happy' times of Chapter 2! The next few chapters will be where the core of this chapter's plot will be... In the meantime, let us savor this chapter together! Also, I want to mention this, but I have my new SYOC story out! Thanks to you all for your opinions on my idea from the last chapter! So... Please check if out if you are interested~

 **ToonGuy:** "Haha, yes, seeing Minori take action against the killing game is quite the character development. I wonder who helped himm grow~? Haha, I'm glad you're loving the relationships being formed and how each character reacts. Sagiso and Kaniza would be the best female friendship in this story so far, considering they're like the only one established fully so far. Oh no, the victim vibes! Anyone who gets any screentime are eligable to be killed. Well, Kamui is different from Komaeda. Haha, sorry about the lack of information in Amyto's FTE. Secrets are secrets, haha. Yes, it may or may not bite Minori next time... Your reactions to chapters are always a wonder to see~"

 **liammarklh88:** "Haha, no problem! I'm glad you like all the characters. It makes it hard to handle when someone dies~ People who share their secrets are all brave in their own right, haha. Glad you enjoy the FTEs as well, and yes, poor Fumio. I'm glad you enjoyed the previous chapter, and I hope you will enjoy this one!"

 **Agrael:** "A murder will happen, sooner or later. You can expect great things to come from that~ Haha, glad you liked the sharing secrets meeting scene! I was trying my best to write it out as detailed as possible. Many sentences will either be foreshadowing or not, but who knows? Poor Fumio... Thank you for your opinion on my question before!"

 **KiibouMon:** "Haha, hello again! Yes, Minori's secret is quite the mystery, and everyone here is worried about Fumio. I'm more excited for the victim's death than anything else, honestly lol."

 **PoisonBanana:** "He honestly is, but when will that come into play? Maybe in the next chapter or so? Yes, most of the secrets mentioned aren't at all quite dangerous, and that is most likely why they've shared their secrets. Yes, Fumio does need to be paid attention to as well. Glad you enjoyed Kamui's FTE. Thank you for your opinion on my question beforehand! Certainly helped me a lot."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Haha, your review looked quite detailed though. Yes, Amyto and Kamui's FTEs were different from one another. Overall, the secrets shared weren't that worrying. Petty, maybe, but nonetheless not enough to cause a murder, hopefully. Haha, let's all worry for our poor Minori. Glad you enjoyed the Saori scene with Minori! Yes, your opinion certainly helped me with deciding what to do with my idea... Thank you!"

 **AmaryllisGreen:** "Haha, my reputation for updating quickly is skyrocketing, but don't worry! I believe in you! Yes, the motive is simple yet effective. Haha, the victims do make sense, though let's see if people are right with their thoughts... Glad you enjoyed the conversations in this story! This story is mainly dialogue-driven, after all. Rin and Ryoichi's strange friendship, haha. Yes, starting up different stories at the same time can be a mess, so I would have to think it over and prepare myself mentally. Your opinion definitely helped."

 **irwegwert:** "Haha, Monokuma never makes anything good, and you're right on that... I would argue as well that Kaniza was the bravest in showcasing her secret to the others! Haha, and yes, Kakuma is slowly opening up, if not subtle. I'm glad you're enjoying characters such as Fumio and Saori. Despite me not having given them much screentime in comparison to people such as Nezumi, Kamui, and Seiga- well, I'm glad you're enjoying them! Thank you for your opinion! I greatly appreciate it!"

* * *

Minori found himself waking up much later than usual. Well, it was to be expected considering that he had waited for Fumio overnight alongside Saori. He could tell that there would be circles under his eyes, but it didn't really matter. He knew he had to report to Kamui about the meeting from yesterday and check on the party's progress. He wanted everyone to be united as one, after all. Even someone who was as antagonistic as Kakuma- Minori still wanted everyone to be involved.

 _Should I head to the dining hall first?_ Even if Minori's stomach was grumbling, at the same time he wanted to prioritize Kamui first. He was hungry and as he shampooed his hair his stomach did grumble. However, the pseudologist was worried about the mortician and he supposed Kamui was waiting for the results of yesterday's gathering. He watched the soap being washed away from the showerhead's water, then feeling his hair before turning off the water. He grabbed a towel and headed out, eyeing himself in the mirror and moisturizing himself with lotion.

Minori thought and thought until his head finally circled to an answer- _Yeah, I'll go meet up with Kamui first and tell him what happened._

The pseudologist was able to finish easily, eyeing himself at the mirror before wrapping his staple beige-colored scarf around his neck. He made sure the scarf was comfortable around him. Not too tight, not too loose. With a smile, Minori headed out of the bathroom and out of his room.

The Ultimate made his way to the mortician's door, and, like usual, he knocked on it a few times. A few seconds passed, and then a click. The door opened.

"Minori." The mortician didn't seem shocked to see the pseudologist, in contrast, instead looking genuinely pleased. Though he still seemed hesitant, he opened the door and allowed the man inside, closing it behind him. Kamui sat onto his bed, crossing his arms as Minori sat down on a chair. The mortician sighed. "So, how was it?"

Minori crossed his legs and grinned at the mortician. "It went well," he said, surprising the mortician whose eyes widened. "A lot of people actually agreed to meet up, and because of that, about half of us were able to share our secrets with one another."

"R-really now?" The mortician awkwardly scratched his head, unable to speak as he averted his gaze. A hesitant gaze was on his face, but it was obvious he was trying to hide a subtle smile. "So, the plan worked…"

"Mhm." The pseudologist bobbed his head, eyeing Kamui for a moment before a thought ran through his head. "Oh, Kamui, have you seen the game Monokuma imported into the MonoPad?"

Kamui's eyes widened. "Ah, so everyone has the same game, I'm assuming?"

Minori nodded. "Yeah, all of us has our own versions of the game. You didn't try to play it then?"

The mortician shook his head. "No, I do not want to be manipulated by anything Monokuma throws at me anymore. To even try to think about the game… I don't want to fall under his paws ever again."

"Ah, I see…" Minori awkwardly scratched his head. The dedication in the mortician's eyes scared him, but at the same time he couldn't help but admire his determination and vow. Kamui was definitely trying. He was definitely trying to mediate this entire game altogether, even if it was subtle. "Well, did you eat yet?"

Kamui shook his head, frowning. He knew exactly what the pseudologist was thinking, and he despised it. "No. Minori, I'm not comfortable meeting the others right now."

"But you're doing so much for us, for them." Minori crossed his arms. "I should've told them that the meeting was your idea, but I do understand they may suspect you… But, I wished they'd give you another chance. They haven't tried to talk to you at all, right?"

"I…" Kamui averted his gaze a second time, a melancholic look on his face. "I want them to talk to me. I know my actions cannot be excused, but… I still want to protect them."

Minori nodded, standing on his two feet and moving towards the man. He held onto his shoulders, staring at him straight into the eyes. "And that's why they need to give you a second chance, Kamui. You care about us so much."

"But… It's not worth risking the sense of unity now, right?" Kamui bit into his lips. "If I showed myself to the others, it'd definitely cause a ruckus. I'm fine hiding in the background to help, Minori."

Minori sighed, shaking his head. He crossed his arms and thought for a moment, then nodding. "Why don't I bring you some food then? If I had to make a deduction, then you sneak out only to eat, right?"

Kamui's cheeks flushed red. "I-I know it's unhealthy, but-"

"Don't mind it. I'm not Sagiso, am I?" The pseudologist chuckled playfully. "I'll head over to the dining hall and bring you some food, alright?"

"Are you sure?" Kamui seemed genuinely shocked, eyes widened and mouth slightly standing agape.

The Ultimate nodded and walked over to the door, turning the knob and creaking it opened slightly. "I'm certain. I'll be back, alright?"

Once Kamui nodded, albeit hesitantly, Minori opened the door widely, moving outside only to close it. He let out a small sigh. Honestly, he simply wanted everyone to be at peace. He just wanted everyone to relax and step up against Monokuma. Sure, a dictator the headmaster may be, but overthrowing him was possible- though, slim the chances are. Minori wanted everyone to unite, to bond. However, this was reality. It was merely impossible.

Nevertheless, Minori was nonetheless confident about befriending Kamui. The mortician was a completely honest and friendly man. Minori wanted nothing more than to help the Ultimate and help the others warm up to him again.

The pseudologist headed down into the dining hall, and before his mind could race on the fact that the atmosphere should be quite peaceful now, the opposite happened. His ears were ringing, hearing voices arguing amongst one another.

"Look, nothing happened to our families, got it?"

Minori found himself staring at the Ultimates, his eyes widened and face paling. The pseudologist's heart was racing, his mind slowly, slowly coming to a dreadful thought- _Why is this happening?_ The pseudologist pursed his lips as he slowly took a step forward. "What's happening?"

Amyto turned to the man, a worried gaze on her face. "Minnie!" She quickly grabbed ahold of the Ultimate's hands and dragged him forward. "T-they're not listening to me!"

Minori followed the woman's finger to the Ultimates who were yelling at one another, throwing incomprehensible remarks and insults. Back and forth, they were nothing more than demons who held fury in their eyes.

Kakuma scoffed, clenching his fists. "It's dumb to even think of that," he began, growling underneath his breath. "Over some video game? It's obvious that you shouldn't have even played it in the first place!"

"The Ancestors had spoken," Fuwari began, a dark glint in her eyes, "And they have told me that there is some paranormal activity inside of the game. There needs to be something done in order for the ghost controlling the game to not taint our beloved ones."

"I-I don't understand," Ryoichi said, biting hard into his lips. "So, what exactly do you want us to do about this?"

Sagiso shook her head. "Look, a video game is merely just a video game. It isn't real."

 _What? The video game?_ Minori slowly came to a horrible realization. _What the fuck did Monokuma put in that game?!_

Kakuma rolled his eyes, irritated to the point of his face turning red. "Yeah, obviously? Why even stress over a video game?!"

Amyto was tearing up, wiping her eyes with her hands. However, she pressed forward despite that and loudly spoke. "Guys! Look, let's all calm down! We have a party that's gonna start soon, and I think this sort of discussion isn't exactly what Seiga wanted! C-can we all just calm down?"

"Ah, yes." Fuwari looked at the hypnotist. "You are correct, Amyto. I am merely concerned about the paranormal activity inside of the game's content, after all."

Sagiso sighed, shaking her head. She was definitely exhausted. "I still have to cook the food for the party with Kaniza… Sheesh…"

"It's their fault for even discussing the contents of the game," the wedding planner mumbled, grumbling underneath his breath. He then eyed Minori. "Are you here to just watch us?"

Minori's eyes widened and he shook his head. "N-no, of course not. I was here to eat, that's all." He then worriedly eyed Ryoichi who was shaking, then eyeing Fuwari and Amyto who were whispering to one another. Minori could see Sagiso head back into the kitchen where he could catch a glimpse of a flustered Kaniza, then realizing he was now alone with the wedding planner. "Um… May I ask what happened?"

"I think you have an idea of what happened." Kakuma raised a brow towards the man's way, but scoffed and averted his gaze. "I was planning to eat as well, so I came over here when I noticed that Ryoichi was beginning to blurt out some… Well, interesting things, to say the least."

"Interesting?" Minori frowned. "How so?"

Kakuma bit into his lips. "He's not the only person I've heard it from though. He's been talking about how this world is a 'fabrication'. I don't know what it entitles, but considering everyone who's been saying that had been whining about the game…" The man turned to Minori, staring straight into his eyes. "I think it's safe to say that Monokuma's trying to push everyone forward into killing one another."

"W-what?" Minori couldn't believe it. "But aren't the secrets enough?"

"You think? You should know." The man sighed, crossing his arms. "Look, what would happen if the motive wasn't as 'deadly' as you wanted it to be?"

The pseudologist frowned. "Wasn't as deadly?" He thought for a moment, his eyes then widening. "It's my fault?"

"I'm not blaming you. I was the one who announced the idea first, after all." Kakuma smirked his way, then displeased. "Secrets aren't at all deadly if you entitle it to only one person. My secret wouldn't be as deadly as Seiga's and neither would Nezumi's. Considering what our 'biggest' secrets would be, these secrets would only be 'deadly' to us. It isn't deadly to the point where the public would want to eradicate us."

"You… You have a point. I've honestly thought about that myself." The pseudologist pondered. Instantly, his body began to overwhelm itself in fear. "But that only applies to a few of us. The people who didn't agree to the meeting-"

"Their secrets are probably what would be classified by the public as 'illegal' or 'stupidly dangerous'."

Minori shuddered. To think that the rest would hold such secrets would be astounding. He wondered what sort of secrets they would hold, then wondering if they could be compared to his. He bit into his lips and inwardly shook his head. "I-I see. So, the video game Monokuma sent into the MonoPads are to help motivate 'us'."

Kakuma sighed. "It's still just a theory I came up with Sagiso. She did mention the possibility of us not playing the game, after all."

"Well, we don't exactly know what Monokuma's thinking all the time…"

"You do have a point there," the other man commented, nodding to himself. "I just wonder if he'll try to sabotage the party though."

Minori pursed his lips. "I hope not, but honestly speaking can measures be taken against him? He always seem to appear out of nowhere."

"He does do that a lot. A sly bear he is." Kakuma scoffed. He then slowly cupped his chin, deep in thought. "How does he do that anyways? Honestly, how did he even gather us here and why is he making us kill? What is his objective?"

The pseudologist thought as well. Kakuma was openly speaking on the questions that everyone would be asking. Who was behind this entire killing game? Why was this killing game here to begin with? Why were they kidnapped? Minori wasn't sure. He wasn't sure, and he honestly had a hunch he wouldn't figure it out anytime soon.

"Shoot." Minori had almost forgotten. He waved to the wedding planner and made his way into the kitchen, realizing that he was supposed to hold a small breakfast with Kamui. With the tensions somehow rising between the Ultimates despite his attempt to cease it, Minori's mind was now shrouded in worry. He couldn't help but wonder about many things- from the party to the contents of the video game to the motives, he wondered about many things. He headed into the kitchen, waving to Sagiso and Kaniza before taking ahold of the untouched meals on the side. He thanked them before leaving, wishing them luck on their preparation.

The pseudologist looked down at the plates he had nabbed. They were still fairly warm, Minori noticing that it was still steaming, if not subtly. He was looking down at the meal before smirking to himself. _Heh. T_ _amagoyaki, huh?_

He headed over to the mortician's door and knocked onto it, surprisingly the door opening without much time wasted. Kamui was genuinely hungry, eyes instantly directed to the Japanese omelette despite having bowed to the other man. Minori excused himself and moved inside, placing the food to the small table as Kamui closed the door. The mortician took a seat down next to the pseudologist, grabbing ahold of his chopsticks and beginning to eat.

"You took quite a while to get back," Kamui began, observant as he then noticed the slight worry in his classmate's eyes. In return, the mortician's heart began to race as his tone began to waver. "Did something happen?"

Minori averted his gaze, a saddened expression apparent. "The video game Monokuma imported into the MonoPads."

"What?" Kamui began to fidget around in his chair, nervous as he began to toy with his ponytail. "So, the others played it then? What happened?"

The Ultimate sighed. "Apparently, whatever Monokuma inserted into the game did a number on them. The game is a reinforcer. It helps ensure that a murder will occur if measures are taken against the prior motive." Minori bit into his lips. "A lot of people are pressured over the video game. It's gone to the point where there's talk about a 'fabrication'. I only heard of it from Kakuma, so I didn't hear it personally, but..."

"This is troubling." The mortician pursed his lips, tapping his index fingers together. "How many people have played the game?"

Minori shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure about that. I would estimate about half of us though." The pseudologist clenched into his fists. "If we weren't so seperated from one another now, we could've easily enforced a rule to not play the game..."

"It's unfortunate, but I think we need to focus on how to mediate this." Kamui crossed his arms as he bit into last half of his omelette. "Hm, let's see..."

Minori watched him silently, almost awed by his intense look of concentration. _Kamui's determined to help us... He's determined to help us all._ The Ultimate grinned inwardly as he gulped down his bite. "I think we could try to do something at the party," he suggested, eyeing the mortician.

"At the party?" Kamui raised a brow. "Hm, I think that could work. I would think that when everyone's gathered at the party, you could hold a speech about the situation. I think it would help snap them out of their nervous state at that time. Besides, if the speech was hosted at the party, everyone's mind would already be a bit more relaxed, so you'd be able to easily sway them to your side of the argument."

"I'll have to ask Seiga and the others about it though." Minori frowned, thinking about Ryoichi and Saori. Those two were the ones who planned the entire schedule of the party, and although the schedule may be loose, Minori figured it would be courteous to ask. He'd, of course, have to tell Seiga since the man was the one who was literally hosting it. He'd have to make sure, after all. "The party should start tonight."

"I see." The mortician nodded. "Well, I can only hope the party will go well and that this mess will be settled."

"Hopefully." Minori chuckled, then eyeing Kamui's plate. "Are you done? I'll bring the plates back to the kitchen."

Kamui smiled meekly as he passed the pseudologist his plate. "Thank you," he said, bowing his head down out of courtesy.

"No problem. I'll be asking Seiga and the others about our plan as well too."

Minori smiled back at the mortician before taking his and Kamui's plates. He opened the door and closed it gently, then heading his way back into the dining hall. He could still see Kakuma inside of the dining hall, drinking into his cup of water. The wedding planner eyed him strangely as Minori quickly walked into the kitchen, hearing the voices of Sagiso and Kaniza. The duo were smiling at one another while talking, cooking the food for the party. Sagiso was mixing a batch of cookies, Kaniza on the other hand having steamed chicken at the corner. Minori quietly placed the plates to the sink before the duo noticed him.

"Hey, it's our dear little Minnie!" Kaniza said, greeting the man with a wide smile. "Are you ready for the party tonight? We're gonna make the best food you've ever tasted, so get ready~"

Minori awkwardly scratched his head and chuckled. "Really now? Well, I can't wait." He then noticed Kaniza who seemed to hold dark circles underneath her eyes. Though subtle, it was worrying to say the least. He then eyed Sagiso who yawned, obviously tired as well. Minori frowned, crossing his arms. He couldn't help but speak on the fact. "You two seem really busy and exhausted. Do you need any help? I could ask the others to help out."

"Don't." Sagiso looked at the pseudologist with a stern gaze. "A lot of people here are stressed. I think we need to leave them be for a while." She averted her gaze, hesitant. "I think we could handle it ourselves." She then looked back at the man, smiling sweetly. "Thank you for offering though, Minori."

Minori's cheeks blushed a faint red hue. "Y-yeah, sure." He quickly averted his gaze and turned his attention to the sink. "I'll go wash the dishes at least." He turned on the faucet, the water touching the utensils and plates inside of the sink. The pseudologist began to wash each dish individually, taking care of each one. In the meantime, he could hear Sagiso and Kaniza speaking to one another. He listened to them silently, only humming either his approval or disagreement whenever he was asked for an opinion.

"You think Fumio will be at the party?" Kaniza asked as she began to spice the raw meat on her board. "I'm worried that he'll lock himself in his room. I've never seen him since the, well, trial."

Minori frowned as he rubbed the plate with soap. "He'll be at the party. I'm sure of it."

Sagiso chuckled to herself. She was placing differently shaped cookie dough to the baking sheet, distancing each one far from one another. "Well, given Seiga's type of personality, he wouldn't allow it if Fumio wasn't present. We will make sure that everyone attends the party, even those who seem unwilling to attend. The party should relieve us of our stress, after all."

Kaniza giggled. "Seiga's amazing in that way."

"Right. Thank goodness for that." The pseudologist confidently nodded his head, finally beginning to dry each plate at hand. _If everyone's present at the party, then I'll be able to help mediate this entire situation better. This party will definitely work in our favor, I'm sure!_

It didn't take long for Minori to finish drying the dishes, now placing them in their respective places. He did wanted to help Kaniza and Sagiso, but knowing how stubborn they could be, he decided to leave them with hopes that they'll be fine. _Alright, let's go._ His mind was now circling around Seiga, and he walked towards the second floor, moving into the gym where he found the stunt double and thief talking to one another. Minori waved, catching their attention.

"Yo, how's it going?" Seiga smiled widely at the pseudologist. He was not at all surprised to find Minori walking towards the duo. "You ready for the party tonight?"

Minori nodded. "Yes. Sagiso and Kaniza are cooking the food at the moment."

"Ah, really? Awesome." The stunt double chuckled. "So, dude, whatcha here for? Can't get enough of me?"

"I'm not in love with you or something." Minori deadpanned, but was then chuckling in return. He didn't mind Seiga's playful personality at all. "No, I wanted to ask you something. You are the one who's hosting the party, so I figured it would be appropiate to talk to you, Seiga."

"Of course! I, the hero, have hosted this party!" Seiga laughed boisterously. "Whatcha gonna ask then?"

The pseudologist smiled. "I have been noticing that many of us are quite stressed out about the video game Monokuma had sent us through the MonoPads. I was hoping I could speak at the beginning of the party in order to calm down their nerves." He then scratched his head. "Well, so, I wanted to give out a speech in order to cheer the others out. Is that fine?"

The stunt double eyed him for a moment, lips then curving to a wide smile. "Dude, that's a brilliant idea!" He laughed, throwing an arm around the pseudologist. He could see Minori flustering about, but he couldn't care less. He could only care about what the man had said, after all. "I think that's a perfect way to start the party off. If the guys worry at the party then it'll be no fun, right?"

"Y-yeah..." Minori sighed deeply once the stunt double let go, the pseudologist taking the time to catch his breath. "I don't mind when I could conduct the speech, so just inform me of the time and I'll speak."

Nezumi looked at the white-haired man. "So, if what you're saying is true, then people actually tried to play the game?"

Minori nodded, albeit sadly. "The people who've played the games are stressed. I don't know what happened, but apparently they've been speaking about a 'fabrication' or something akin to that."

"Fabrication?" Nezumi burrowed his brows. "That sounds suspicious..." He cupped his hands, then quickly darting his eyes back to the man. "Is Kaniza alright?"

The pseudologist smiled awkwardly. "She's alright. She's cooking with Sagiso at the moment. I doubt she played through the game, if you're wondering."

"Really? Thank goodness." The thief smiled, sighing out of relief. He crossed his arms. "How many people have played through the game though? It'll be troublesome if this affects the party, especially if the atmosphere's tense."

"That's why I was asking to conduct a speech at the party." Minori frowned. "I would estimate about half of us had been affected. I don't exactly know what's in the contents of the video game, but it can't be something soothing."

"No shit." Seiga scratched his head. "So, like, I think it's good if you talk once the party starts, Minori. It'll be a good opener to our stunt."

"You sure?" Minori eyed the stunt double who nodded, the pseudologist sighing. "Alright then. Thank you for letting me know."

"No problem!" The man winked, throwing a thumbs-up before eyeing Nezumi. He threw his hands to his hips. "Wanna do another rerun, Nezumi?"

Minori left the gym with a steady step, smiling to himself as he shut closed the doors. He would have to prepare himself for the speech, and he would have to sound as assertive and confident as he could be. He needed to rest until the time came. _I should hang out until the party starts. Hm... What should I do then?_

The pseudologist thought to himself, stopping in the middle of the stairway. He leaned to the wall, cupping his chin. He wondered what to do at the moment. With limitations on where Minori could be and the rooms Monokuma provided for the students, he had a limited range of activities he could conduct. And, well, considering that the game room and gym was going to be used for the party, he decided to cross those areas off of his mind. He had no doubt Saori and the others (whoever else was helping with the party) was inside of the game room, after all.

He thought and thought, however he had continue to think forever that he had instantly forgotten the presence of the person from the first floor.

"What are you thinking up there?"

Minori's eyes widened, and he looked down to find the wedding planner. Kakuma was staring straight at him, a curious gaze in his eyes. "O-oh." Minori awkwardly scratched his head and walked to the floor. "I was just thinking about what to do."

"When are you never thinking about something?" Kakuma smirked, watching the pseudologist who was besides him. The man then frowned, crossing his arms. "The party's starting tonight, and yet the situation continues to worsen. Hmph, some kind of 'unity' this is."

Minori eyed the man. "I'm sure the party will help ease our stress."

"You think? With everything that's happening as of yet, do you seriously believe that?" The wedding planner stared into the pseudologist's eyes, silent. The duo continued to look at one another before Kakuma scoffed, shaking his head. "Well, excuse me. I'll leave you alone."

Minori eyed Kakuma who began to leave, the pseudologist pondering for a moment before shaking his head. "Wait, Kakuma." He took a step forward, surprising the other man whose eyes widened. "Do you want to talk?"

"After what I just said?" Kakuma frowned. "I'm busy."

The pseudologist frowned in return, observing the wedding planner before shaking his head. "You're not," he said, a firm expression in his face. "You're just taking a stroll around the school, right? You're not that busy, so it won't be too much of a bother if I walk alongside you, right?"

Kakuma eyed the man for a moment, then smirking. "So you were thinking of how you should waste time before the party starts, huh?" He didn't bother to look back at the pseudologist who was silent. Kakuma sighed. "Well, if a liar like you really wants to waste my time, then be my guest. I'll warn you now, but I greatly despise exercising."

Minori deadpanned. "Then why are you strolling around the school?"

Kakuma averted his gaze quickly. "Be quiet."

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Kakuma?**

 _ **Oh my god- Why not? |**_ No, not ever!

* * *

 _A liar, huh? Hmph._ Minori sighed, rolling his eyes. He, however, nodded his head and walked besides the wedding planner. Kakuma did seem genuinely shocked that the man would actually follow him, but said nothing as he walked around the school alongside him.

The duo toured around the school for about an hour. They had traversed around the school in silence, the Ultimates both unwilling to engage in friendly conversation. It was obvious to Minori that Kakuma found him to be a burden. He was a 'liar', after all. And although the wedding planner seemed to despise liars, Minori couldn't help but grow ever so curious of him. _He seems like a genuinely good guy... I mean, even his secret would suggest so. I'd be his friend if he wasn't so cold towards me..._ _Not that I'd admit it openly though. I'll try, but not admit it!_

The duo finally found themselves at the same spot- at the bottom of the staircase. It was then did the wedding planner turned to the pseudologist. Kakuma eyed Minori for a moment, the pseudologist nonetheless feeling uncomfortable.

 **Minori:** Um... Did you want something from me?

 **Kakuma:** You know you coulld've done something much more worthwhile than follow me around, right? Your satisfication for wasting time could've been easily replaced with a nap, correct?

 **Minori:** Well, honestly, I didn't think about that.

 **Kakuma:** Hmph, well, that's not a lie, so I guess you're genuine about that.

 **Minori:**... Hey, Kakuma, why do you despise liars so much?

 **Kakuma:** Don't you think that's a personal question? Asking such a question would mean prying into my life. You know that, correct?

 **Minori:** I... I was just curious.

 **Kakuma:** Because you're a pseudologist. Hmph, well, it would make sense for you to be curious. I do not feel inclined to speak about such matters though, and never will I engage in such personal conversations with you.

 **Minori:** What? Then what do you want me to say? That I'm glad you hate me?

 **Kakuma:** Raising your tone won't persuade me into answering your initial question. I simply do not feel like answering you, and that is all. Is that not clear to you?

 **Minori:**... Fine, then if not about that, then let's talk about your talent.

 **Kakuma:** My talent? Simple, I just plan weddings. That's all you need to know.

 **Minori:** Yes, I know what a wedding planner does, but I'm curious about you individually. I'm curious to what you do as a wedding planner yourself. It's not too personal of a question, is it?

 **Kakuma:** I... I do what all wedding planners would do. I would arrange weddings and help blossom them into unique experiences for the couples being married themselves. It's nothing special, honestly. A normal teenager could arrange a wedding if they wanted to. I'm no one special.

 **Kakuma:** Besides, it's not like I will continue to become a wedding planner. I was simply given a title for a hobby I did in my freetime. Anyways, I have already retired from that career when I was sixteen. I do not wish to continue my job as a wedding planner.

 **Minori:** Retiring?

 **Kakuma:** Obviously, I didn't accept planning weddings for people anymore. It's tiring and exhausting.

 **Minori:** I see, but why did you retire? You could've easily planned more weddings as a hobby of your's, right?

 **Kakuma:** I don't feel obliged to answer that. I just don't enjoy that career anymore. I don't see why you're trying to pry more answers out from me, but I'm not ever going to become 'friends' with you.

 **Minori:** Kakuma, it's not about us being titled 'friends' or something like that. Aren't I allowed to worry about you?

 **Kakuma:** It's been established that our relationship with each other will not deepen, so why bother? I despise liars like you, so shouldn't you simply try to avoid me?

 **Minori:** I mean, I am frustrated that you hate me merely because of my title as a 'pseudologist', but you're still a victim like us. We should help each other out.

 **Kakuma:**... Whatever you say.

Minori was unable to speak further as he watched Kakuma leave. He couldn't say anything, instead watching the wedding planner leaving to the dormitories. The pseudologist sighed, shaking his head. _Sheesh, he's so insistent on hating me..._

* * *

 **Kakuma's Profile Card: 1/1**

 **Note: Kakuma, despite being titled the Ultimate Wedding Planner, claims to have 'retired' from being a wedding planner at the age of sixteen. His reason for quitting this career seemed to come from a lack of motivation.**

* * *

Minori crossed his arms, now finding himself at a stalemate. He didn't know what to do next, simply scratching his head. About an hour or two had passed by since. He concluded that it was about late in the afternoon, only a few hours away from the party's start. Minori could feel his own heartbeat. It was beating, quickly and erractically. _I have no idea if I'm worried or excited._

Minori closed his eyes for a short moment, taking a deep breath. He had no doubt that Kaniza and Sagiso had cooked most of the food, having seen the duo a few times while he was walking with Kakuma on the second floor. The pseudologist did notice that Amyto was still talking to Fuwari, Sheina eyeing them strangely. He noticed that many of his classmates were worried and stressed, and that only led to Minori wondering if he could confidently mediate the situation.

The pseudologist shook his head. _No, I shouldn't worry about it too much. I should just continue to relax and mess around until the party starts._ Minori looked around the hallways. _What should I do now though?_

Minori was about to search around the area until he noticed Seiga walking down the hallways. The man frowned and eyed him strangely. "Seiga, did you finish practicing with Nezumi?"

"Yeah, dude." Seiga grinned widely. It was his usual toothy smile. "I think we've perfected it by now. We even pulled half of an all-nighter last night just to clean up our mistakes yesterday."

"Huh? Really?" Minori took a look at the stunt double. He did not look exhausted, at all. For him to even say the word 'all-nighter' was a shocker. "So, are you two resting at the moment?"

Seiga nodded. "Yup. I think we should keep our energy till the party starts." He then eyed the pseudologist. "You wanna talk till the party starts? I'm, like, hella bored right now."

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Seiga?**

 _ **Yes, let's do it!**_ | No, dude!

* * *

Minori smiled, eyeing the stunt double who was scratching his head. "Of course. I don't mind at all."

Seiga smiled back in response. The duo decided to hang out inside of the stunt double's room, the duo engaging in small talk. The pseudologist listened mainly to Seiga's stories, only concluding how exaggerated they were as he created some sound effects with his voice. Honestly, although the conversations were abruptly ended and strange, they were entertaining. Minori had quite an enjoyable time with Seiga. He never even noticed that hours was passing by.

 **Seiga:** And then I, the great hero, kicked the villain in the balls and threw him across the seven seas! I could still hear his cursed cries of this day. Haha, aren't I just the greatest, Minori?

 **Minori:** Really? Wow, well that battle's something. Honestly, I never watched that movie before. I'll probably watch it some time in the future.

 **Seiga:** Huh? Really? Glad I persuaded you then! Dude, I was totally kickass in that movie. I highly recommend it.

 **Minori:** You think? Just hearing what happens in that movie... I think it's worthwhile. Then again, it's probably because of you though that I'm curious. I've only watched a few of your shows, after all- Hm... Now that I think about it... Hey, Seiga, I'm curious- how did you become a stunt double?

 **Seiga:** How I became the greatest man ever? Haha, glad you asked, my dude! Ahem, well, our story starts off-

 **Minori:** You don't need to lower your voice, Seiga. You're not narrating a superhero movie, are you?

 **Seiga:** Dude, you're not my mom, are you?

 **Minori:** Haha. I wasn't nitpicking or anything, just saying.

 **Seiga:** It's cool, dude! So, where did I start? Ah, so our story starts off with I, the protagonist, as a little kid. Being one who hates the world for its mediocre definition of 'fun', I took it upon myself to rid of that injustice! I would spend my time creating gigantic flamethrowers akin to a dragon's breath and jumping down windows like a legendary phoenix!

 **Minori:** Huh?! You jumped out from windows?!

 **Seiga:** Yeah, it was fun! I mean, sure, I ended up getting tons of injuries and all that shit, but it's worth the thrill, y'know?

 **Minori:** Jesus Christ... I mean, if you say so...

 **Seiga:** Anyways, the world still continued to rebel against me. My heroic ways were viewed as a threat, and so the damn mediocre Gods have placed a curse upon my parents, resulting in them arguing at me for some shit about grades or something... Well, the injustice it was, I had to run away.

 **Minori:** So you ran away from home?

 **Seiga:** I can't stand people who wouldn't embrace the culture of the daredevils. To sit in one place and be 'educated' or all that shit, like my mind's breaking. I had no choice but to leave, and that's when I met them- my friends.

 **Minori:** Do you mean the people who are in jail?

 **Seiga:** Yeah, those are the guys. They're awesome dude, I can tell you that. They're called the Lotus Eaters, but I guess you've never heard of them. Of course you didn't though, we're like superheros throughout Japan! Haha, well, they're the ones who helped me ignite my passion for seeking thrills. We ran away from the cops and played some awesome stunts. We're like those Super Sentai guys, but in real life!

 **Minori:** I see... But they were caught.

 **Seiga:** Yeah, it's stupid. I need to get out of this place so I can save them. The damn cops are trying to taint this world in mediocrity, honestly.

Minori was silent as Seiga scratched his head, exhausted. He could hear the stunt double sigh as he threw himself onto the bedsheets, spreading his arms and legs across. He seemed to be deep in thought, so Minori decided to stay silent as well. Although the pseudologist still held not an idea to how Seiga was able to become a stunt double, he decided to not ask and allow the man to ponder.

* * *

 **Seiga's Profile Card: 1/1**

 **Note: Seiga, even when he was young, was a troublemaker. He would usually stir some trouble which would result in injuries, and with his thrill-seeking nature it didn't take long before his grades began to take a hit. It ended up with Seiga running away from home and joining an unruly gang who called themselves Lotus Eaters.**

* * *

It was now silent inside of the stunt double's room, and Minori fiddled with his fingers.

A few minutes passed.

"Hm... What time is it?" Seiga asked, a few more minutes passing by. He was now sitting up straight as he looked at the pseudologist, curious. He then took ahold of his MonoPad and powered it on, eyes widening upon the screen's brightening. "Shit, it's almost time for the party? The nighttime announcement should come in about a few minutes." He smirked as he looked at Minori. "You ready?"

Minori's eyes widened, and he suddenly felt his heart racing. "Y-yeah, I'm ready."

"Alright, let's go!" Seiga stood up easily without a single blink, him energetically opening the door.

 _Alright, let's do this._ Minori was the first to head out as Seiga closed the door behind him, the duo making their way up to the second floor. They were walking upstairs before entering into the game room, finding most of their classmates inside. Seiga's attention was immediately grabbed as he eyed the spacious room from inside, noticing that the table had been lined up with all sorts of food and drinks. His stomach grumbled, and his lips curved into a wide, gluttonous smile. "Damn does that look tantalizing!"

"Glad you like it," Kaniza said, giggling at the man's sight. She then frowned as she lightly smacked the stunt double's chest. "It took hours for Sagi and I to make everything, so you guys better like it! Especially my awesome star cake~"

Seiga grinned in response. "I'm sure I'll enjoy it."

The astrophotographer couldn't help but smile as well, then turning to wrap an arm around Nezumi who was murmuring to himself. "Hey, Nezumi!" She greeted, unaware of the man's flustered state. "I can't wait to see your stunt with Seiga! I'll be cheering you on!"

Nezumi's lips quivered, cheeks blushing a red hue. "Y-yes! I-I won't disappoint you!"

"Of course you won't, Nezzy!" Kaniza proceeded to grab ahold of the thief's cheeks, then squeezing them with an affectionate giggle. She didn't seem to mind the poor thief's state at the moment. She was simply throwing her affection at the man as if they were a newlywed couple.

Ryoichi chuckled at the sight, arms crossed as he leaned to the wall. "Cute." That was basically what everyone inside of the room was thinking at the moment, including Minori himself.

"Not everyone's here yet," Rin said, frowning.

Saori eyed the jeweler, shaking her head. A calm expression was on her face. A calm, relaxed expression. "Let's just give them a few minutes. The nighttime announcement hasn't started yet, after all."

Minori couldn't help but smile as he eyed the Ultimates. They seemed to be relaxed at the moment, or, at least, much more than beforehand. The decorations around the room were shining beautifully, a festive atmosphere to behold. He could smell all sorts of food from the next door, taking a glimpse inside to find an array of pastries, meat, vegetables, and drinks down across the table. Minori couldn't help but feel his stomach grumble. He can't wait for the party to get started, heart racing.

A few minutes passed as slowly did the other Ultimates came into the room. The nighttime announcement had sounded off as a few more people entered into the room, excited expressions on their faces.

Minori mentally observed each Ultimate who had entered into the party, brows furrowing. _Damn._ He walked over to the stunt double and whispered into his ear, "Fumio and Kamui aren't here yet."

"Huh? Really?" Seiga looked around the room before frowning. "I'll go get them-"

The moment the stunt double began to make his way through the door, his body ended up colliding with an Ultimate. He ended up stumbling back, shock in his face as he looked down to the other. "Oh!" His eyes widened, lips then curving to a friendly smile. "We were just about to look for you, Fumio!"

Fumio awkwardly averted his gaze from the stunt double, unable to make direct eye contact with his short height. He ended up scribbling into his notepad and facing it to the man. "Sorry I'm late," the notepad said, written in bold letters. "I fell asleep."

Seiga chuckled, cracking his knuckles. "Naw dude, it's cool. I'm just glad to see you here!"

The scholar nodded his head slowly, making his way further into the room. He noticed Minori and Saori who were both eyeing him. Fumio darted his eyes back and forth, then bit into his lips. He slowly began to scribble into his notepad, then showing it to the two Ultimates. "Sorry about yesterday..."

Minori eyed the body broker who shook her head, sighing. "You don't have anything to apologize for."

Fumio hesitantly nodded his head and made his way to a corner. The pseudologist frowned as he looked at Saori. "He'll be fine, right?"

Saori pursed her lips. "Hopefully."

Minori could only hope before turning back to Seiga. "Kamui's not here yet," he began, crossing his arms. "Should we wait a little longer?"

"Just get him now," the stunt double replied, frowning. "He probably forgot."

 _Forgot? Did anyone other than me even told him to meet up here today?_ Minori couldn't help but wonder, then quickly shaking those thoughts aside and made his way out of the door. He quickly ran down the stairs and back into the dormitory, knocking hard on the door. A few seconds passed. A few more seconds passed, and then the door opened.

"Huh? Minori?" Kamui was rubbing his eyes. He seemed to have been taking a rest, a small yawn escaping his lips. "Is the party starting already?"

"Mhm." Minori crossed his arms as he watched the mortician for a brief moment. His heart was beating, and he shook his head. "Kamui, did anyone even remind you about the party today? Anyone other than me?"

Kamui's eyes widened, and he quickly averted his gaze. "N-no."

 _I knew it. I'm the only one who bothered reaching out to him these past few days._ The pseudologist sighed inwardly to himself, eyeing the mortician's nervous expression. Minori couldn't help but relax. He honestly couldn't allow himself to think about it. "Don't feel bad about it. It's fine. Let's go. The party can't start without you after all, Kamui."

Kamui nodded his head and closed the door behind him, the duo making their way back towards the party's location. As the duo were walking up the stairs the mortician couldn't help but frown. "Minori, did you ask Seiga about your idea?"

Minori turned to eye the man, nodding his head. The duo were just right in front of the gaming room. "Yes, I talked to him. We agreed to do it around the time when the party begins."

"Really? That's reassuring."

 _What's reassuring is to see you,_ Minori thought to himself, chuckling at the thought.

Kamui smiled as the pseudologist opened the door, the duo heading inside to meet the rest of the Ultimates. Though Minori could see the looks of anxiety emitting from some of the Ultimates, they didn't speak on his presence. The white-haired man dared them to anyways, almost glaring their way. Well, others, such as Kaniza and Seiga, openly welcomed the mortician with grins. Minori smiled at their friendliness, glancing at Kamui who bowed politely their way.

"Hmph," Kakuma simply scoffed and turned his head away.

Fuwari crossed her arms as she eyed the mortician. She still seemed doubtful of the man, but nonetheless she acted out of courtesy. "It's good to see you, Kamui."

"Glad you're finally here, fellow mortal!" Sheina held her chin high. "Now, let us commence this party!"

Saori nodded her head at the sight, and with everyone inside of the room present, the party will now officially begin. She looked to Seiga who began to laugh obnoxiously, throwing his hands up.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's settle some things out, first of all."

Seiga looked to the pseudologist who inwardly breathed to himself, forcing himself to still. _You can do this, Minori. You need to mediate this entire situation._ The pseudologist mentally counted inside of his head before stepping forward.

"Before we start, I want to speak."

The party will now officially begin, and no one will know what is to come.

* * *

Well, I don't know if you guys are relieved or disappointed that a murder didn't occur here... But fare not! The next chapter will be quite long and drawn out, so it may take a bit longer for me to finish it. I want to add on to the suspense as much as possible, and since the party's a huge event, I want to portray the events in the next chapter to the best of my abilities. I hope you will enjoy what is to come in the next chapter, for sure...

And, well, on that note, thank you for reading this chapter! I'll see you all next time! Au revoir~


	18. Chapter 2 - Part 1, Part E

Hello, and welcome! I'm sorry that it quite a while for this chapter to get out, but thanks to you all for being patient! This is where everything will start to crumble, after all. I want to make this as detailed and suspenseful as possible... So, with that out of the way... Let's do this!

 **KiibouMon:** "Haha, do I? Yes, well, here is that exact chapter you've been waiting for, my dear friend! I'm so glad you enjoyed Kakuma and Seiga's FTEs. Thank you so much!"

 **liammarklh88:** "Haha, lol. Yes, the murder will happen soon! Yes, Kamui needs some protection I swear! Kakuma definitely needed that break! Haha, glad you're loving Seiga! He's such a troublemaker~ Lol, let's all watch the clock ticking down to the murders of everyone here. Yes, the video game will have a significant role in this chapter... For sure... Glad I'm portraying Kaniza well! A tragedy that the world these characters are in is Danganronpa, huh? Haha, your theories are interesting, surely... Thanks! I love long chapters too!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "Haha, curiosity killed the cat, huh? Yeah, well, someone has to die sooner or later... Glad I portrayed Kakuma well in his FTE, and I'm glad you enjoyed Seiga's! Haha, surely, was the wait still fast to you here?"

 **ToonGuy:** "Yes, here we are yet again! Kamui is a genuinely good guy. Let us hope he'll be able to reconcile with everyone in the party! Amyto really is trying her best, poor girl. Haha, well, let's see what happens during the party... I'm glad Kakuma is growing on you! He is an interesting character, after all. Sleep is important, but they need to cook the food for the poor children! Haha, glad you're interested in Seiga's story. He's quite the interesting person, both during his childhood and now. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter then!"

 **Abitat Eco:** "No, no, you don't have to apologize! There is no need to apologize when you have your own life to lead! Haha, I'm glad you're enjoying this story and that you're reading through this! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter, and I'm honored to have you say that it felt like an actual Danganronpa game! Haha, yes, Minori will totally regret lying about his secret, for sure... Glad you're loving all the characters~ It's fine! Just do what you want to do! Haha, thank you kindly."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Yes, let us worry more and more as the chapters come by... Curiosity did kill the cat, but yes it is that very curiosity which may or may not cost them. Yes, the FTEs are quite interesting... Hm... Aw, well, let us hope we'll get to see more of Kakuma's backstory. And, well, yes, Seiga is always the energetic one. Glad you're enjoying Nezumi and Kaniza's dynamic! Haha, let's all root for them!"

 **RandomWriter197 (For previous reviews):** "No problem! I always love responding to anyone's reviews! I'm glad you liked the trial, and I hope you will continue to like what else I have in store!"

 **irwegwert:** "Haha, you're not late at all! Haha, I'm so sorry I'm stressing you out about the party though! The addition of another motive really is concerning, for sure... I'm glad you enjoyed the FTEs, especially Kakuma's and that you're growing fond of him! Well, Seiga is an interesting character. Poor Kamui, he needs more friends! Kaniza and Nezumi are the most adorable here~ No, you need to focus on your well-being!"

 **zephryr:** "No, you have to believe in Fumio! :( I'm glad you seem to enjoy the short interaction he had with Saori! Interesting on how you view Kaniza. I like your twist on her! Your theories on who will die and who will be killed are interesting. Haha, I love your reviews!"

* * *

The party had officially started, and there were things needed to be addressed.

Everyone seemed to come to a stop, eyes falling directly onto the pseudologist. Seiga and a few others understood exactly what the pseudologist wanted to say, however the rest were simply looking at him, questioning his motive. Minori despised the silence. The tense, tense atmosphere.

 _Minori, calm yourself._

"What's up, Minnie?" Amyto asked, curious as she blinked repeatedly.

Seiga threw a small smile, cracking his stiff neck as he slapped the pseudologist on the back. "Our dude here's gonna make some speech." He chuckled. "Let's all listen to what he's gotta say, yeah?"

"A speech?" Sagiso was interested, eyes perking up at those words. "What is it about, Minori?"

Minori smiled slightly, but then pursed his lips. "I want to speak to you all about the motives Monokuma had given us. The motive pertaining on our secrets and the video game he had sent through our MonoPads." The man crossed his arms, observing the expressions on his classmates. Those expressions were that of worry and fear. "Yes, I understand that speaking about such a topic is quite uncomfortable, but it is needed. With what had happened recently, we need to discuss about this."

Minori could hear his heart, beating and echoing into his ears. Sweat was trickling to his forehead. "We need to understand that what Monokuma is doing is to coerce us into killing one another. By threatening us with different means, he's forcing us to suspect one another when we are nothing more than mere teenagers. Sure, we are Ultimates, but those are only mere titles. At heart, we are teenagers who have been stripped of their youth, and Monokuma's to blame for that."

It was silent. "We've been forced to surrender to these feelings of doubt and fear. Monokuma's toying with us, and he had not only thrown us into a pit of fear with the threatening of our secrets, but he's trying to touch into what we long for the most- to be back home."

Minori then reached into his pocket and threw out his MonoPad, the device shown to the public. "The video game worked wonders to a lot of us. The game's purpose is to throw us further into despair and to cause another murder, however you must realize when and why this game had been released."

The pseudologist's voice began to raise. "You all must realize that he had thrown this game out only after I had established the idea of a 'secrets-telling gathering'. He had been forced into a corner, and the only thing he could do is to throw another motive our way." He clutched tightly into his device, frowning. "Don't you realize it? Monokuma's been thrown into a corner. He's desperate, and if we react to the game, we're only inching Monokuma further back into safety. If we ignore Monokuma's demands, then we'll be able to stop him. We need to not worry about the game and focus on ourselves. We need to focus on the others around us."

Minori took a deep breath, heat overwhelming his body. "We need to focus on maintaining this unity between us. Don't worry about a measly video game that means nothing but desperation from Monokuma. Let's focus on fighting against him instead."

Everyone was silent, eyes still directed to the pseudologist. The Ultimates were shocked, unable to say anything before a pair of hands began to touch each other. Applause. A small pair of hands was applauding Minori, and before he knew it everyone began to applaud him. People were whistling his way, cheering and agreeing with loud voices.

"Woo! You tell them, Minnie!" Amyto cried, yelling as loudly as she could, whistling. "Woohoo! You tell that damn bear who's boss!"

Minori's face instantly began to redden, and he quickly hid himself into his scarf. He couldn't even speak, instead stuttering as Seiga threw an arm over him. "Dude, that was amazing!" He said, ruffling his hair. "So inspirational!"

"To not focus on the motives and instead focus on others…" Fuwari crossed her arms, a small sigh escaping her breath. "I see. An interesting thought."

"Hm, it makes sense though," Ryoichi said, thinking to himself. "It would help mediate this tension in the air beforehand…"

Seiga whistled loudly into the air. "Fuck that damn Monokuma, am I right?! We aren't gonna fall for his shit any longer!"

The hypnotist grinned widely at the pseudologist. "Damn, I feel like I'm gonna fall in love with you!"

Sagiso smiled and made her way over to the white-haired man. "That was quite a speech, Minori," she began, speaking as Minori was able to release himself from Seiga's grip. "It's truly uplifting. It's a perfect way to relax the mindsets of the people here."

"I-I'm glad you think so," the pseudologist replied, chuckling with an embarrassed expression. "I just wanted to relax everyone, and I was hoping the party will help alongside my speech."

"It's a very thoughtful idea." The psychogeographer nodded. "And appreciated, truly."

Minori couldn't help but smile as he watched Sagiso leaving into the next room, possibly to rearrange the dishes at the table. The pseudologist was relieved that everyone seemed to be relaxing at the moment, murmuring and speaking to one another. He was merely glad he was able to speak his mind. Truly, he was glad.

"So, now that the party's officially starting, let's start off with the best event of the century!" The stunt double threw his arms out, attracting the attention of the Ultimates. His smile was wide and toothy. "Nezumi and I's awesome performance is going to start- now!"

He then stopped. "Well, once we get to the gym that is."

"Mr. Kosoku…" Ryoichi sighed, though he was sighing more out of amusement than anything else.

"Well, that isn't a problem, now is it?" Fuwari nodded to herself. "The gym isn't so far away. It is also logical that the performance will take place in such a spacious and wide area."

"Fiona's damn right about that!" The stunt double replied, laughing as he scratched his head. "Let's go! The night is just getting started guys!"

With Seiga leading the way alongside a somewhat nervous Nezumi, the group followed the duo out towards the gym. The stunt double slammed open the door and began to run inside with an excited expression. The Ultimates were conversing with one another, smiles and nods on their faces as they watched Seiga talking to Nezumi. Their classmates were anticipating this very performance. To say that the Ultimates were excited was an understatement. Their hearts were pounding, awaiting for that utmost best performance played since decades.

Saori was greeted by the stunt double who handed her a piece of paper. She nodded her head as she walked towards the control panel, her first pressing a button that changed the gym's seats into that of comfortable chairs. The Ultimates thanked the body broker as they took their seats, Minori sitting next to Kamui.

Seiga and Nezumi stood at the center of the stage, the lights having been shut off. Saori had pressed the button which had changed the court to that of a boxing ring. The duo's faces were shown live on the monitor.

"Alright!" Seiga yelled out, screaming as loudly as he could. "Who's ready to party?!"

Minori clapped his hands, smiling as the rest of the Ultimates began to cheer as well.

Seiga's smile widened. "Alright, and as you all may or may not know, I am the awesome Seiga Kosoku!"

The thief's eyes widened and he quickly bowed down. "A-and I'm Nezumi Jirokichi!"

Minori could see Amyto smirking at Kaniza, nudging her with a devious chuckle. "Isn't your 'Nezzy' adorable, Kaniza?" She said, giggling as she noticed the astrophotographer blushing in response. "Woo! You go!" The hypnotist clapped her hands and continued to cheer, leaving Kaniza red.

The stunt double clapped his hands together, winking at the hypnotist before his arms out, laughing loudly. "This one's for all you guys!"

And before the Ultimates knew it, the two performers began to move.

Music began to play. An exciting, adventure-filling soundtrack. Seiga jumped high into the air, twisting his body around from the left with Nezumi to the right. It was if there were two shooting stars crossing paths with one another, and once the duo met in the air, Nezumi quickly grabbed ahold of Seiga and threw him as high as he could, the stunt double now only a few inches away from touching the ceiling. The thief was falling to the ground, but before he landed he threw away his black cloak, spinning around like a top as he landed perfectly to the ground.

The cloak was thrown to Seiga, hiding him as the stunt double suddenly had a plentiful of party poppers in hands. A confident smirk escaped his lips as within seconds did they sounded off, him then falling perfectly to the ground as the cloak was caught by the thief. However, the moment the man had landed did the thief began to jump up, a sudden gun in his hands.

The gun was nothing more than a rifle-like water gun, but nonetheless were the Ultimates shocked. Minori almost wanted to choke until he realized the water inside of the tube.

"Evildoer!" The stunt double began, yelling angrily at the thief. "You need to repent for your actions!"

"I will never do that!" Nezumi cried as he landed perfectly on the top of the television box, gun continuing to point at the man. "Die!"

The gun shot, and Seiga gracefully dodged it, jumping to air. This, in turn, caused Nezumi to jump as well, the stage now changing as the duo glared at each other in mid-air. The audience could see the stage changing into an ice ring, the duo falling down as they stared at one another. Minutes passed as Nezumi was shooting at Seiga who, in return, continued to skate through the ring, doing axels and flips. The thief cursed underneath his breath, continuing to chase after him with the gun at hands.

"Hup!" Seiga suddenly jumped backwards, falling to Nezumi who flipped to the side. The stunt double and thief faced each other, Seiga grinning as Nezumi then jumped to the sky, the floor beginning to change the moment Seiga jumped.

The thief shot down at Seiga who dramatically spun around, dodging with a laugh. "Is that all?" He taunted, smirking confidently at Nezumi who then frowned in response.

The court changed to a volleyball court, the net being set as the duo landed perfectly on the top of the poles, Seiga on the right and Nezumi on the left. The music slowly came to a quiet piano as Nezumi began to speak. "You will never win," the thief said, crossing his arms. "For I am the overlord of this academy!" He threw his arms out, laughing as he reeled his head back. "Everyone here will bow down to me, for I am the ruler of this academy!"

Seiga gritted into his teeth, watching the thief who was laughing evilly. "You monster!"

"Evil?" Nezumi smirked.

 _Jesus Christ, this is scary._ Honestly, Minori wondered how Seiga was able to make the thief act so differently than he usually does. It honestly shocked him. He found himself looking to Saori who was scratching her head, trying her best to time each court change as best as she could. Minori inwardly chuckled. "You can do it Seiga!" He looked back as heard Amyto yelling from the sidelines. _Hmph._ He sighed, playfully grinning as he cheered the stunt double on.

The music crescendoed, intense as Nezumi began to laugh again. "You can't do anything!" He yelled, downgrading the stunt double who continued to stare at him. The thief then pointed his gun at the audience, waving it around. "The moment you think you have me, one of your friends here will die. And very painfully, if I might add."

Nezumi laughed again, Seiga then pursing his lips. He could hear them- his friends cheering him on. The Ultimates, his very friends, were cheering him on, begging for him to do something. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His heart was pounding, and his lips were quivering. It was then did he noticed where he was standing on, his lips then curving to a grin. He coyly crossed his arms. "You sound so confident there, but you cannot do anything with your cowardly act!"

"Huh?" The thief reeled his head back to Seiga, pointing his weapon back at the stunt double. "What do you mean?"

"We will never bow down to you, evildoer!"

The moment Seiga spoke did the ground rumble, Nezumi's eyes widening as the floor began to change. The stunt double took this time to loosen the knots on the pole, grabbing ahold of the net and jumping over to the thief who stumbled. Seiga threw the thief off-balance before then spinning around, tying Nezumi with the net. He then threw the man over to the opposite direction, the basketball court falling into place as Nezumi was thrown into the net- as if he were a basketball.

Seiga perfectly landed to the middle of the court, grinning as the thief had dropped the weapon. He spun it around happily as he then looked to the crowd, winking their way. He then tossed the fake weapon to the side and jumped up to the ring of the net, smiling at Nezumi who averted his gaze. It didn't take long before the thief gave up, sighing as Seiga unwrapped him. He grabbed ahold of the thief's hand and they jumped to the middle together, bowing down to the audience.

"Woo!" Kaniza smiled widely, the others joining in. "Nice job guys!"

Ryoichi whistled to the duo, Saori walking over to the sidelines and clapping her hands. Sheina and Fuwari were speaking to one another, amused as Amyto took the time to scream her love for the duo. Minori chuckled, applauding as he eyed Kamui. The mortician seemed content with the performance, his eyes sparkling in joy. "Good job!" Minori yelled as loudly as he could, Seiga smirking his way.

"Oh, right!" Seiga threw a hand up, silencing the crowd. "Nezumi has a very special announcement to make, so keep your ears peeled!"

Ryoichi turned to Rin. "Isn't that the wrong saying?"

Rin shrugged, eyeing Nezumi who took a step forward, face suddenly red. He was back to his usual, shy self.

 _No way..._ Minori's eyes widened, head turning to Amyto who nodded back. It was exactly what they anticipated, the pseudologist and hypnotist now excited for what's to come.

"Um..." Nezumi awkwardly cupped his hands, Seiga having clipped a mic near his lips. "T-thank you all for watching our performance. I really loved helping out with Seiga's stunt! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Haha, and well..." His face suddenly turned red. Red as a bright tomato. "I want... I want to bring Kaniza to the stage."

Sagiso looked to Kaniza, smiling her way. "Go."

"R-right!" Kaniza's cheeks blushed a pink hue as she walked down, moving towards the stage where Nezumi stood. She greeted Seiga who grinned her way, the stunt double moving to the side as she now stood side-by-side to the thief. She eyed him curiously as Nezumi turned towards her. "Um... Hey there, Nezzy!"

"H-hey." Nezumi continued to blush, but forced himself to continue. "I-I want to ask you something... That's, uh..." He stopped. His heart was pounding. Sweat was trickling from his forehead, stomach fluttering with butterflies inside. His head was beginning to heat and he averted his gaze. "I-I like you."

Silence.

"H-huh?"

Kaniza's face was fully red.

Nezumi's eyes widened, and he quickly threw his hands up. "U-uh! I like you?!"

The crowd was tense, their eyes directed on Kaniza who continued to blush. It was then did she slowly shook her head, slapping her cheeks. A small smile escaped her lips as she eyed the thief. "I never expected you to confess, especially with everyone here." She was playing with her locks of hair. "Geez, you're acting so brave now."

Nezumi averted his gaze, embarrassed as the astrophotographer giggled. He wasn't able to say anything until he suddenly felt arms wrapping around him. "H-huh?!" He found himself being hugged tightly by the woman. "K-K-Kaniza!"

Kaniza nuzzled herself against the man. "I like you too."

Nezumi's eyes widened, and before he knew it he found himself throwing his arms around the woman. A large smile was on his lips.

"Woohoo!" Amyto was clapping her hands, screaming as loudly as possible. "Don't I enjoy a good romance here!"

Ryoichi was stunned. "Wow... Ms. Tsukitaiyo accepted it..." He then smiled, proud for the thief.

Minori couldn't help but smile himself, suppressing the urge to scream out of joy. To see his two classmates look so joyous was merely a miracle to him. To see Kaniza and Nezumi together made him simply joyous. _I'm happy for them-_ that was all he could think of.

Seiga grinned as he walked to the pair of lovers, applauding. "You two look so cute together!"

"S-Seiga!" Nezumi quickly jumped to the side, embarrassed as the astrophotographer giggled. The thief then eyed the audience who were walking down to the stage, and nonetheless was he suddenly shy, hiding himself in his cloak.

"Naw, stop acting so shy! Seriously, you two look adorable." Amyto grinned, crossing her arms. She then threw an arm around Kaniza. "Good job for being the first to land a boyfriend here."

"Haha..." The astrophotographer awkwardly scratched her head, eyeing Sagiso who simply smiled to her way in acknowledgment. Her friend was genuinely proud of her.

"The Gods will bless upon you subjects with wealth!" Sheina confidently threw her hands to her hips, smirking. "Wealth and health, I tell you!"

Rin turned to the egyptologist's way. "Huh, they rhyme."

"We should throw another party then," Minori said, commenting with a playful tone. He couldn't help but be caught in the moment. "One for Nezumi and Kaniza's engagement."

"W-we're not even married!" The thief cried, blushing profusely.

Seiga grinned as he leaned to the Ultimate. "Yet~"

"S-Seiga!"

Everyone was talking happily, smiling at the pair of lovers. Nezumi and Kaniza couldn't help but meekly smile and shrug, accepting the attention they've now been given. Compliments and praise were thrown for minutes until Seiga announced that they can move now. Most of the people had left to eat, Nezumi and Kaniza following suit with the others. Minori and Kamui decided to stay behind, walking over to Seiga.

"Yo dude!" The stunt double greeted, winking at the man. "Whatcha think of the performance?"

"It was amazing." The pseudologist crossed his arms, smiling. "I'm surprised you and Nezumi have such flexibility and skill to commit such a daunting task."

"You think?" Seiga chuckled. "It's because we're awesome of course!" He then noticed Kamui who was standing besides the pseudologist, eyes then brightening. "Yo! I'm glad you're here!"

Kamui's eyes widened and he quickly looked away. "Y-yes."

Minori chuckled in return, then eyeing Amyto who walked over towards them. He bowed as a greeting, the woman acknowledging his response. "Hello, Minnie. Kamui. Seiga." She crossed her arms, a smile on her face. "Fuwari's asking around about something, and after hearing what she said Sheina and I wanted to help her out!" She giggled. "I'm not sure if you two would be willing to help though, since what she's planning is pretty..."

"Hm?" Minori frowned. "It's fine. Just ask. We'll see."

"Oh, okay!" The hypnotist grinned. "Fuwari's asking if you want to join her in a seance."

"A seance?" Kamui frowned, pondering on the thought. "Didn't Fiona said that the air around here is not appropiate to perform a seance?"

Amyto frowned, tilting her head. "Really? Is that how that works?" She then shrugged. "Well, don't worry about that. She's pretty confident now! She told us that she'll try to contact Ko and Asami! She said that those two might know something we don't, and, well..." She averted her gaze. "... So we can reunite. I mean, at least, for a few moments..."

Amyto then wiped her eyes, then looking back at the men. "O-oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to get all emotional! Haha." She chuckled as she then smiled. "I'd understand if you guys say no though, since, yeah, it's gonna be intense."

Minori bit into his lips. He understood completely what Amyto was talking about- seeing Asami and Haruko so suddenly would be emotional. His heart had already sunk the moment he heard their names, yet to see them? His head would ache.

"As much as I'd like to support Fuwari..." Kamui averted his gaze. "I don't think it'd be wise for me to be there."

Seiga frowned, stunned. "Huh? Why?"

"I mean..." Kamui shook his head, sighing. "It's nothing. Please don't mind me."

Amyto nodded, then looking to the stunt double and pseudologist. "How about you two?"

 _She seems to not care about Kamui at all..._ Minori couldn't help but wonder. He crossed his arms, taking a glimpse at Kamui. As much as he would want Kamui to join, he knew it would only pressure the mortician instead. He inwardly sighed. _Should I go? Should I join the seance?_ Minori thought to himself. Though his heart was in pain, to see Asami and Haruko for a second time- he would like nothing more than to personally showcase his feelings towards them. He would like nothing more than to show how he's grown as a person, as an Ultimate, and as a friend.

"Alright." Minori frowned. "I'll join. Thank you for offering us a chance to see Asami and Ko again, Amyto."

"Huh? Why're you thanking me?" The hypnotist smiled awkwardly, giggling. "Tell that to Fuwari! It was her idea!"

The white-haired man chuckled. "Ah, of course."

Amyto then turned to Seiga who winked towards her. He threw the woman a thumbs-up as he began to speak, confident and loud as always. "Yeah, let's do this! I'll go tell those two that I'm gonna defeat Monokuma and avenge them!"

The hypnotist laughed as she then reached up to high-five the stunt double. "You can do it, man!" She cried, nodding her head rapidly. She then sighed and crossed her arms, a determined expression on her face. "Well! I will now report your statements to my dear friend Fuwari!"

And within seconds did the hypnotist leave, the three men laughing as they waved her goodbye.

Seiga turned to the two other men.

"Alright, so who wants to eat?"

Minori and Kamui eyed one another, nodding as they followed the stunt double straight into the game room and towards the table of food. They took their plates and began to look through the table, drooling at the dishes laid out. Minori couldn't help but grab ahold tons of food, grabbing the ribeye steak, a couple of fried chicken wings, a salad on the side, a bowl of rice, and... He took more and more as time went by, and he sat down on a chair only to eat and eat, unaware that he had eaten more than about three plates full of food.

"Calm down Minnie!"

Minori laughed. He wasn't even close to eating his dessert yet. He was instead eyeing Fumio who seemed content with his food, especially concerning the various slices of cake at his plate. The pseudologist couldn't help but scoot over towards him, surprising the scholar whose face blushed. "I forgot you really adore sweets," the pseudologist began, trying to make small talk with the man.

Fumio averted his gaze and nodded his head, slowly biting into his food.

Minori chuckled. "Do you have a certain type of sweet that you love?"

The scholar shook his head, placing his platter down and writing into his notepad. "I love sweets in general. Thank you for asking though, Minori." He then stopped, averting his gaze. He slowly brought his pencil up again and scribbled. "... Um, thank you for reaching out to me yesterday. You and Saori went through such lengths to just speak to me, so I wanted to apologize for causing you two to sleep late."

The pseudologist smiled. "It's not only Saori and I who cares for you. We all care for you. I'm just happy to see you here."

Fumio blushed, then continuing to eat in silence.

Minori was still sitting happily in his chair. He was listening to the Ultimates around him speak. He could hear from the main game room that there were others playing, hearing the screams of Seiga and Sheina who were duking it out on a game of Mario Kart. He could hear a lot of the others cheer and curse at their games, and at one point he could hear a strangled cry escaped from Nezumi's throat.

"FUCK YES I GOT THE BLUE SHELL!"

"CURSE YOU SEIGA!"

 _Jesus Christ we act like kids. Yelling over a video game... Then again, Smash Brothers and Mario Party do break all relationships. Holy shit._ Minori wasn't at all frustrated however, instead listening to Saori's conversation with the others.

"You actually play the guitar?" Kaniza's eyes widened as she stared at the body broker.

Saori averted her gaze, nodding her head. Though she seemed calm and composed, the sudden attention the astrophotographer was giving her made her quite uneasy. She was subtly embarrassed. "Yes. I tend to play it from time to time."

"Wish I could play an instrument," Ryoichi said, nodding to himself in acknowledgment. "I only watch alien movies!"

The astrophotographer's smile widened. She definitely was interested in what Ryoichi said. "I'd happily watch some with you."

Ryoichi rolled his eyes playfully. "Watch some with Mr. Jirokichi!"

"R-Ryoichi!" Kaniza's face was now red.

Ryoichi grinned slyly at the astrophotographer before then looking at Rin and the others. "Do you play any instruments? Or do you watch alien movies like I do?"

Rin averted her gaze, shaking her head. "I don't play anything... Um, however, I do like to watch anime and read manga though."

"I tend to read myself." Kamui jumped into the conversation, but then his cheeks flushed a pink hue. "A-ah, I just read books though."

Minori chuckled, eyeing Kamui. He decided to butt into the conversation himself. "Yeah, I tend to read a lot as well. I mainly read manga though since my younger siblings always buy them. The most recent one I've read was-" He then stopped, face flushing. "Ah, nevermind."

"Hm? What it's called?" The astrophotographer eyed him curiously. "What is it? What is it?"

 _Ah shoot._ Minori awkwardly scratched his head. "Um, well, the manga I've read was called... Uh... _Last Game_."

Rin's eyes widened as she turned to the pseudologist. "That's a shoujo manga."

"Y-yeah..." Minori's face was red, voice stuttering. "I-I know. It's surprising, huh?"

"Shoujo, huh? Aw, I find that cute." Kaniza chuckled, a sly smile on her face. Her smile towards Minori definitely made him realize what he had done- he had done a grave mistake. "I should tell the other girls about this~"

 _Ah goddamn it. Whatever._ Minori inwardly rolled his eyes, now deciding to listen to the conversation instead of speaking. He listened to the group speak about many different things such as their hobbies, their thoughts on certain topics, etc. The mood did become slightly tense and aggressive at times, however mainly the atmosphere was fun-loving and relaxed. The Ultimates were just having fun, after all. They were relaxed and at peace, joyous.

Hours passed as Minori continued to hear screaming from the game room, Seiga still battling Amyto and the others. However, as hours passed, some of the Ultimates were beginning to grow tired and were in need, of course, sleep.

The first one to leave was Kakuma, only having been active two hours since the party had started. The wedding planner had stood up from his seat and made his way over to the door, then turning around to report. "I need to sleep," was all he said before he left the room.

Everyone waved him a good night's sleep before continuing to speak.

About half an hour had passed until Rin was yawning. She then decided to leave, rubbing her eyes as everyone happily told her to rest peacefully.

"I'm going to sleep," the jeweler said, reporting to the others.

"See you, my girl!" Amyto cried, laughing from the next room.

Rin waved. She did seem tired, so the group paid it little to no mind. Kakuma and Rin were both tired after all, so the party continued.

About three hours passed before Fumio let out an inaudible yawn. He wrote sleepily into his notepad and tugged to Minori's sleeve. "I need to sleep. I feel sleepy."

"Ah, I see." Minori smiled at the scholar. Honestly, he was merely glad that the scholar had been present at the party. He was merely relieved that Fumio stayed for more than a few hours. "Good night then. I'll see you tomorrow."

Fumio nodded, then noticing Saori who eyed him. She let out a small sigh (though it was mostly out of relief and care for the scholar) and began to speak. "Rest well."

He acknowledged everyone's words before leaving, closing the door behind him. The party, of course, continued.

A few more hours passed before everyone slowly, but surely began to grow tired. Minori's stomach was aching, but it wasn't a burden. The pseudologist walked over to the next room, eyeing Seiga who was now indulging himself in a game of Dance Dance Revolution with Ryoichi. The rest of the people inside of the room was cheering them on, some laughing such as Kaniza and Sagiso who murmuring to one another, watching the screen. Minori couldn't help but smile as the song began to fall, the movements now intense as Ryoichi found himself exhausted from the steps.

"Ha!" Seiga threw his hands to his hips, an overly confident smile on his face. It didn't even register to him that he was sweating, from top to bottom. He was definitely exhausted himself. "I gotcha, Ryo! Perfect score, as always! Woot-woot!"

"I-I shouldn't even be surprised..." The investigator murmured, shaking his head with a small smile. "Mr. Kosoku's stamina is outerworldly..."

Sagiso looked to Minori, then walking over to his way. "You seem quite relaxed."

Minori scratched his head, awkward. "Um, you too? I think it's a given considering we are in a party."

"Yeah, honestly." Sagiso let out a small smile, crossing her arms. "It's hard to imagine that we are still inside of a killing game. Honestly, it's thanks to not only Seiga, but you. Your speech really cheered everyone's spirits here. It's amazing what you can do if you try."

"You think?" The pseudologist suddenly found himself flustered. He looked around the room. Everyone did seem happy. They were having fun and were simply overwhelmed with joy. Yes, a jubliant cast he was a part of.

"Who wants to battle me next?"

Seiga looked at the other Ultimates, grinning. There was not a single trace of sweat on his body, at all.

Everyone eyed one another, rolling their eyes. Seiga felt a pat on the back, the man looking back to find Kaniza. "You really are a bundle of energy," she said, chuckling. "We seriously cannot catch up to you, at all."

"You're coming close there though," Fuwari said, her mysterious aura continuing to surround her.

"You think?" Kaniza scratched her head. "Well, I guess if I had to put it... Um, I'd say it's because I really like you all! You guys are really fun to be around, and I want nothing more than to see you all happy."

"Cute." Seiga chuckled. "I think we all feel the same way about one another though!"

"That's a given," Saori said, nodding her head.

"Yeah! So let's screw with whatever Monokuma does and do our own shit!" Seiga whistled loudly into the air, also laughing obnoxiously in the process. He then stopped and eyed the group, deadpanning. "But no seriously, does anyone wanna battle me?"

Ryoichi rolled his eyes. "Way to ruin the mood."

"As much as I, the Son of Osiris, would love to battle you, my fellow subject-" Sheina crossed her arms. "-I am conserving my energy for later, for the Gods have told me so! I am, instead, in the mood to eat a couple of cakes for now!"

The group watched the egyptologist leave to the next door, then eyeing one another and shrugging.

Nezumi let out a small yawn. "I'm kinda sleepy, so sorry Seiga. I'll just watch you."

"Nah, it's cool. It's not like I'm forcing you or anything." The stunt double grinned a toothy grin, then looking to the rest of the Ultimates. "You guys seriously don't wanna battle me anymore? We could have a karaoke battle then."

Amyto's eyes widened. "Wait, what?!"

"If I was the Ultimate Singer, I would, but..." Ryoichi frowned. "No thanks, Mr. Kosoku. I think I would be beaten by everyone here."

Sagiso shrugged. "It sounds like fun though." She eyed the stunt double who chuckled. "It'll help strengthen our bonds together, after all."

Fuwari tilted her head. "You think? I am... Well, I prefer to not partake in such a childish scheme."

"M-me neither." Kamui was embarrassed.

Seiga groaned. "Okay, fine, whoever wants to do it can join me. I'll just set up the machine." The stunt double walked over to the corner of the room, turning on the television and booting the microphones and stereo with the cables. It didn't take long before the game had been set, the menu screen popping out. Seiga grinned as he took ahold of the first microphone near him, the screen switching to a list of titles. He turned back to the group. "Who wants to go?"

Seiga looked around the room. It was silent. He frowned, but his lips then curved to a sly grin as he then looked at the pseudologist. "Minori, I choose you!"

"W-w-wha-?!" Minori's cheeks blushed a bright red. "B-but I can't sing!"

"I'd love to hear you sing," Sagiso said, now curious.

Ryoichi grinned playfully, lightly shoving the pseudologist closer to the stage. "Yeah, let's all volunteer Mr. Watanabe as tribute!"

Kaniza laughed, clapping her hands. "Yeah, you go Minnie!"

The pseudologist looked to someone for help, eyes landing to Fuwari. However, instead of the spirit medium helping him, instead she threw him a thumbs-up and nodded. She was definitely sneering at him.

 _Are you fucking serious right now?_ Minori was shocked. Everyone was turning against him. That sense of unity had been broken within seconds. No one had bothered to come to his defense. _Oh goddamn it guys!_

Minori was left with little to no choice as he was forced to the stage. He grabbed ahold of the microphone that Seiga handed to him, hands shaking. His face continued to pale every second the stunt double was scrolling down the list of songs. Minori begged for the Gods to save him, yet, he knew- it was impossible.

Seiga's eyes widened. "Oh! I didn't know this song was on here..."

The pseudologist deadpanned. He was looking at one of the song titles, the song being titled, 'Flashback'. It was a song composed by MIYAVI vs. KenKen. Minori was silent. The only reason why he even heard of that song was because of his younger siblings' taste for not only the song genre, but from the genre of anime the song came from.

 _Isn't this song hard to sing though? Especially at the end..._ Minori looked to Seiga, but was left in shock as the stunt double seemed more than happy to select that specific song. "Are you kidding me?" He murmured to himself, the song having been selected. He shot a look at Seiga who chuckled.

"Don't worry!" Seiga began, throwing the man a thumbs-up. "I got the first half of the song."

 _Huh? Wait a second... But that means my part's gonna be-_ Minori was left unable to counter Seiga as the stunt double had already began, the song having started immediately. The pseudologist was unable to speak, now hearing his classmates who cheered for the stunt double. Minori stayed silent. _Ugh, guess I have no choice._

Minori was silent as he listened to Seiga's voice. The stunt double seemed to put as much effort as he could into singing, energetic and quirky with his tone. He wasn't the best, but he wasn't the worst either. He simply put his own spin to the song, trying to read along to the lyrics. Minori knew that Seiga had a basic understanding of the lyrics, but he figured the stunt double didn't know the words by heart. Well, overall, Seiga was quite well at his job.

His classmates were dazzled and awed, after all. They weren't at all disgusted by his voice, instead the opposite. They were clapping along with smiles on their faces, Seiga adding a few dance moves as he sang along to the beat.

The song was beginning to change, Minori's heart pounding erratically. _Oh shoot. My part's about to come up._ He gripped tightly into his microphone, praying that he'll be fine. Seiga was continuing to sing, but Minori knew- the man had looked over to him, signaling his soon-to-be turn. Minori took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He could hear the beat beginning to slow, beginning to change. The beat was going to drop, and Minori inwardly slapped himself across the face. The moment the beat changed, Minori threw himself into a state of unconsciousness and began to sing.

"Don't stop..." Minori was singing, putting himself in a trance-like state. He tried to ignore the judgmental looks of his classmates, instead focusing on the screen. He didn't have to do though, having remembered the lyrics completely. He simply sang with his heart out, staring at the screen simply to comfort himself.

He simply remembered the times when his younger siblings would play the song on blast every morning, every afternoon, and every night. Minori would be forced to listen to the song even if he didn't want to. Even if he was busy tending to the chores or doing his homework, he was forced to hear that song. Everyday, he would hear that song, and unconsciously, he would remember it.

That was why he was able to sing so accurately, so perfectly. He continued to sing as the beat dropped, recalling Seiga singing in the background to help harmonize. The duo were singing, and within a minute did the song end, the room silent.

Minori was breathless. He found himself looking at the group, unaware that the duo got close to a perfect score. The television played a victorious tune as Minori awkwardly eyed the group. His face suddenly was a dark red color. "Uuh..."

It was then in an instant did the room began to be filled with applause.

"Oh my lord. Wow, he's actually pretty good," Ryoichi said, eyes widened and lips curved to a smile. "Is he secretly the Ultimate Singer or something?"

"His voice sounds so heavenly..." Kaniza murmured, awed.

Nezumi nodded. "Y-yeah. How do you even sing like that? It's like you're actually from a band!"

Amyto was clapping her hands as loudly as possible, whistling. "Woo! Can I say that you sound like an absolute God, Minnie? Jesus Christ! You're gonna make everyone in the room here fall for you!" She then raised a finger. "Oh! I get it! You want to get a harem, huh?!"

Minori immediately felt like shrinking, the attention now focused on him. He couldn't say anything as Seiga wrapped an arm around him, laughing. Everyone was complimenting his voice- how he sang to that of an angel, of an idol, etc. Minori couldn't care less however, his face entirely red and voice high-pitched and stuttering. He didn't know what to say, honestly.

"I definitely cannot sing now if we compare it to Minnie," the hypnotist said, laughing lightheartedly. "Haha, I'd feel inferior in comparison! Especially considering how well his and Seiga's voices blended in together."

Saori nodded. "Agreed."

Sagiso smiled to the pseudologist. "Yeah, I will definitely not sing now."

 _So I'm the only one who sang from you guys?! That is so not fair._ Minori didn't speak on it however, instead inwardly sighing to himself. Well, the reception wasn't bad, so he could consider his singing a success. He eyed Seiga who released his grip on him, the stunt double smiling widely. Minori smiled back as he then eyed Kamui. The mortician seemed to acknowledge his voice with a firm nod, Minori rolling his eyes playfully as he heard the others speak.

A few more hours passed as the group continued to play around, talking and playing video games. Some were watching movies as well, Minori figuring it out from Nezumi's shriek. The pseudologist decided to move back to where the food was, deciding to grab a couple of chocolate chip cookies. He bit greedily into them as the party continued to move.

The pseudologist was biting into a few more cookies before he noticed the lack of loudness from the next room. He peeked inside to find everyone beginning to speak more quietly, now obviously exhausted and tired. Seiga chuckled as he waved goodbye to a few people- those being Saori and Fuwari. Saori was simply tired, rubbing her eyes and yawning. In comparison, the spirit medium was going to prepare the seance, and so she left.

Since people were beginning to grow exhausted, Seiga called forth for a clean-up.

Sagiso and Kaniza helped one another throw the dishes away, Minori helping put down the decorations alongside Kamui and Seiga. Everyone was cleaning their mess, having brought their brooms and sponges. An hour passed before the room was halfway clean.

"So, Minnie," Amyto looked to the pseudologist, having grabbed ahold of a cup of water. She sipped into it. "You're going to Fuwari's seance with me and the others, right?"

Minori nodded. Honestly, he had almost forgotten about it. And, well, although he was tired, he figured he couldn't decline the offer now. "Yes," he said, nodding his head. "I'll be there as soon as she is prepared."

Amyto smiled. "Great! Honestly, I'm worried. To see Ko and Asami again? My heart's pounding!"

"Haha, same." Minori threw a piece of cloth to the trash. "Who else are joining us though?"

The hypnotist cupped her chin, humming. "Hm... Well, I already woke up Saori and Rin since they're supposed to come, but other than them... Sheina!"

"I see." Minori should've known, but he was nonetheless surprised that about half of the Ultimates decided to help out. The pseudologist couldn't even help but wonder. _Are they afraid of seeing those two again? Maybe they're... Maybe they're afraid of admitting to the fact that those two are...dead._

Minori bit into his lips, causing Amyto's brows to furrow. "Minnie? Are you alright?"

Minori's eyes widened. "Ah, I-I'm fine now. Thank you for asking."

The hypnotist eyed him strangely, but shrugged it off and left to finish her work, having thrown her cup to the plastic bag. Minori was left finishing his work, tidying the floor with a broom. There were a few pieces of crumbs here and there, but other than that, the floor was naturally tidy. Minori tied the trash bag and wiped the sweat from his forehead, throwing himself to a chair. _Okay, I am officially tired._

The pseudologist stared at the ceiling, in a daze. He was not only sleepy, but now exhausted. He did want to sleep, but strangely he knew he couldn't. From how lively the party was added to how much he ate, he knew that sleep would be quite a daunting task. It would take almost half an hour till he'd be able to fall asleep successfully, and even then did the urge to take a shower and tidy himself up was overwhelming him.

"Mr. Watanabe?"

Minori turned around to find Ryoichi eyeing him, the investigator holding a glass of fruit punch. "Hello, Ryoichi."

Ryoichi nodded in response, then walking over and handing the pseudologist the glass. "You should drink something. You look really exhausted."

The white-haired man eyed him for a moment beforfe taking ahold of the glass. He began to gulp the entire drink down before eyeing the investigator. "Aren't you tired as well?"

The investigator chuckled, a playful grin on his lips. "I'm fine now. I was able to run away from Mr. Kosoku's schemes, after all."

"I don't think he's the sole purpose of our exhaustion," the pseudologist said, a wry smile on his lips. He then stood up, wiping the dust from his clothes. "Well, thank you for the drink."

Ryoichi nodded before leaving, Minori taking a look around the room. It was tidy and clean now, and most of the Ultimates had disappeared already. He could still hear Ryoichi and Rin talking in the distance, and he could still see Amyto working on her craft of throwing trash bags over her back. He watched as the hypnotist left, then taunting for Seiga to chase her as the duo ran down all the way to what seemed to be to the dining hall. Minori sighed. Knowing that the party was now officially over and that a seance will soon start, his thoughts landed on Fuwari.

 _I should check if she's doing alright. She might need my help._

Minori began to walk outside of the game room, his thoughts set forth on checking on the spirit medium. He was making his way over to the gym, where the seance would officially start. However, the moment he took a step forward, his mind began to grow fuzzy. He found himself stumbling in his steps, his vision beginning to blur.

 _Huh?_

Minori's heart was racing. He didn't know why he was finding himself having trouble with his movements. He was wobbling, and he was staggering. He pursed his lips, and continued to take a few more steps. However, the moment he did that, his vision continued to blur. His head was aching.

 _What's happening? Why?_

The pseudologist found himself falling to the floor, pain overwhelming his entire body. He tried to stand back up, but his body was weak. He couldn't see. He couldn't move at all, his body screaming at him.

He wanted to cry for help, but instead he was forced into a state of slumber.

* * *

He didn't know when, but he woke up.

Minori could hear it- his heartbeat. He could hear his breathing. He could hear, and he could feel the coldness of the room touching his face. He was still alive, and he knew that for certain now.

However, he couldn't see. He couldn't scream.

Darkness was enveloping him, covering his eyes. Most likely, he had been blindfolded. That soft texture of cloth was touching the bridge of his nose, after all, so he could only assume he had been blindfolded.

And he tried to scream. He tried to cry for help, but he couldn't. Instead, his screams only came out as muffled cries and whimpers. He found himself biting into a ball of cloth, and the moment he tried to spit it out he realized another cloth had been used to tie around his mouth, keeping the ball locked in place. He had been gagged.

It didn't even help that his movements were restricted. His hands had been tied behind a sturdy iron pole, and the moment he tried to struggle against it he felt the knots digging into his wrists. His wrists were burning, pain creeping to the pseudologist. It was certain- his wrists would be overwhelmed with rope burns. It didn't help either that his feet were tied together as well. He couldn't move, at all.

 _What? Why?_ Minori's heart was racing. He was breathing into the gag, panting. His heart continued to race. Racing at a quick, erractic pace. _Why? Why am I tied up? Who did this? Why?_

Minori could feel tears beginning to form on the corner of his eyes, soaking the blindfold. He was helpless, and although as shameful as it was, he began to struggle and scream.

He tried to scream for help. He tried to loosen his bonds, but it was futile. It only led to his wrists becoming burnt and his body exhausted. He screamed. He screamed, yet his screams were muffled and weak. He lost ahold of his breath. _Ugh!_ He panted into the gag, trying to catch ahold of his breath.

No, everything was futile. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't do anything at all. He couldn't, and tears began to fall from his eyes.

 _Who's doing this to me?_ Minori was desperate, mind circling around and around. _Why are they doing this to me? Why me? Why me? Why?!_

Minori sobbed into the gag, unable to admit that reality was harsh. He didn't want to admit that death will come, sooner or later. His death seemed inevitable, and his thoughts continued to circle in a mantra.

 _I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die! Please, someone save me!_

And the moment Minori began to beg, the bell was ringing.

"Ahem!" A familiar voice. "My students, I have news for you! A body has been discovered! I repeat, a body has been discovered! Please head to the cafe in the second floor for further announcements!"

 _... Huh? Monokuma?_

Minori was paling.

 _No way. Someone's dead? Who's dead?_ As soon as the pseudologist began to worry for that person, his mind rolled back to himself. He fell into a frenzy, now screaming into his gag and struggling helplessly in his bonds. _No, what if they're not the only ones who's going to die? What if I'm next? Oh no. No, no, no... Please... Save me-!_

The door was slammed open.

"Hey, anyone here- M-Minori...?"

A few voices rang through the room. A few terrified, fearful voices.

"Holy shit. Minori!"

Footsteps ran towards the pseudologist. Minori was then thrown into fear as he tried to move back, a muffled scream escaping his lips. The pseudologist tried to struggle before a comforting hand then ruffled his hair.

"Minori, it's me!"

 _... Kamui?_

Minori found himself relaxing, heart continuing to pound as he felt a hand untying his blindfold. The cloth fell, the Ultimate now seeing the faces of Kamui and Seiga. He could briefly see the swimming pool from a distance. Minori's eyes widened, tears continuing to form near his eyes. It was then did the mortician quickly untied the gag around him, throwing the two cloths to the side. "You two..." The pseudologist began to cry silently, shaking his head. "Who died?"

"Died?" Kamui eyed him for a moment, then frowning as he untied the rest of the man's bonds. "I think... I think it was Fuwari."

"Huh?" Minori paled. "What you mean?"

Seiga shook his head, roughly grabbing ahold of the duo's hands. He was dragging them outside of the swimming pool. "Dude, just come with us and you'll see for yourself!"

Minori bit into his lips as he quickly followed the two men outside of the room. The duo had ran down the hallway for a second before the pseudologist felt a gush of hot air hitting his way. He was then thrown into shock as he laid eyes upon the culprit of the hot air. "W-what is this?"

The gymnasium was on fire.

The gymnasium was burning, hues of red, orange, and yellow to be seen corrupting the air. Smoke was beginning to flood the area, the Ultimates witnessing it backing off out of fear. Minori's heart sunk. "H-how...?"

The announcements sounded off, sirens being blared loudly as it could.

"Moving through, moving through!"

Minori's eyes widened as he looked back, finding Monokuma charging to the room with a large hose at hands. "Kids, haven't you ever listened to your parents when they say that catching things on fire is dangerous?!" Monokuma nagged the Ultimates before then throwing the gas mask to his face, readying the hose. "Well, whatever! You bastards watch and see how this shit's done!" A psychopathic grin escaped his snout. He aimed, and then fired.

The water began to splash to the gymnasium, slowly yet surely putting out the fire. While the fire was being set out, the bear had thrown gas masks to each of the Ultimates. Minori wore his as he watched the scene in horror, unable to comprehand what was happening.

"How?" The pseudologist asked, in disbelief.

Kamui shook his head, a pained expression on his face. "We... We don't know. When we came here, the gymnasium was already set ablaze."

"Shit..." Seiga clenched into his fists. "What's gonna happen to us if the school burns down? We'll just die with it!"

"Don't say that!"

"Hey, I think Monokuma's putting out the fire..."

The Ultimates watched as the fire was now finally put off, smoke now turning into a hot, humid mist. Monokuma took a deep breath and wiped the imaginary sweat from his forehead, crossing his arms for a job well done. "And that's how it's done, kids!" He yelled out, grinning at his students. "Now you're all safe!"

Minori held his breath. He was honestly shocked, and that was all.

"This... T-this has to do with Fiona's death, huh...?" Amyto was already in sobs, sniffling and choking. "Why? Why is she dead? Who would do such a horrible thing? Why kill someone so brutally like this?!"

"Why...?" Kaniza was crying. She was shaking her out of disbelief, in a frenzy. "I thought we weren't suppose to kill anymore!"

Kakuma was calm, a deep, long sigh escaping his breath. He then pursed into his lips as he eyed the headmaster. "Fiona... She's inside of the cafe, right?"

"Oh, ahem! Yup, right. Yup!" Monokuma chuckled. "Sorry about that. The fire here ruined the tension of the body discovery, huh?"

The wedding planner rolled his eyes. "Oh shut up. As if I care about the 'tension' of this situation."

Minori watched as the wedding planner headed his way towards the cafe, everyone else eyeing one another before slowly following suit. The pseudologist couldn't help but feel his insides churning, his heart beating. His mind had instantly rolled back to what he had said earlier-

 _-That the Ultimates shouldn't fall for Monokuma's scheme._

His speech didn't work. He wanted to motivate the Ultimates to rebel against the headmaster, yet it didn't work. Instead, it worked only temporary and at most only feigned a mask of happiness. Yes, his plan didn't work, and neither did Seiga's party.

It was merely a mask to reality. A lie.

The motives Monokuma had planted worked wonders against the Ultimates themselves. The headmaster would never allow such unity to occur, and the Ultimates had underestimated him yet again.

He knew what he was doing.

Monokuma seemed to notice the man's despair, the headmaster then chuckling. "Nice to see you're safe, kiddo. If I hadn't told these bastards here about your little predicament, you might've been dead by now!"

"Huh?" Minori couldn't retort back with anything. He could only feel his wrists which had been tainted with rope burns. He shuddered.

Monokuma continued to sneer. "Upupupu, why are you looking at me like that? Hm... Oh, I know! Ha, did you really think a speech will work, let alone a party? You children are so naive."

Minori bit into his lips. He wanted nothing more than to cry and apologize to everyone, yet instead a hand grabbed ahold of his shoulder. Kamui was eyeing him with a firm expression, then staring straight at Monokuma. "You won't win. We will definitely figure out who's controlling you and why you're doing this."

Monokuma laughed. "Try all you want, but you're not getting anywhere!" He continued to laugh, then stopped and eyed the duo. His expression was suddenly serious. "You two should check out the body. You better or else I'm gonna mark you tardy!"

The mortician glared at the headmaster before shaking his head. "Let's go."

Minori awkwardly nodded as he followed the mortician into the cafe. The moment the duo were inside of the cafe, however, they were met with horrified looks and paling faces. They were crowding around the dead body, and the duo couldn't see it.

"O-oh my god..." Rin was shaking, her entire face paling.

Minori could see Amyto sobbing loudly, Sagiso trying her best to comfort her despite the tears falling down her own eyes. The hypnotist was devastated.

Seiga was laughing a forced laugh. "What the hell? This is a fucking joke..."

Minori looked to Kamui who eyed him back, their hearts now pounding. They slowly eased their way into the crowd before suddenly smelling something rotten. Something burnt. Even through their own gas masks, they could smell it. The rotten odor of a burnt corpse.

The pseudologist wanted to choke, but he couldn't. Instead he found himself staring wide-eyed at the corpse. He found himself staring at the corpse in silence, face paling.

The body was greatly burned, skin swollen and charred black. Blood was flowing from the stomach, however it seemed like the body itself was bleeding. Bleeding straight from the charred, crispy body. The body was unrecongizable, and the Ultimates were only able to recognize whom the victim was by their beautiful long, curly black hair. Their poor, poor fearful, bloodshot bright green eyes. Their dark red lips were hanging slightly agape, as if to almost symbolize their agony and pain.

Those features. Those features were unique to one certain individual.

It was Fuwari Akatsuki, the Ultimate Spirit Medium.

Minori stumbled back, being overtaken with sudden distraught.

 _This can't be happening. This can't be happening!_

The pseudologist hugged his stomach, trying to force back the urge to scream. Everyone else had already fallen into despair, and if he were to do the same- he'd only make Monokuma proud.

Yet, the moment his eyes laid upon the spirit medium's tortured body, he felt like he was trapped.

 _Fuwari... What did she even do that deserved death?_

Minori recalled the times when he saw Fuwari. Though she was usually silent, she never onew threatened the unity of the group. If anything, she only deserved to keep peace within everyone.

Fuwari was someone who cared for people. Though she never showed it, she cared.

 _Is that why she deserved to die?_

Minori didn't know. All he could think about was that everyone, no matter how sweet or how kind a person may be, they would still die. Monokuma would not let them rest.

"Puhuhuhu! Yes, delve deeper into the depths of your misery! Delve deeper into despair, into agony because, yes- fucking finally did a murder occur! Upupupu!"

Everyone had been trapped inside of the cage Monokuma bounded them to.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Part 1 END**

 **Delving Into Misery**

 **Survivors: 13**

* * *

 **Would you like to save?**

 **[YES] | NO**

* * *

... And that's the end of this! Anyways, I'm sorry it took long to post this out! Life always turn against you at the worst time, after all. Haha, anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, whether or not it was certain parts of the party or the murder itself. I would say my personal favorite part would be the body discovery itself, well, because I do enjoy a good plot twist.

What sort of foreshadowing do you see in this chapter? Who seems suspicious and how did the murder plan out? Who do you think is the killer? Please tell me what you think and vote in the poll if you want! The investigation will come in the next chapter, so let us try to solve this mystery together! I'll try to write the next chapter as quickly as possible, and also please do check my Act of Despair SYOC if you haven't already! See you all soon!


	19. Chapter 2 - Part 2, Part A

Hello, and welcome to the official investigation of Chapter 2! I wrote like the entire half of this when I'm sleep-deprived, but I guess that shows my motivation in finishing this story and showcasing it to you all! I don't want to disappoint you all, after all. We need to figure out who killed Fuwari and find the killer, after all. Fuwari deserves justice!

 **liammarklh88:** "Yes, she did honestly deserve better! ): Everything about this case is unknown, to everyone. Haha, but isn't a little bit of tension good for you? I've always heard that a little stress is good for you. Glad that your ship is now canon, and now you have to wait for the other ships haha. Yes, why even kill someone as amazing as Fuwari? Haha, equality is best. Thank you for the kind words~"

 **zephryr (For both reviews):** "Hm, well I see why you would think that Fuwari could've been a killer. She does look the type. Your thoughts on what happened last chapter is really insightful and interesting, it's nice to see that you're thinking deeply about this case! A lot of things about this case are quite uncertain and questionable, and let's hope the investigation or trial will bring this case to light. Your suspects are interesting, and let's see if they change or not..."

 **ToonGuy:** "Haha, I love that you try not to see who is killed when reading a story. Hypocrisy at its finest, my dear Minori! I'm pretty sure a lot of people will riot if a favorite character is killed honestly. Sagiso is sort of a favorite to a lot of people here. Well, that's what Danganronpa does to you! It makes you think horribly when a couple is formed. A noteworthy quote from Amyto! Haha, this case does look particulary hard, but probably not. I don't know. Thank you for reading!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Yes, give yourself a high-five for the prediction! I would've thought arson would be used more in this fandom, but reading what you've said about it makes me feel like an odd duck for thinking that the Danganronpa fandom would regularly write about arson as a murder case in their SYOCs. Haha, glad you enjoyed the party! Thank you!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "Glad you were waiting for the last chapter to be updated! Don't worry, that's why we have the side story to put more depth into those who died! Yes, there are a lot of questions needed to be raise. I'm glad you enjoyed the party! Thank you!"

 **Agrael:** "I'm saddened as well. ): We can only hope that justice is served to her murderer, or not, it depends on what you think. She definitely did go through such a horrible death. Arson, urk. Haha, and yes, the confession was cute."

 **irwegwert:** "Well, I understand why people wouldn't think of her as the victim. She didn't get as much screentime as a lot of the others, after all. I'm glad you enjoyed the party, and yes it was hard to actually write it out fluidly and neatly! I'm just glad you enjoyed it. There will always be a lot of questions asked during a murder, and a trial and investigation. Let's just hope they'll all be answered. Haha, I am excited too when Minori's lie will be revealed."

 **Kukasabe Swift:** "No, it's fine! People are always busy with their lives, and they can't be spending all their time reviewing things, right? Yes, I do want to give Fumio screentime. It is important that there are as many reactions as possible towards a traumatic event, especially in terms of realism. I want to portray every character as well as possible, and I'm glad I'm doing Seiga justice! Nezumi is an adorable one, that one, especially with his confession to Kaniza. Don't worry, we'll probably get more insight on Fuwari soon! ... Soon. Haha, thanks!"

 **Tario Ed:** "Yes, everything is suspicious. It's good to be suspicious of everything and everyone. And thank you for the encouragement! It means a lot to me!"

* * *

Minori held his breath, unable to take another look at the burnt corpse of the woman named Fuwari. The poor, poor woman who had died- and for what? She never deserved to die. No one deserved to die, and Minori knew that.

However, the pseudologist knew that Monokuma didn't care. The bear held no regard for humanity altogether, and that was obvious from the way he was speaking, the way he was disregarding the emotions of the Ultimates.

"Fuck, you guys took so long to kill someone!" Monokuma threw his paws to the air, laughing maniacally. "Like fucking seriously, why did you guys even have to stall time by playing 'hooky' with one another?!"

"Shut the hell up!" Before anyone knew it, Seiga had grabbed Monokuma by the head. He had forced the headmaster to the air, eyes glaring into Monokuma's in pure anger. Pure hatred. "Is this a fucking game to you?!"

"And why do you care?" The headmaster was chuckling. "Don't you consider this a game too? Playing 'hero' and all that shit?"

Seiga bit into his lips. He wanted to counter the headmaster's words, but he couldn't. He was correct, and the stunt double was left dropping Monokuma to the ground. "Damn it..."

"Let's..." Nezumi rubbed his eyes, sniffling. "We should...investigate..."

"We have no choice, huh?" Ryoichi was shaking his head sadly. "If we don't do this, we'll all die..."

"G-guys!" Kaniza's mouth stood agape. A shaky breath escaped her mouth before she then threw a glare at the bear. "Monokuma, you... You're going to pay for this."

"You think? Well, anyways, I'm glad you all are starting to take this killing game more seriously." Monokuma threw his paws behind his back, a sudden dark glint in his red eye. A serious tone escaped his mouth as he stared at the group of Ultimates. He grinned. "Seeing you all looking so determined to fight for your lives, and defeated that you can't fight me... Upupupu! I love this despair!"

Kakuma shook his head. "Shut up and leave. We have no time to waste with the investigation."

"Wow, you guys are sooo eager." Monokuma giggled. "But! But, but, but- I have something I want to announce!" He cleared his throat and spun around, almost trying to stall for time. A dramatized scene. "Ever since the fire happened, everything inside of the gym had been burnt to pieces! However! Since the contents of what's inside the gym is important for your investigation, I've made an exact replica of the crime scene before the murder. So when you all go inside of the gym, you'll all be able to investigate perfectly and happily to your content! I've replicated it as perfectly as I could, so you all better thank me!"

Saori turned to the side, sighing. "I would rather not, thank you very much."

Monokuma frowned. "Okay, rather than what I said before, everyone's becoming more snarky towards me. What the hell." He then rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll let you all get to it! Chop, chop!"

And, to everyone's joy, the headmaster had disappeared. However, the symbolization of his disappearance would mean the soon-to-be start of another horrible, horrible trial.

Rin awkwardly eyed the room, however she did her best to ignore the corpse. She didn't want to see Fuwari's body, at all. "... I suppose we need to investigate..."

"Who would dare kill someone?" Kaniza bit harshly into her lips. "We're supposed to live together..."

Kakuma frowned as he cupped his chin. "Who's going to check the body?"

He spoke harshly and bluntly, but it needed to be said. A case cannot be solved without looking at the body itself.

Kamui averted his gaze. As much as he wanted to help everyone, he knew that they would deny his services. He simply stood still in silence.

Saori seemed to have noticed the mortician's gaze, but he was silent. She frowned, almost annoyed at Kamui's lack of assertion as she held her breath. "I'll do it. I just need to check if the file gave us aligns with the body, right?"

Ryoichi's eyes widened and he reached into his pockets, searching for the MonoPad. "Ah, right, the file..."

Everyone began to search themselves for their MonoPads. Minori simply stood by idly, silent. He honestly didn't feel like investigating. It wasn't as if he hated Fuwari or anything, but rather that he hated playing straight into the headmaster's paws. He was also tired, and his heart was still beating at a quick pace. A quick, erratic pace that tickled his senses. An erratic pace which reminded him that, he, himself, could've been killed.

 _But why does Fuwari have to die? Why does anyone have to die? All for Monokuma's damn game?_

Minori wanted to punch something at the moment. He hated it. After he had tried to rally the Ultimates against him. After Seiga had planned the party so meticulously... Nothing was working. Monokuma knew everything, and that was frustrating in itself. He knew everything there was to know about the Ultimates, and he knew everything behind what Minori does. Monokuma was almost, almost like a God in that perspective.

 _Damn it. I should've been much more assertive-! Maybe if I wasn't so self-conscious about myself, then maybe I could've-_

"Minori?"

Minori's eyes widened, having been snapped back to reality. He whipped his head around to find Kamui eyeing him worriedly, lips curved into a frown. The pseudologist's face paled and he quickly masked a look of bafflement. "Kamui? Is there something wrong?"

Kamui bit into his lips. "... No..."

"I see." Minori inwardly sighed to himself, relieved. If anything, he didn't want to worry anyone at all, especially to Kamui. He needed to stay calm and move forward. If he could lie about his own secret, then he could lie to himself. He was fine. "We should investigate now, huh?"

The mortician wanted to speak, but he was left silent as he nodded his head.

* * *

 **Investigation Start!**

* * *

Minori decided to check into the MonoPad, opening it to reveal the truth bullets. He clicked onto the application as he looked to the Case File, reading it to himself. He stopped.

 _Okay... So Fuwari didn't die by her burns?_ Minori couldn't help but bite into his lips. To think that the woman could survive her horrible, horrible state of burning- that was painful, no matter what someone might say. It was definitely a gruesome thing. _She died by bleeding out... So someone killed her. She wasn't burnt to death._

The pseudologist let out a shaky breath, forcing himself to look at the corpse. At the moment, Saori was observing each side from head to toe. Honestly, Minori could never understand how Saori could handle herself so easily, but at the same time it did make sense because of her talent. People with such talents such as Kamui's and Saori's- they were admirable. The man had to even wonder if he could mask his own reactions towards a dead body.

 _Probably not. Well, anyways, I should ask Saori for her autopsy report when she's done. For now, I'll trust what the file in the MonoPad says._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #001 - Case File 02**

 **Summary: The victim to be found dead was Fuwari Akatsuki. She had died around 6:30 AM inside of the cafe. The cause of her death was a fatal stab wound to her stomach** **. Her body temperature had been high a few minutes before her death as well as her body going through nonstop bleeding, as a cause of her burns.**

* * *

Still, reading through what had happened with the spirit medium, Minori couldn't help but shudder. He quickly shoved the thought away as he looked over to Kamui, the mortician's face pale. The pseudologist worried over the man before he had noticed him, Kamui's eyes widening. "Oh, Minori, did you check the case file? What happened to Fiona... It's truly horrible..."

"Yeah, it is..." Minori crossed his arms. "Who would do such a thing?"

The mortician shook his head sadly. He then pursed his lips as he looked back at Minori. "Do you think the person who killed Fiona was the one who tied you up?"

Minori shuddered at those words. "I believe so, but the possibility of there being an accomplice or my case having been a delayed murder isn't too far fetched."

He couldn't believe he said that. To think that he could've been killed- he almost wanted to vomit. Instead, he didn't and decided to ask Kamui a question. "You and Seiga found me in the swimming pool, but you two only found me because of Monokuma, right? Why did he tell you where I was?"

The mortician frowned. "He told us that for an investigation to occur that everyone must be present at the crime scene. Since you aren't dead, as he said, you need to be present." He then put his arms to his hips. "He also mentioned that everyone should be present for the 'big event'."

"Oh. Right." Minori deadpanned. "He means the part where he put out the fire, right?"

"I believe so." The man shrugged. "However, I do believe Monokuma told Seiga and I where you were simply because of the investigation. I don't think he's lying about that."

Minori nodded. "I see."

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #002 - Monokuma**

 **Summary: Monokuma had told Kamui and Seiga about where Minori was because he needed everyone to be present at the crime scene. There seemed to be no other reason besides that and 'being present for the main event'.**

* * *

Kamui then frowned, thinking for a moment. "I'm still not sure if Monokuma replicated the scene at the gym perfectly though. Isn't it difficult to create something, especially to recreate a crime scene? It takes hours and tons of analysis for the police to do so, yet Monokuma said he did it within this short of a time span? I would take what's found inside the gym with a grain of salt."

"You do have a point." Minori understood exactly what the man was talking about. "Well, we can investigate the gym later. We need to see if there is anything suspicious inside of this place. Most of us are here as well, so we should ask around for alibis and testimonies, also with Saori's autopsy report."

"Oh, that's correct." The mortician nodded.

Minori smiled as he decided, for the moment, that they should ask around for alibis and testimonies. Although some of the Ultimates were not currently inside of the cafe, a handful of them were. The pseudologist decided to move to the person closest to him, and that was Fumio. However, the man didn't decide to talk to him simply because of the investigation, but rather he was also worried.

"Fumio, are you alright?" The pseudologist then shook his head. "S-sorry, that wasn't an appropiate question. Are you fine staying here? I can help you to your room."

The scholar shook his head slowly. Although he looked exhausted (even more so than Minori), he moved his hand. "I'll be fine. I just need some time to rest before I can help out with the investigation."

"You sure?" Minori raised a brow. "You don't have to push yourself."

Fumio shook his head for a second time. "I'm fine. Did you want to ask me something, Minori?"

The pseudologist's eyes widened. Honestly, he would rather wait for a while for Fumio's testimony if the scholar looked this pale, but with the sudden question the man had no choice. "Oh, right. I wanted to ask for your alibi, that's all. I want to ask where were you during the time before the murder, during, and etc. Anything that'll help with the case."

"I see." Fumio scribbled into the notepad. "Like I told you before, I was going to sleep. I think it was halfway through three in the morning when I left the party? I just went to my room and slept until the body discovery announcement woke me up."

"Well, you really can't create a concrete alibi for that..." The pseudologist cupped his chin, then nodding. "Alright, thank you. Is there anything else you want to add?"

The scholar thought for a moment, thinking and pondering. "Sorry. I don't think I can provide you with anything useful. I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine!" Minori awkwardly scratched his head. "Thank you for answering my questions though, Fumio."

The scholar averted his gaze, cheeks flushing as he moved to the side. At the moment the pseudologist decided to take a look at the truth bullet that had been formed at the moment.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #003 - Fumio's Alibi**

 **Summary: Fumio had been sleeping the entire time since 3:30 AM till the body discovery announcement. He has no one to testify for the integrity of his alibi.**

* * *

Minori couldn't help but creep a small smile, taking another look at his truth bullet. _I doubt Fumio would lie about sleeping, especially if he looks like he just woken up from a horrible nightmare. Hm, actually, now that I think about it... A few of us left the party early. I should ask those guys- Kakuma and Rin... Oh, Saori also left the party to sleep from what Amyto told me. I need to ask her too._

The pseudologist sighed, shaking his head. He looked around the room, thinking for a moment. Kamui was helping, asking around the room as well. The pseudologist decided to continue, moving to Rin who was scanning the floor. "Hello, Rin," he began, trying to get her attention.

"Minori." Rin's eyes widened as she quickly looked up at him. "I didn't see you there. Sorry, I was checking the area for evidence."

"Yeah, I could tell you were busy investigating." Minori chuckled. "Can I ask you a few questions?"

Rin nodded. "You want to ask for my alibi, correct?" She placed a finger to her lips. "I wanted to go to sleep around 12:30 midnight, and so I went downstairs and into my room to sleep. I don't exactly have an alibi... All I can say was that I was sleeping until Amyto woke me up."

Minori frowned. "Oh, because of the seance, right?"

"Mhm." The jeweler crossed her arms. "... Oh, I guess Amyto could testify for my alibi. She was the one who woke me up, after all."

"I see." The pseudologist nodded to himself. "Were you with Amyto the entire time after she woke you up?"

"Huh?" Rin raised a brow, as if she was caught off-guard. "Um, well, I think I was hanging inside of the game room with the others to clean. I don't remember much other than that."

Minori smiled. "That's fine. Your input is very helpful."

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #003 (UPDATED) - The Sleeping's Alibis**

 **Summary:** **Fumio had been sleeping the entire time since 3:30 AM till the body discovery announcement. He has no one to testify for the integrity of his alibi. Rin had been sleeping about 12:30 till she was woken up by Amyto.**

* * *

Rin nodded back in response, simply going back to her work. In the meantime, Minori pondered to himself. _I should make sure Rin isn't lying by talking to Amyto. It's good to be cautious, after all._

Minori looked around the room before he noticed Kamui walking towards him. The mortician began to speak. "I talked to Seiga and Nezumi. They didn't find anything suspicious or off during the party or murder. They were at the party the whole time, however I think we need to check the gym first before crossing them off the list for possible suspects."

The pseudologist's eyes widened. "Huh? Why?"

"Seiga was the one who hosted the party in the first place, and Nezumi was the one who helped him with the stunt." Kamui bit into his lips. "Despite how trustful they can look, we do not know for sure if they did something before or during their performance."

Minori frowned. "Wait, are you saying that their performance could've been a mask for the murder?"

"It's a possibility we can't overlook. We need to eliminate all possibilities and look for new ones, no matter how... disgusting it sounds." The mortician averted his gaze. "If we are not suspicious of one another, we cannot find the true culprit of this case. If we aren't suspicious of Seiga and Nezumi, then the murder might be pinned on them."

"That's... an odd way of putting it." Minori awkwardly smiled, trying to ease the mortician's expression. He then crossed his arms, confident. "But I know what you're trying to say. In order to trust them, we have to be suspicious of them, which would then allow us to cross off all possibilties of them committing the murder."

The other man was shocked. "Y... Yeah."

 _So Seiga and Nezumi would be the most suspicious in this case... If I could prove that they didn't do something during or before the performance, then they'd be cleared off of suspicion!_ Minori nodded to himself. He trusted Seiga and Nezumi. Honestly, he trusted everyone, but Kamui was right. For the sake of surviving, for the sake of the trial, they had to survive through this sort of method.

"But wait." Minori crossed his arms, suddenly stern. "The case of Fuwari's death wasn't from the burning, but rather, from a stab wound. I don't think they would've planned a murder this loosely, especially if they've been trying to perfect their performance for days now. Don't you think there could be two seperate killers for Fuwari?"

Kamui nodded his head slowly. "That's... Yes, that's a possibility. We still have to figure out who's your specific 'culprit'."

The pseudologist took a deep breath. He honestly didn't want to speak about that, and he found a perfectly valid excuse once he saw the body broker standing back from her position. "We can worry about that later. I think we should ask Saori for the report now."

The mortician looked back as well, then nodding. "Of course."

The duo walked towards the body broker, the woman eyeing them with an acknowledging nod. Saori was the first to speak, crossing her arms. "You came here for the report, right? Well, what Monokuma said from the case file is accurate. He didn't lie about a thing, though considering Fuwari's state... It was a bit hard to investigate her body closely. All I could deduce was that she had been burning before the stab wound, as her stomach is the only part which is still bleeding as of yet. She had been burnt from top to bottom, so making a completely accurate report of her..."

"I see." Kamui crossed his arms. "That should be fine though. We just needed to make sure that Monokuma isn't hiding anything from us."

"Hm." Saori nodded her head. She then looked down to the side of Fuwari's body, gesturing the duo to the bloody knife at the ground. "That's the murder weapon. I found it hidden under Fuwari's body."

"Oh, so that's where the murder weapon was. I was wondering if the killer hid it somewhere." Minori took a look at the weapon. It was a simple cooking knife. The knife which could be found easily inside of the cafe, inside of the cabinets. An easily accessible tool.

Minori pursed his lips, deciding to ignore that thought. Instead, another thought escaped his mind. He quickly looked back at the body broker. "Saori, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Saori eyed the man for a moment. "You don't have to always ask. Questions are needed in an investigation, you know?"

"Ah, right." The pseudologist awkwardly fiddled with his scarf. "Um, well, I've been meaning to ask you around what time you had left the party to sleep. Amyto told me that you went off to sleep at the party."

"I didn't tell you? Strange..." Saori cupped her chin, then frowning. "I think I felt sleepy around five. All I remember was that after eating a few more snacks I felt a bit sleepy, so I decided to go to sleep. I definitely know that I went to sleep around five. Amyto woke me up later to help clean the party and to also attend the seance."

Minori nodded. "Okay, and you were inside the game room the entire time to clean, right?"

"Yes." The body broker crossed her arms.

The man mentally noted her words inside of his head. "Okay, then can I ask if you saw Rin the entire time throughout that specific time?"

Saori frowned. "Rin? She was helping around with Seiga and the others. I think she left for a moment to take out the trash downstairs though."

"I see." The pseudologist nodded to himself. _Okay, what else should I ask? Is there anything I'm missing?_ Minori tried his hardest to think, but exhaustion still kicked him in the face. The man was drawing at a blank, and before the pseudologist could conclude his discussion with Saori was over, the mortician stepped in.

"Saori," Kamui began, speaking in his usual polite voice. "I also want to ask you a question."

Saori's eyes widened. "Yeah?"

The mortician continued. "Before Seiga and Nezumi did their performance, Seiga was the one who gave you the instructions on how to change the gym, right?"

Minori was shocked. He had completely forgotten about that. Saori simply nodded her head in response, unaware of the pseudologist's shock. "I was. Seiga told me that the instructions should be easy enough for me to handle. I guess he figured I was the most reliable one at that job? I'm not too sure why."

"Did you know how to control the gym though?"

Saori shook her head. "I've honestly never had the time to investigate it. I was busy preparing the schedule for the party during that time."

Kamui cupped his chin, thinking and pondering. "I suppose Seiga entrusted you with the job because you were one of only ones who helped him with the party?"

"That could be the case. We'd need to ask him." The body broker then reached into her pocket, taking out a crumpled sheet of paper. She then uncrumpled it and handed the paper to the mortician. "Here, I have the instructions listed out. I thought Seiga might need it again for future references, but I think you two need it more."

Kamui smiled. "Yes." He bowed his head down. "Thank you kindly, Saori."

Saori simply hummed her acknowledgment, turning away from the duo and eyeing Fuwari's body. Although she hadn't told anyone, it was obvious that the woman would be guarding the body. She did notice that the others around her would be asking anyways, and so she stood idle in the process.

Minori took the time to look at his MonoPad, hearing a couple of rings from the device. _Okay, that's a lot of shit to take in... Let's see..._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #003 (UPDATED) - The Sleeping's Alibis**

 **Summary:** **Fumio had been sleeping the entire time since 3:30 AM till the body discovery announcement. He has no one to testify for the integrity of his alibi. Rin had been sleeping about 12:30 till she was woken up by Amyto.** **Saori had decided to go to sleep around five, but she was woken up by Amyto to clean the party and attend Fuwari's seance.**

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #004 - Saori's Autopsy Report**

 **Summary: Compared to the Case File, Saori said that Fuwari had died the same way as told in the file.**

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #005 - Knife**

 **Summary: A cooking knife was hidden under Fuwari's body. It is bloody and is the cause for the stab wound on the spirit mediun's body.**

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #006 - Saori's Alibi**

 **Summary: During the time after the party, Saori was inside of the game room with the others to clean, but she mentioned that Rin had left the room to take out the trash.**

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #007 - Instructions**

 **Summary: Seiga had given Saori the instructions on how to operate the gym and at what time during the performance. The handwriting is definitely from Seiga's, and what reads as follows:**

 **'One: Turn the switch from the upper left. That changes the seating in the gym. The stage should be a basketball court, but if not just click the red button! ...**

 **Two: Turn off the lights (it should be the one that has the 'off' and 'on' button!) and press the yellow button! ...**

 **Three: When we are midair (after Nezumi talks), press the green button! ...**

 **Four: Press the orange button when I jump the opposite direction from Nezumi! ...**

 **Five: When I throw Nezumi, the court should change. Press the yellow button!'.**

* * *

Minori couldn't help but hold his head, unable to comprehand what the list was saying. He had forgotten almost everything about the control panel. "I forgot that there were so many different options to choose from inside of the gym..."

"I agree. From these instructions alone, it is difficult to understand just how many different buttons are there." Kamui's eyes were widened. "I'm surprised Monokuma has an arsenal of different stages."

"Stages and seating, that is," the pseudologist corrected, laughing sarcastically.

Kamui rolled his eyes in return, but shook his head. "Do you think the murderer knew about the controls? Maybe they did something..."

"A setup?" Minori frowned. "We need to check the gym in order to know that, but the only people who'd know about the control pad from my memory would be Seiga, Ryoichi, Saori, and I."

Kamui nodded. "I see. I doubt many would bother to learn the controls of the gym anyways. Would Nezumi count in that case?"

"He was the one who helped Seiga with the performance, so I'm assuming he would know." Minori then crossed his arms. "We have to ask him."

The duo, having the same thought, walked over towards the thief and stunt double. Nezumi was speaking quietly to Seiga who was humming dramatically, staring hard at the different types of knives inside of the left cabinet.

"Hello, sorry to be of bother to you two again," the mortician began, gaining the duo's attention, "but I want to ask you another question."

Seiga was the first to respond, lips curving to a wide smile. "Anything you have, we can answer!"

Minori chuckled. "We know that you knew much about the control panel in the gym, but..." He turned to Nezumi. "Did you have a good grasp of the controls too, Nezumi? We're trying to see who knows how to control the gym and who doesn't."

"O-oh, I see... Well, all I know from what Seiga told me is that only a few people know of the control pad. Him, Ryoichi, you, and um... Right now, Saori too?"

Seiga grinned widely. "Yup, yup, that's right! I'm sure of it!"

Nezumi nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, me too. Well... Hm, yeah, since we were going to utilize the gym's mechanisms to our advantage, we had to think about which stages to use and at what point. So, I think I have a pretty good grasp of which button does what..." He then awkwardly laughed, suddenly nervous. "Um, is that bad?"

The pseudologist shook his head. "You are only under suspicion, but like in every trial and murder- everyone is under suspicion, not only you."

"But still..." Nezumi bit into his lips. He was averting his gaze, fiddling with his fingers. "Seiga and I are being suspected of killing poor Fiona because we did the performance... We're innocent."

"Don't worry about that." Kamui nodded his head, confident. He was looking at the thief. "If you are innocent, you will be cleared of suspicion."

"Hm, but we are the primary suspects." Seiga frowned. "It's crazy! A hero and his sidekick would never do some horrible shit like kill someone!"

Minori simply raised his brows in acknowledgment, gesturing to Kamui to move. The duo began to walk away from the two men. _Well, we'll see if they're truly guilty or not later._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #008 - Knew of the Control Panel**

 **Summary: The people who knew how to control the gym are Saori (only from Seiga's note), Seiga, Minori, Ryoichi, and Nezumi.**

* * *

Kamui eyed the pseudologist. "Are we done here?"

"Mhm. We know that Fuwari had been stabbed as the cause for her death, and we asked everyone around here for their alibi." Minori crossed his arms. "Next, we should investigate the gym itself."

The mortician nodded. "I agree. Let's go."

The duo headed outside of the cafe, making their way to the gymnasium which was open. Open, and it showed a completely clean and pristine room. It had been perfectly recreated, the crime scene perfectly replicated (or so the duo would hope).

Luckily, the gym wasn't at all too humid. If anything, the duo could deduce that Monokuma made the temperature drop in order for the investigation to run smoothly. Minori could still feel sweat trickling from his forehead, but it wasn't much. Honestly, they would thank the headmaster if not for the situation, but the duo walked inside anyways.

The first thing the duo noticed was the setting. Usually, the gym would showcase nothing more than a basketball court and a typical high school seating, but this wasn't the case. Instead, the setting was entirely different. The court was a volleyball court instead of a basketball court, and that was obvious from the net that had been set up. The seating around the gym was not that of benches nor chairs, but rather the jacuzzis themselves.

"Why is the gym set up like this?" Kamui asked, cupping his chin. "The jacuzzis and the volleyball court... It wasn't like this when the performance finished, correct?"

Minori shook his head, doubtful. "No, the last part of the performance included the use of the basketball court. Besides, we never once changed the seating throughout the entire performance and afterwards."

 _Hm, then does that mean someone snuck out of the party and changed it when no one was looking?_

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #009 - Setup of Gym**

 **Summary: After the performance was done, the gym was set up to the basketball court and the longue chairs. However, the crime scene shows that the setup was changed to that of the volleyball court and jacuzzis. Minori suspects that somebody must've set it up during the time of the party.**

* * *

Minori hummed to himself, pondering. It was then did he walk over to the control panel, eyes widening to find that the panel was completely destroyed. It wasn't destroyed by accident, but with purpose. He knew that, considering how brutally beaten the buttons were. The wires were out, and the metal was bent.

 _Why did the murderer break this? Is it even the murderer who broke this, or was it Fuwari?_

The pseudologist cupped his chin. _Hm... What purpose would there be in breaking the control panel?_

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #010 - Broken Control Panel**

 **Summary: The control panel had been broken, smashed into pieces.**

* * *

Kamui walked over to the man, catching his attention. "Minori," he began, crossing his arms. He was inspecting the wires in the broken control panel, squinting his eyes. "Hm, do you think the killer broke it to cause a fire? Fires do start from faulty electrical wires, as well as heat."

"I would guess so." Minori thought about the fire cycle, trying to remember what is needed to cause such a tragedy. He could link the wires as the main cause of the fire, but he needed to find the other factors leading into the case. He decided to walk over towards a jacuzzi, suspect.

 _Hm... Let's see..._

Minori silently observed the jacuzzi, trying his best to look for clues. He could see how pristine the water was, eyeing the steam which was floating in the air. It was then did he move his hands around the device, finding himself touching the faucets. He could easily turned the knobs to control the flow of the water, but what he was most focused on was right in the middle of the two knobs- the temperature of the jacuzzi.

 _Holy shit. 210 degrees Fahrenheit?! It's just below its boiling point too... Why is a jacuzzi even allowed to be this hot? It's too dangerous..._

Minori then cupped his chin. He looked over to another jacuzzi, checking the temperature of the water. As expected, it was about the same degrees. _Well, the steam that comes out from of not only one, but dozens of jacuzzi... Hm..._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #011 - Jacuzzis**

 **Summary: The jacuzzis inside of the gym are set at a dangerously high temperature at 210 degrees Fahrenheit (98.9 degrees Celsius).**

* * *

The pseudologist noticed the mortician following him, and so the man could only let out a small smile. He crossed his arms, interested in the curious look in his friend's eyes. "You found anything else, Kamui?"

The mortician nodded, having grabbed ahold of a softball, metal bat. "I found this inside of the storage room."

Minori frowned. "Are you sure it's wise to grab potential evidence so freely? Wouldn't it change the crime scene?"

Kamui shook his head, suddenly shoving the bat to his partner's chest. "I don't think so. It was inside of the storage room, and that's it. What's more important are the dents on the bat."

"The dents..." Minori raised a brow, but decided to listen to the man. He began to inspect the softball bat, and as Kamui said, he found numerous dents on the bat. They all appeared from one side. "You think this was used to break the control panel?"

"I think so."

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #012 - Softball Bat**

 **Summary: There are dents on the bat, and they are all on one certain side.**

* * *

"Alright, I'll put this back then."

Minori walked into the storage room, putting back the bat inside. He headed back outside and looked around the gym. Contrary to his expectations, there seemed to be less evidence than he expected. Though he could see that there was a lack of burnt marks or blood around the entire floor, Minori deduced that it was because of Monokuma's 'replication' of the crime scene before the fire. He did trust in that statement, and as he continued to look around, he determined that there was nothing else to be seen.

 _Oh wait a second._

Minori found himself eyeing the gun Nezumi had used earlier in the performance. It was resting peacefully atop of a ping pong table. The man took ahold of the fake weapon, waving it around before noticing a millimeter of liquid inside.

 _Hm, now that I think about it, couldn't Nezumi had..._

Minori quickly shook his head and unloaded the toy gun, dropping the liquid to his finger. Once his finger was soaked and wet enough he rubbed it with another finger, feeling the liquid's density and texture.

 _Oh, phew, it really is just water. Actually, it's stupid for me to even think about. The gun doesn't even shoot a large amount of water. At most this would only fill about a small cup. Nezumi couldn't have started the fire, I'm sure._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #013 - Water Gun**

 **Summary: The toy gun Nezumi used in the performance had been filled with water, and not with any flammable liquid.**

* * *

Well, other than that, there was nothing else. More specifically, there was nothing else in the inside of the gym.

 _Hm, now how could Fuwari let herself be burnt..._

Suspicions inside of his head, the white-haired Ultimate walked over towards the doors. There, he could spot the most likely reason on how Fuwari was burnt and how the gym was caught on fire.

The frames on the door were taped. There was invisible tape right at the doorframe. It was unseenable to the point that Minori was only able to see it because of his keen eye for detail. If he had thought of something besides the door, he would've overlooked such evidence.

 _I could see how Fuwari was able to suffer then... The murderer trapped her inside._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #014 - Invisible Tape**

 **Summary: Right at the door frames of the gym, there was invisible tape that taped to it. It is practically invisible to the eyes of everyone unless people were actively seeking for it.**

* * *

Minori couldn't help but bit into his lips, his heart breaking into pieces. To think that someone would kill a dear friend- he couldn't believe it. Why would someone kill Fuwari? Why would someone dare commit murder and fall under Monokuma's clutches? Minori couldn't believe it, and he couldn't forgive it.

 _Fuwari didn't deserve this._

 _However, the only thing we could do is find Fuwari's killer._

Minori bit into his lips and looked to Kamui. The duo nodded their heads and began to walk outside of the gym, then continuing to move until they found Sagiso and Kaniza looking around the outside of the cafe.

"Hey!" Kaniza waved to the duo, a small smile on her lips. "How's the investigation going? Did you figure out who killed Fiona?"

Kamui shook his head. "No, but we have a few possibilities on who could've potentially killed her and how the fire happened. We're still not completely certain yet."

"I see..." Kaniza cupped her chin, awkwardly moving to the left and to the right. "I'm just curious though- how did Fiona move from the gym to the cafe? Did the killer move her or something?"

"Oh, right. There's also the case of Fuwari's crime scene and where she died..." Minori frowned. "Hm, this is a question to consider."

Sagiso thought as well, humming. "Yes, it doesn't make sense. If the killer spent all their time to set the fire, then why allow her to escape like this? If the muderer purposely moved her, then why? Is there any reason for this?"

"I'm sure we'll be able to find the answer if we think hard enough!" Kaniza stayed optimistic, smile wide. "We need to find Fiona's killer, after all!"

"Of course." Kamui nodded his head. "We need to make sure of it."

Minori frowned. "You two were with each other during the time of the party and after the party, correct?"

"Mhm." The psychogeographer nodded. "We usually stayed in a huge group, so I think the others could cover for our alibis."

"I see." The pseudologist mentally took notes in his head. "Alright then. Thank you for the answer."

Sagiso and Kaniza both smiled his way, Minori gesturing to Kamui that they should move. The duo looked around the floor, wondering where to go. It was then did Kamui began to speak, looking at Minori. "We should go to the swimming pool. I think there might be some clues there."

"The place where I was held captive?" Minori frowned. "I mean, there might be, but I doubt there would be much."

Kamui shrugged. "That's the only other place where we could find clues. Other than that, we only have everyone's testimonies. We don't have much of a clue on who killed Fiona other than a few suspects."

"That's true, and I wasn't going to persuade you into not investigating the area." Minori chuckled. "Alright. Let's go there then."

The duo made their way over to the swimming pool, however they first noticed Ryoichi who was speaking to Kakuma. Minori frowned. He wondered what the duo were talking about, but it didn't matter. His mind instantly rolled over to what happened previously- that Ryoichi had handed him a drink before he had fallen unconscious. Instantly did they raise signs.

"Hello," Minori began, making his way into the duo's conversation. "May I ask you all a few questions?"

Kakuma frowned. He looked to the pseudologist and scoffed, crossing his arms. "Is it about my alibi? The only thing that I could say was that I left the party early to sleep. I don't know how I could prove that's true though, unfortunately. I slept the entire time till the body discovery announcement woke me up, that's all."

Minori was surprised, but at the time he shouldn't be since Kakuma was quite the intelligent one. "Oh... I see, thank you. Um, do you know what time you left the party to sleep?"

The wedding planner rolled his eyes, almost tired of the man's questions. "I think I was the first one to leave the party. It should be around midnight when I left."

"Alright, I see." Minori smiled softly. "Thank you."

 _I think that should be the last of the sleeping ones' alibis..._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #003 - The Sleeping's Alibis**

 **Summary** **: The first one to go to sleep was Kakuma who left the party around 12 and slept through the entire time till the body discovery announcement.**

 **Rin had been sleeping about 12:30 till she was woken up by Amyto.**

 **Fumio had been sleeping the entire time since 3:30 AM till the body discovery announcement. He has no one to testify for the integrity of his alibi.**

 **Saori had decided to go to sleep around five, but she was woken up by Amyto to clean the party and attend Fuwari's seance.**

* * *

It was then did Minori notice Ryoichi, his heart beginning to quicken. _There's no way he drugged me accidentally... There's just no way what happened to me was an accident._ The man took a deep breath before speaking. "Ryoichi, I also want to ask you a few questions."

The investigator nodded. "Of course, Mr. Watanabe. Please ask!"

 _Alright then, here goes nothing._ Minori bit into his lips. "After the party, you were helping out Seiga and the others clean up after the party, correct?" He could see the man nodding for a second time. "Alright, then can I ask what you were doing during that time? You were passing out drinks, correct?"

Ryoichi's eyes widened, and he smiled. "Yes, I thought people would've been tired from cleaning up after the party. I only had a few cups though since Kaniza had thrown most of the cups away, so I only passed out drinks to you and I. I was actually pretty thirsty too and people didn't seem willing to drink a warm cup of fruit punch, haha."

"Oh, so you only had two drinks to give to people." _Hm, interesting. I wonder why he'd choose to give a drink to me though._ "Alright then, but can I ask why you gave the last one to me?"

"Huh?" Ryoichi was silent, shocked. He thought for a moment, then humming his confusion and frowning. "I... I really do not have any reason for that, honestly. Sorry about that. I think I saw you first, and that's why I gave you the drink?"

 _What? Is he lying to me? But... he looks genuinely confused. Maybe he wasn't the one who drugged me? Maybe he chose me out of random? Why...?_

Minori inwardly took in a deep breath, then speaking again. "I see. It's fine if you don't know. I was just asking." He crossed his arms. "So you were inside of the game room the entire time till the body discovery announcement?"

"Yes." Ryoichi nodded his head. "Most of us were exhausted, so the people who had stayed to help clean after the party stayed inside of the room for a while and talked. We were only able to discover the crime scene because of the smoke. I only remember that the people who got outside of the room were you and Rin, but I remember Rin came back a few minutes later." The man then frowned, eyeing the pseudologist. "Where were you?"

 _Do you really have to ask?_ Minori was doubtful. "I had been knocked out."

Kamui stepped into the conversation. "Minori had been captured inside of the swimming pool, and so we're trying to see if this case and Fiona's are seperate or together."

"So somebody targeted Minori?" Kakuma was slightly shocked, expression almost similar to that of worry. It was quickly wiped off with his usual snarky look. "So we may have a case of the actual murderer and a 'could've been' one, huh? So much for this 'unity' thing..."

Minori averted his gaze, saddened. Despite the efforts he had taken, a murder had still occurred.

Still, he couldn't think about that, and, yes, he had gotten the information he had needed. Minori bowed his head down to the duo in gratitude, moving to the side alongside his partner. He then took out his MonoPad and began to read the Truth Bullet he had received.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #015 - Ryoichi's Testimony**

 **Summary: Ryoichi is suspected to be the one who drugged Minori, however he seemed to have no recollection of plotting against him. Ryoichi was genuinely confused whilst answering Minori's questions, but it could be a trick?**

* * *

Well, Minori wasn't sure, but he was still suspicious of Ryoichi. If Ryoichi was not the one who drugged him, then who? The pseudologist kept his options open, however his suspicion focused on the investigator. Surely, the man must've had his reasons, but for now Minori had to stay doubtful.

Kamui and Minori headed their way to the swimming pool, the mortician opening it firstly. They walked inside, Minori noticing that the pool seemed as normal as ever. It was as if nothing had happened inside of the pool, at all.

Minori looked over to the left side, noticing the bonds which had tied him earlier. He shuddered, but forced his fear aside and walked over to the scene. He had been tied next to an iron pole, and by his estimation his feet would've been only centimeters away from falling into the pool if he had stretched his entire body. If he was sitting close to the pole in the same position he had been tied up, he would've been inches away from certain drowning.

 _But now that I think about it, my hands had been tied around the pole._ Minori eyed the rope which was behind the pole, noticing the now loose knots. _I wouldn't have drowned in that case then, right? Was the killer saving me for later or something? They honestly could've killed me the moment I'd been drugged._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #016 - Rope**

 **Summary: Minori had his hands tied around the metal pole inside of the swimming pool.**

* * *

Minori could see the pieces of cloth which had been used to blindfold and gag him. He honestly didn't see any purpose in their use, but he supposed the killer didn't want him to cry for help or see his surroundings. It would make sense, and Minori decided to not question it further. He looked around the room, trying to scan the area for any other pieces of evidence.

The pseudologist walked down to the right side of the room, close to the changing area. It was then did he decide to walk inside of the men's changing room, and there he found a small toolkit. The toolkit was not at all hidden, atop of the nearest bench. It seemed to be there for just about anyone to investigate and look at.

The man walked over to the kit, opening the box with ease. Contrary to his expectations, he found that the toolkit was normal. There, was everything that was needed to be found inside of a normal toolkit. Some nails, a jackhammer, a screwdriver, etc. Yes, it was a normal toolkit.

 _But, why is it here? It's obvious someone got this from the MonoLottery room, but why would they need it?_

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #017 - Toolkit**

 **Summary: A toolkit had been found inside of the men's changing room. The toolkit does not hold anything out of the ordinary.**

* * *

Minori frowned. He looked around the room for a moment. There was nothing else to be found, and so he made his way back outside. There, he found Kamui speaking to Sheina and Amyto. The hypnotist still seemed to be in tears, and Sheina was answering the mortician's questions with her usual haughty tone of voice.

"Yeah, I, the Pharoah, didn't notice anything suspicious..." Sheina frowned.

Minori made his way over as Amyto began to speak. "Yeah, Fuwari was the one who decided to do the seance. I thought we were going to meet Ko and Asami, but then she died..." She bit into her lips, forcing back a whimper. "That's all I know. I wanted to help her out, so I asked everyone around if they wanted to join the seance with her. I woke up Rin and Saori for the seance..."

 _Well, she proved Rin and Saori's alibis as true._ The pseudologist cleared his throat, trying to catch the group's attention. "I'm sorry to be of a bother, but from what I've heard, you two didn't spot anyone suspicious?"

Sheina nodded. "Yes, my fellow subject. Everyone acted the same as always. Sure, a few people were still stressed out and worried from the motives, but as the Pharoah I did not see anyone straying from the path of Osiris!"

 _And Fuwari was the one who thought of the seance altogether, I'm assuming._

Minori then frowned. "I'm sorry, but I want to ask of a favor."

Sheina grinned. "What's wrong, my fellow subject?"

"Can one of you two go inside of the women's changing room and see if there's anything suspicious inside?" Minori then blushed. "I-I do not mean to be a pervert, but I've spotted something suspicious inside of the men's room and I was wondering if there's something inside of the women's room that renders suspicion."

The two women glanced at one another before the egyptologist cleared her throat, speaking. "Then I'll look! You owe me one though, fellow subject." With those words, the woman made her way into the women's changing room. It took about a few quick minutes before she came back, shaking her head. "No, I did not see anything suspicious. The room's empty."

"I see." Minori made a mental note in his head. "Thank you, Sheina."

Sheina's smile widened, and she confidently held her chin high. "Of course!"

 _Hm, so there was only a toolkit inside of the men's room... And from what Sheina and Amyto said, Fuwari was the one who planned the seance... Hm..._

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #018 - Women's Changing Room**

 **Summary: There is nothing suspicious to be found inside of the women's changing room.**

* * *

 **Truth Bullet #019 - Seance**

 **Summary: The one who thought of the seance firstly was Fuwari.**

* * *

 _But still... I'm certain this happened because of the second motive Monokuma gave us. It is definitely a possibility that we could've avoided a murder if we all shared our secrets, or at least most of us... But the addition of the second motive and the fact that people played it... Those who shared their secrets, are they cleared of suspicion?_

Minori frowned. _No, of course not. The second motive would've distracted them from not killing anybody. If we had enforced a rule that we shouldn't play that game, then-_

Minori's thought was suddenly stopped with the sound of Monokuma's voice ringing through the school.

"Ahem, the investigation is now over! I know investigating the crime scene is important, but seriously I rather just get straight to the trial! So! Let's wrap this shit up and get your asses over to the auditorium hall! We're going to the class trial, so move your asses!"

Kamui couldn't help but murmur his disgust. "Already?"

Minori frowned, watching Amyto and Sheina leaving. He hated how impatient the headmaster seemed to be, acting whiny. _He was the one who forced us into doing this shit, after all..._ Still, he couldn't complain. "Kamui, let's go."

The duo quickly made their way outside of the pool and down the stairs, walking to the auditorium where the others stood. Everyone was murmuring to one another, nervous and pale. They were shaking, eyes filled with fear and anxiety. Their voices were buzzing around the area. Buzzing, buzzing loudly to ignore that obvious doorway.

That doorway- it was that elevator that was already present, opened for everyone to walk into. Opened for everyone to reach into certain doom. It was a pathway to certain death and hell.

"E-even now... I'm still not used to this at all..." Nezumi bit into his lips, pale. "Like... seriously..."

"I don't think anyone will ever be, but we still have to do it," Saori said, frowning. She didn't speak anymore, instead silent. She made her way into the elevator, the first one to enter.

"Well," Ryoichi took a deep breath, "she's right."

Slowly, one by one, everyone began to make their way into the elevator.

Minori couldn't help but take a deep breath as well, trying to steady his heart. _Shit, I don't even have the slightest clue as to who killed Fuwari. How the murder was set, and who killed her... I don't know anything for certain... I don't know anything about this case for certain, and that's what scares me the most. Can I really avenge Fuwari if I don't know anything for certain? Can I really save everyone if I don't know anything for cetain?_

The man took another deep breath. A few seconds passed. He clenched into his fists, closing his eyes. He counted for another few seconds, then nodding to himself and making his way into the elevator.

 _Still, I need to be optimistic about this. In order to figure out who killed Fuwari, I need to continue moving forward. To move forward with a mindset that of a mixture of hope and doubt- that's what I need to do to make us face the truth of this case!_

That was all the man could think as the doors slowly closed shut, and then the students were moved down.

Down, into certain doom.

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter. Well, now that the investigation has been taken care of, do you now have a better grasp of who killed Fuwari or not? Honestly, with the lack of (or questionable) evidence I would guess not. Let us hope the trial will sort things out!

Also, I want to thank you all again for sticking with this story! It means a lot to me that you are all still here reviewing and reading this story! Anyways, see you all in the future!


	20. Chapter 2 - Part 2, Part B

Hello, and welcome to the official case and trial of Chapter 2! Writing trials are seriously my weak points (other than the setting) since this is my first story where I am writing such a thing, but let's hope this trial will make sense, and especially because this case is pretty difficult (even for me, to write). Anyways, I shall now focus on exams first of all, but I will still be updating here as best as I can.

 **mayurie:** "No, it's fine! I'm just glad you enjoy the story, and that I'm portraying Sagiso to your liking. Haha, everyone is happy that Kaniza and Nezumi are a thing. Haha, I enjoy reading your thoughts, and yes poor, poor Fuwari/Fiona! Haha, well, let us hope you are right! Aww, thanks for that! Have a great day yourself!"

 **liammarklh88:** "Haha, no problem! Fuwari does deserve better. Well, let us see who's guilty and who's not. Ah, now I have memories about Kaede and I am sad now. That would be interesting, but quite difficult to do, to me at least! I'm sure you'll be better at writing different perspectives than me in a Danganronpa SYOC. Haha, thanks!"

 **irwegwert:** "Cases will only get more difficult as the story goes on, just like in the Danganronpa games! Hm, well, I would think that there would be someone who can connect everything together and make me look like an amateur SYOC writer, so I'm just glad nobody seemed to have figured everything out yet! Of course, it may also be that I'm not good at making murder cases and your confusion is from my lack of skill. Yes, there is a lot of things going on, for sure. I'm glad you seem to be thinking a lot, it means you have an hardworking brain with you! Thanks!"

 **ToonGuy:** "Yeah, I wish I had your mind. I tend to scroll straight to the spoilers and not focus on what's happening at the moment. XD Your thoughts are interesting, for sure. I always like reading your thoughts, especially on who you think could've killed the victim and who couldn't. Trial, here we go!"

 **Agrael:** "Fuwari will always be a mystery even in death, and she's interesting in that regard! I'll definitely be doing her FTEs soon too. Interesting thoughts, let's see if they're true!"

 **Abitat Eco:** "Oh no! I hoped you had a great holiday though! Wow, what a coincidence, but a horrid one at that! XD Glad you enjoyed the party! Glad you liked how I wrote Minori's state in that part, haha. Your thoughts are really interesting, and let us see if they are right! Best of luck to you too with whatever work you have! I'll be needing your luck when I take my exams, haha."

 **PoisonBanana:** "Gut instinct does play a role in some cases, but that's just what Kaito had thought me, haha. Watching crimes in television and in the media always make me realize that some investigations raise more questions than it does answers. Let's see!"

 **zephryr:** "Well! Hm, let us see if what you think is correct. I always enjoy reading your thoughts as to how a case happened, especially with your reasoning to how something happened, who the murder/alibis could be, etc. Let us see what is to come in the trial then! I always enjoy analyzing things too, so I understand where you're coming from!"

 **dashunterman:** "It is a cruel way to die."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "I love reading twisty cases and solving them though! Of course, I'll keep that in mind! Thanks! Aww, thanks!"

* * *

The elevator doors opened, and as expected (and to their dismay), they were met with the royal-like room of the court. It looked the same as it always been, eerie and beautiful at the same time.

"Upupupupu! Glad to see you're all present!"

And as expected, the headmaster was inside of the courtroom. He was right at the front of the elevator doors, blocking the Ultimates' way with his short structure. He was waving his arms around with his usual mischevious smile, but despite trying to look grand he was nothing more than a short stool's height at most. Honestly, it would've been a comedic sight if not for the situation they were currently in.

"Welcome to our second official trial!" Monokuma squealed happily, his voice echoing throughout the room. He put a paw to his forehead. "Sigh, look how far we are now... A third trial will come in no time at this rate!" He then stopped. "Well, that is, if you guys don't die first! Upupupupu!"

Minori was nonetheless disgusted, gritting into his teeth. The bear was playing with their emotions, with their lives. It honestly pissed him off, and he wanted nothing more than to erase the headmaster from this room altogether. He wanted this entire game to stop, right at this moment.

The bear spun around in a few circles, obviously giggly. "You guys should be excited, y'know? This is your second trial! You should thank Daddy Monokuma here for teaching you kids how to handle a murder case!"

"I would rather kill myself than thank you," the pseudologist said, a scowl escaping his lips. "Why are you doing this to us?"

"Kids and their questions!" Monokuma let out an exaggerated groan, shaking his head. He pointed accusingly at the white-haired man. "Shouldn't you be more concerned about Fuwari's killer instead? Actually, shouldn't you be more worried about who tied you up and all that?" The bear then grinned widely, his cheeks strangely a pink hue. "Maybe the person who captured you was into some bondage shit or something!"

Minori's face flushed of its color, and he immediately responded. "That is certainly not the case!"

Monokuma tilted his head, sneering at the man. "Are you sure? There are a lot of kinky people out there-"

"And I'm stopping you right there." Kakuma interjected between the obviously one-sided conversation, giving Monokuma a look of hatred. "Let's stop wasting time and get this trial over with. We need to find out who killed Fuwari and if her case is related to Minori's. That's what you want us to do, right?"

Monokuma eyed the man for a moment, then putting his paws to his mouth and giggling. "Puhuhuhu! You're exactly right, Kakuma. I should just shut up and let you kids do your thing." He hopped his way out of the students' way, jumping to his beautifully crafted velvet-cushioned seat and pulling out a martini glass from midair. "Alright, bastards! Do your shit!"

"This guy..." Kaniza shook her head, sighing. She couldn't say anything else though, and so made her way over to her spot.

Everyone followed suit, moving to their respective positions. Of course, there were three open spots- Asami, Haruko, and now Fuwari. Minori knew that the next time, if ever, a trial came to be, there would not only be four open spots, but five. It would then be six, then seven, and then more and more till the number drops drastically to a few. To just think about the number of bodies adding up throughout the entire killing game, it made him sick to his stomach.

 _Hopefully, this trial will be the last._

Strangely, and painfully, he almost felt doubtful of that. Still, he had to be hopeful. Minori eyed the people around him, their expressions that of both determination and fear. Fear for their lives and the accusations which would be thrown at one another, and the determination to survive and figure out Fuwari's killer. Those mixture of emotions were both hopeful and disastrous, and both Monokuma and Minori knew that.

"Alright, laides and gentlemen, boys and girls, we will now commence with the class trial!" Monokuma sipped into his drink. "Actually, you guys should know how to do this. You guys did this before, so I'm sure you all know what to do. Class trial- start!"

 _Well, isn't that impatient of you._

Minori eyed the bear with a sigh, then reaching into his pockets.

 _Alright, for starters, let's check what I have in my MonoPad..._

* * *

 **List of Truth Bullets**

 **Case File 02 -** The victim to be found dead was Fuwari Akatsuki. She had died around 6:30 AM inside of the cafe. The cause of her death was a fatal stab wound to her stomach. Her body temperature had been high a few minutes before her death as well as her body going through nonstop bleeding, as a cause of her burns.

 **Monokuma -** Monokuma had told Kamui and Seiga about where Minori was because he needed everyone to be present at the crime scene. There seemed to be no other reason besides that and 'being present for the main event'.

 **The Sleeping's Alibis -** The first one to go to sleep was Kakuma who left the party around 12 and slept through the entire time till the body discovery announcement. Rin had been sleeping about 12:30 till she was woken up by Amyto. Fumio had been sleeping the entire time since 3:30 AM till the body discovery announcement. He has no one to testify for the integrity of his alibi. Saori had decided to go to sleep around five, but she was woken up by Amyto to clean the party and attend Fuwari's seance.

 **Saori's Autopsy Report -** Compared to the Case File, Saori said that Fuwari had died the same way as told in the file.

 **Knife -** A cooking knife was hidden under Fuwari's body. It is bloody and is the cause for the stab wound on the spirit medium's body.

 **Saori's Alibi -** During the time after the party, Saori was inside of the game room with the others to clean, but she mentioned that Rin had left the room to take out the trash.

 **Instructions -** Seiga had given Saori the instructions on how to operate the gym and at what time during the performance. The handwriting is definitely from Seiga's, and what reads as follows:

'One: Turn the switch from the upper left. That changes the seating in the gym. The stage should be a basketball court, but if not just click the red button! ...

Two: Turn off the lights (it should be the one that has the 'off' and 'on' button!) and press the yellow button! ...

Three: When we are midair (after Nezumi talks), press the green button! ...

Four: Press the orange button when I jump the opposite direction from Nezumi! ...

Five: When I throw Nezumi, the court should change. Press the yellow button!'.

 **Knew of the Control Panel -** The people who knew how to control the gym are Saori (only from Seiga's note), Seiga, Minori, Ryoichi, and Nezumi.

 **Setup of Gym -** After the performance was done, the gym was set up to the basketball court and the lounge chairs. However, the crime scene shows that the setup was changed to that of the volleyball court and jacuzzis. Minori suspects that somebody must've set it up during the time of the party.

 **Broken Control Panel -** The control panel had been broken, smashed into pieces.

 **Jacuzzis -** The jacuzzis inside of the gym are set at a dangerously high temperature at 210 degrees Fahrenheit (98.9 degrees Celsius).

 **Softball Bat -** There are dents on the bat, and they are all on one certain side.

 **Water Gun -** The toy gun Nezumi used in the performance had been filled with water, and not with any flammable liquid.

 **Invisible Tape -** Right at the door frames of the gym, there was invisible tape that taped to it. It is practically invisible to the eyes of everyone unless people were actively seeking for it.

 **Ryoichi's Testimony -** Ryoichi is suspected to be the one who drugged Minori, however he seemed to have no recollection of plotting against him. Ryoichi was genuinely confused whilst answering Minori's questions, but it could be a trick?

 **Rope -** Minori had his hands tied around the metal pole inside of the swimming pool.

 **Toolkit -** A toolkit had been found inside of the men's changing room. The toolkit does not hold anything out of the ordinary.

 **Women's Changing Room -** There is nothing suspicious to be found inside of the women's changing room.

 **Seance -** The one who thought of the seance firstly was Fuwari.

* * *

Minori couldn't help but sigh inwardly to himself. _From reading this alone, I have no clue as to who could've killed Fuwari... This isn't good. Well, let's see what we can do for now._

Sagiso took ahold of the lead, beginning to speak from her spot. "Okay, first of all, I want to ask- does anyone understand what Monokuma was saying?"

Kakuma frowned. "You mean when he was talking about Minori's incident?"

"I never even heard about an incident with him." The psychogeographer looked to the pseudologist, frowning. A worried expression was on her face. "When did Monokuma ever mentioned this?"

Seiga grinned widely, cracking his fists. "He told us the first thing when we came running to the crime scene. I think there were only a few of us there though, but Monokuma said such words anyways. Words on Minori's capture!"

The mortician nodded. "Yes, Monokuma told us that Minori was held hostage inside of the swimming pool. There were only a few of us there, so it would make sense that most of you wouldn't know this. He told Seiga and I since we were the first ones there, but I think a few others heard it when they were running to the gym."

"Though I think some people wouldn't even hear him because of how scary a fire can be," Seiga commented into the air, nodding knowingly to himself. "People were freaking out over it, and not for a stupid reason... Fuck, fires are scary to people, after all. I mean, not to me, since I'm the awesome Seiga, but still."

"Yeah, I was at the crime scene with you guys, but I didn't even hear Monokuma." Amyto awkwardly smiled, scratching her head. "I was busy sobbing my tears out with Sheina trying to comfort me."

The egyptologist smirked widely. "You do not need to thank me, my fellow subject!"

"What? So Monokuma wasn't just joking with Minori? I thought he was just trying to mess with him earlier..." Kaniza looked at the pseudologist. "So what happened? Are you okay? Jesus Christ... So not only was Fiona targeted, but you as well?"

Minori held his breath. He honestly wasn't sure of what to say. "U-um, let's not worry about my case, alright? Fuwari's death is much more important than my 'could've been' murder."

"It could be related to the murder," the wedding planner said, staring at the man with an indifferent expression. "Your testimony is needed in order for us to survive. Your case could've been the culprit's 'second murder'. Remember? The rules only limit the killing to about two people. You and Fuwari would be those 'two victims'."

Minori shuddered at that thought. He hated the idea of him dying. The fear of death was, in itself, normal. To fear death was humane, but nonetheless Minori couldn't help but pity Fuwari. _Why did she have to die then? Why am I alive?_

"But how did Fuwari die?" Nezumi asked, frowning. He was fiddling with his fingers, anxious. "D-do we even know who could've done it?"

The astrophotographer crossed her arms. She was toying with her locks of hair, humming in thought. "I would think... I would think that the murderer would've been the ones who knew how to work the gym, right?"

"You think?" Kakuma scoffed. "I don't think that could be the case at all. Anyone of us could've done it."

Ryoichi looked to the wedding planner, tilting his head. "And why is that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The man rolled his eyes. "I seriously have to spell it out for you?"

Minori looked down at the MonoPad, scrolling and simply skimming through each truth bullet for another time. _Alright. I_ _see where Kakuma is going with this. This is a likely possibility. I should discuss this possibility and help him out with this then._

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Setup of Gym | Broken Control Panel | Instructions**

 **Rin:** The reason why anyone could've killed Fuwari...

 **Kamui:** Hm... The reason...

 **Kaniza:** I don't think there's a reason why- Oh! Are you talking about the **broken control panel**?

 **Seiga:** Oh, right. If the control panel is broken, then that means that the killer could've broken it to hide any traces that they knew how the controls work?

 **Amyto:** But how exactly would they hide their traces like that?

 **Seiga:** Couldn't someone used those techniques where they can **check the heat of each button** and see which one was pressed first, second, third...?

 **Ryoichi:** I... I honestly **doubt we have such a device here** , Mr. Kosoku.

 **Sheina:** Then what evidence is there to prove Kakuma's statement?

 **Saori:** Is it because of the _**gym's layout**_?

 **Kaniza:** Okay, I'm honestly at a loss here.

 **Kakuma:** Seriously? You guys truly don't know?

 **Minori:** _What that person said... I think they're on to something._

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Setup of Gym-**

 **Minori:** I agree with that!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori looked at Saori with a smile, nodding his head. The woman was somewhat shocked, probably because she hadn't expected Minori's acknowledgment. "What Saori said is right," he began, blunt. "I think that anyone could've killed Fuwari. Not just the people who knew of the controls."

Kakuma sighed, suddenly exhausted from the amount of bantering the other Ultimates were having beforehand. "Thank goodness someone knows what I mean."

"What are you talking about?" Sagiso asked, eyeing the pseudologist.

"Remember, during the performance? The ending segment of that performance was that the gym changed from a volleyball court to a basketball court." Minori crossed his arms, looking to Nezumi and Seiga who nodded their heads. "The killer could've easily left it like that and switched the layout of the chairs to the jacuzzis. There is no need for someone to change the layout of the court at all."

The psychogeographer averted her gaze. She was cupping her chin. "I see..."

Fumio scribbled down to his notepad, shyly showing it to the pseudologist. "But what if the killer wanted to make it look like that as a red herring?"

"I unfortunately cannot counter that, but this is a possibility that we shouldn't overlook." Minori hated to state that. The fact was, he didn't know much about Fuwari's case at all. He didn't know much about how Fuwari died, nor all the potential suspects out there. He knew he would drag the trial into a stalemate, and he had hoped someone would save this trial if he couldn't. He hoped.

"Hm, you do have a point," the hypnotist began, humming, "but I think it'll be easier to cross off suspects if we go over each person one by one! We should target the people who knew about the controls first, or the people who came up with the party."

Kakuma frowned. He seemed displeased about the situation, but sighed and said nothing.

Minori couldn't help but purse his lips. _I'm just as lost as most of us here are._

The mortician crossed his arms. "Alright, then we would have to interrogate the people who came up with the party. In that case, I would say that Seiga and Nezumi would be most suspicious."

 _Ah, so we're going to try crossing them out of the guilty party first._ Minori looked to the duo who seemed shocked at his statement, eyeing each other before beginning to speak.

"Just because the performance took place in the gym?" Seiga awkwardly smiled, shaking his head. "Dude, we didn't do jack shit!"

"It would make sense though," Saori said, pondering on the thought. "Fuwari's death was most likely planned beforehand if we consider what happened... And the two who have worked for days inside of the gym would be the most likely suspects in that case."

"I'm sure Nezumi is innocent!" Kaniza slammed her hands to the rail. "You tell them you're innocent, Nezzy!"

Nezumi blushed at the astrophotographer's words, then nodding his head with a small smile. "I think this is a huge mistake. W-we would never do something like that. Why would we kill Fuwari?"

Minori took a deep breath. _Alright, let's try to dissect this one by one._

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Instructions | Water Gun | Setup of Gym | Case File 02**

 **Nezumi:** I would never kill someone, and I-I have no doubt that **Seiga is innocent** as well!

 **Kakuma:** That's only based on pure faith and belief. In a trial, you need to prove your innocence with evidence.

 **Nezumi:** Um... Well...

 **Seiga:** Dude, a hero would never kill someone, and even if a hero did, he **would never make a sidekick do the same**.

 **Ryoichi:** I don't think you should be saying that if you're trying to prove yourself as innocent, Mr. Kosoku.

 **Kaniza:** But they are definitely innocent. I don't think that they would've planned something like this. Maybe Fuwari's death was an **accident** instead?

 **Saori:** I highly doubt that with the amount of evidence we found.

 **Rin:** But how would the gym be set on fire?

 **Sheina:** I would think that those subjects would subject this gym to fire by using _**flammable liquid and shooting it out**_!

 **Ryoichi:** I mean... It's possible, given how their performance went. Mr. Jirokichi did have a gun with him. He could've easily put flammable liquid inside of that.

 **Nezumi:** H-huh? No, I would never do that!

 **Sheina:** So the guilty one is **Nezumi** , hm?

 **Minori:** _That person's wrong._

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Water Gun-**

 **Minori:** You've got that wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"That's impossible." The pseudologist frowned. "Nezumi's gun was filled with water, and I was able to check it out myself when I was investigating the gym. The gun was definitely filled with water, and even if the gun was filled with flammable liquid, it is impossible that that was the cause of the fire. The gun is too small to shoot much, and would only cause a small fire at best. It would take hours for that fire to enlarge into what we saw earlier."

"Oh." The investigator thought for a moment, then nodding. "That makes sense. Of course."

"But still." Amyto tilted her head. "That still doesn't cross them off from being suspicious, right?"

"True..." Kakuma crossed his arms. "If they were in charge of the performance and practiced in the gym, then they're the most likely suspects here. They would have to know of the controls for the gym's setup in order to come up with their performance."

"Can't counter you there," Seiga said, scratching his head. "But, like, dude, just because of that? Nezumi and I were inside of the party throughout the entire time, up from when it started to even when it ended! We never once left the room, right?"

Kaniza nodded. "Yeah, you two were with us the entire time."

The wedding planner frowned. "Still, time needs to pass by in order for a fire to start. It cannot just happen in an instant, right?"

"I just..." The astrophotographer shook her head. "They don't look like the type to kill."

"A lot of us do not look like the type." Kakuma scoffed, but didn't pry any further. "As long as we cannot label those two as innocent, they will be suspected as murderers until proven elsewise."

Minori sighed. Kakuma was telling the truth. It is needed for a class trial, after all. "Alright, we know that Seiga and Nezumi were inside of the gym throughout a few days back to practice their performance. However, if they truly did plan Fuwari's murder, why go to the trouble of setting the gym on fire?"

"Huh?" Sheina looked at the pseudologist. "What're you talking about, fellow subject?"

"It's impossible to plan Fuwari's death without stalking her first." The pseudologist crossed his arms. "Seiga and Nezumi were busy inside of the gym the entire time. They could not afford to stalk Fuwari all the time, and besides, there is also the fact that she was chosen. Why Fuwari? They could've easily killed Saori or Kaniza and Sagiso since they knew of their plans. They could've even killed Fumio as he was locked in his room. They could've chosen a victim that they would know what they were doing the entire time."

"I don't understand." Amyto frowned.

Minori sighed. _Well, why would it be impossible for Nezumi and Seiga to plot Fuwari's murder?_

* * *

 **THINKING TIME**

 **Why would it impossible for Nezumi and Seiga to plan out Fuwari's murder?**

 **A. Nezumi and Seiga were inside of the gym the entire time within the time before the party.**

 **[B. Fuwari had announced her plans to commence a seance during the time the performance had finsihed.]**

 **C. Fuwari didn't die because of the fire, but because of a stab wound.**

 **D. It would take too much work to plot a murder and a performance at the same time.**

 **Minori:** _I see it!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

The pseudologist slammed his fists to the rail, catching everyone's attention. "Fuwari had announced her plans to perform a seance right during the time of the party. She never mentioned this to us beforehand, right? It was a sudden invitation."

Amyto's eyes widened. "Oh, that's right. She did mention it to me right before the performance started, but I never once asked her why she came up with the idea so suddenly..."

"Now that you mention it, you're right." Kamui cupped his chin, pondering. "That is quite strange. It is also worrying that Fiona always mentioned that she cannot perform a seance beforehand because of this school's atmosphere."

Fumio raised a brow, notepad in hand. "What does that even mean?"

Kamui frowned. "I have no clue. I could only think that what she meant by that is that in order to perform a seance, there must be a few things that are needed in order to actually perform one."

"That's..." Sagiso frowned. "...awfully suspicious."

Saori nodded. "Yeah, it does."

"But I guess it does clear Nezumi and Seiga from suspicion," Kakuma said, crossing his arms. "They would've had no idea that Fuwari was going to plan a seance in the gym unless they can read her mind. Since Fuwari stated her plan about after the performance, then it does cross them off as having planned her murder."

Nezumi sighed underneath his breath, relieved. He looked to Seiga who smiled widely at him.

"Wait a second." Ryoichi frowned, looking at Minori. "But wouldn't that imply that the murder couldn't have been planned? Ms. Akatsuki didn't tell anyone about the seance until the party started, right? Then who killed her?"

Minori thought for a moment, then crossing his arms. "Well, the only possibilities there are is that someone knew about Fuwari's plan and isn't speaking on it here, or that the murder was merely an accident. We could also think that..." The pseudologist frowned. "... Maybe Fuwari plotted murder herself."

"What?" Rin's eyes widened. "But then who would she target?"

"The people who wanted to join the seance." Minori bit into his lips. "But, like I said, it is merely a possibility. If someone did know about Fuwari's plan and planned out a case of arson, then there is also the point of how Fuwari was killed."

Fumio burrowed his brows. "How?"

 _How Fuwari was killed... That's obviously..._

* * *

 **PRESENT THE EVIDENCE**

 **Truth Bullet Selected:** **Case File 02**

 **Minori:** I got it!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori crossed his arms. "The killer had planned to kill Fuwari by burning her to death, if not at first suffocating her with the smoke. If that is the case, then why did Fuwari die inside of the cafe with a stab wound? The cause of Fuwari's death, as said by the Case File here, is by a stab wound."

Amyto tilted her head. "Huh. Maybe the killer got sloppy?"

"Not likely." The pseudologist shook his head. "If the killer intended to kill Fuwari by arson, it wouldn't make sense for the killer to even wait for her outside of the gym. Wouldn't the killer, once they see Fuwari inside of the gym, run away as quickly as possible? Staying right outside of the gym would render suspicion from anyone. And not to mention, if this murder was planned, why create a situation where Fuwari would not be burnt and instead stabbed?"

Kamui frowned, thinking on the idea. "Hm... Then would this suggest that Fuwari plotted a murder herself then? The evidence does not seem to point to one person, but instead it's all over the place."

The hypnotist shook her head, face paling. "T-there's no way she would plot a murder! She's not the type of person to do that!"

Sheina nodded her head, scoffing. "I must agree with my subject Amyto! Fiona is definitely not the person who would commit such a sin!"

Minori bit into his lips. He understood why the duo were emotive, but he needed to look at every possibility. That sort of mindset, that of emotion, would not fare well in a trial that needs truth and lies. "I understand. We do not know for certain if the fire had been caused by Fuwari or the murderer, but let's discuss about something else then. I think we should discuss how the fire even started in the first place."

"How the fire started?" Saori frowned. "Hm..."

Kakuma looked to Monokuma. "You did replicate the crime scene perfectly, right? We can believe in what we saw in the replication of the gym with our own two eyes, correct?"

Monokuma was sipping into his martini before he looked to the wedding planner. "Yessiree! I might be a mean and grumpy bear, but when it comes to trials I want everything to be fair! I am neutral to everyone and everything here."

Kaniza sighed underneath her breath. "Somehow, you saying that makes me not want to believe you."

"Alright, I suppose we can believe in Monokuma." Sagiso cupped her chin. "How the fire started, huh..."

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Broken Control Panel | Setup of Gym | Water Gun | Jacuzzis**

 **Sagiso:** First of all, let us discuss what would've started the fire.

 **Seiga:** What would start a fire? That would be... hm, we would need something that'll spark the fire. That would be **heat**.

 **Nezumi:** Heat? Was the gym ever hot? I don't remember the gym being **hot inside**...

 **Saori:** When we were inside of the gym during Seiga and Nezumi's performance, the temperature was that of **room temperature**.

 **Rin:** I don't remember it ever being hot inside the gym... Well... **Until the murder happened** , I guess...

 **Amyto:** Then what could've started the fire?

 **Kakuma:** Maybe it has something to do with the **_layout of the gym_**?

 **Kakuma:** I mean, with how varied the gym is from its courts and benches, I would think something could be possible with this.

 **Kaniza:** Maybe someone just light the room up on fire with **a match or lighter**?

 **Sagiso:** Considering what would need to have happened to kill her...

 **Sagiso:** Using a match or lighter might be possible.

 **Ryoichi:** I'm... I'm **at a loss here**.

 **Minori:** _What that person said... They're definitely right about that._

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Jacuzzis-**

 **Minori:** I agree with that!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

The psuedologist nodded his head and turned to the wedding planner. "The jacuzzis."

Kakuma raised a brow. "What?"

"The jacuzzis, from what I've seen from Monokuma's replication of the gym, was right close to their boiling point. It was about at 210 degrees, which is only a few more degrees away from water's boiling point if science had taught me anything." The man adjusted his scarf as he looked to the crowd. "You don't have to be inside of the jacuzzi for it to be hot. The steam emitting from the water would already warn you that it's hot. With not only one, but a dozen or so of these machines, the steam that is emitted to the air becomes hotter and hotter, which, in return, has the potential to cause damage if not taken care of."

Seiga grinned widely. "So technically the inside of the gym would be like a sauna, right?"

Kamui nodded his head. "I see. I have heard of accidents happening inside of saunas and jacuzzis from fires, but wouldn't there need to be fuel to cause a fire?"

Kaniza's eyes widened and she frowned. She twirled her locks of raven hair. "Oh, that's right. How does a fire start again? There needs to be fuel, heat, and um... oxygen, right?"

"The fire cycle..." Rin tapped to her chin. "What would the fuel be?"

Minori bit into his lips. _What the fuel would be... Hm..._

* * *

 **HANGMAN'S GAMBIT**

 **Question: What would the fuel be to start the fire?**

 **. . . . .**

 **Minori:** _Let's see..._

 **. ir . . .**

 **Minori:** _Oh! Isn't it that thing?_

 **. ir . es**

 **Minori:** _Oh, I see it now!_

 **Answer: Wires**

 **Minori:** _I've got the answer!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

The pseudologist looked to the crowd, a determined look written on his face. He was confident in his answer, and he was not about to back down now. "Remember, the control panel was broken."

Ryoichi thought for a moment, eyes then widening. "Oh! I see what you mean now!"

Minori smiled at the investigator before continuing, eyeing those with confused glances. "Since the control panel was broken, the wires that helped work the controls are now exposed and are suspectible to causing an electrical fire. All there needs to be is heat and oxygen, and with the wires out and suspectible to burning, an electrical fire happened."

"A recipe for disaster..." Kaniza bit into her lips. "Poor Fiona..."

"Then did Fuwari die by convenience?" Sagiso looked to the pseudologist. "I neglected that possibility since the timing would have to be perfect in order to kill her. If the killer had planned to kill her by arson, then why cause an electrical fire and hope that the timing was right?"

"That's true..." Minori frowned. "But that's the only reason to how the fire started."

Seiga grinned awkwardly, scratching his head. "This killer would have to be the Ultimate 'I can time when a fire will happen' if Fuwari died like that."

Kamui crossed his arms, deep in thought. He couldn't help but worry- the trial may go nowhere. "Is there any way the killer could've accurately estimate as to when the fire would've started?"

Silence rang through the air.

"Then it's by pure coincidence and estimation." Saori cupped her chin. "But why? If the killer had truly planned to kill her, then doing it this way is reckless."

"And why kill her by stabbing her?" Sagiso added, obviously unsure of the circumstances. "Nothing is making sense here. This case is all over the place..."

Kakuma thought for a moment. He looked at his MonoPad for a moment before sighing, shaking his head. "Alright, we know that there is a time frame from when the steam from the water would get hotter and hotter, and we know that the killer most likely must've broken the control panel in order to cause the electrical fire, but it's only a question to when the fire would start."

The egyptologist frowned. "Yeah, but was Fiona's death caused by her pure misfortune or was her death caused by something else?"

"Well... There are cases where deaths happened by mere coincidence..." Ryoichi hummed, trying hard to think of something. "But from what we've been discussing, Ms. Akatsuki's death was possibly planned, and most likely it was by either herself or someone else."

Fumio scribbled to his notepad. "Then could we suggest that Fuwari plotted to murder someone in the seance, but she ended up killing herself or ended up getting killed instead?"

Amyto slammed her fists down, shaking her head. "No! I told you! She's not the type of person to plan a murder!"

"Guys! We're getting nowhere like this!" Kaniza was shaking, worried. She was clenching into her fists. "So was her death planned or not? If it's not an accident, then the killer planned it! Right? But the fire and the seance... Ugh... Nothing's making sense..."

Kamui watched the group for a moment, silent. It was then did he propose a solution, speaking calmly into the tense, suspenseful air. "How about we discuss our alibis? We haven't completely done that yet."

"Alibis?" Amyto seemed suspicious of the mortician, but wiped her eyes and nodded. "I... I can go along with that. I'll try to prove to you all why Fuwari is incapable of killing someone!"

 _We're going over our alibis, hm? Well, let's see if we can get somewhere like this._

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Monokuma | The Sleeping's Alibis | Saori's Alibi | Knew of the Control Panel**

 **Kaniza:** So we've gotten over the fact that **Seiga and Nezzy are innocent** , right?

 **Kakuma:** Well, considering how twisted this case seemed to be, they're not completely crossed off the mark yet.

 **Seiga:** What?! Seriously, dude? Minori totally **told the truth of our case** though!

 **Kaniza:** Mhm! We've gotten over the fact that **they couldn't have planned** Fuwari's death either, let alone act it out during the performance.

 **Sagiso:** Nezumi and Seiga aside, who else are we marking as likely, potential culprits?

 **Rin:** Likely, huh...

 **Amyto:** Hm... How about the people helping out at the party? The people who wasn't cleaning up could be suspicious.

 **Kakuma:** The people at the cleanup... Couldn't they be suspicious as well?

 **Sheina:** Are you saying that because you were **asleep in your room** , fellow subject!?

 **Kakuma:** Of course not.

 **Kamui:** So who stayed behind to cleanup?

 **Fumio:** Unfortunately, I was asleep **during that time**... Sorry...

 **Amyto:** Well, Fuwari left in order **to set up the seance** , so she wasn't there to cleanup.

 **Saori:** I was there to help since Amyto woke me up for the seance.

 **Rin:** Oh, me too.

 **Seiga:** So the people who didn't stay behind would be **Kakuma, Fumio, and Fuwari** , right?

 **Kakuma:** ... That's true.

 **Kaniza:** So the people who stayed to cleanup are not suspicious since they stayed in the game room **_the entire time_** , right?

 **Kamui:** I see.

 **Seiga:** Hey! That means Nezumi and I are innocent then!

 **Minori:** _That was a lot to listen to...but I think I know who's wrong._

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Saori's Alibi-**

 **Minori:** You've got that wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori shook his head as he eyed Kaniza, the woman curiously looking back at him. "What? I'm wrong?" The astrophotographer pursed her lips, raising a brow. "But the party only took place inside of the game room, and there is nothing that needed to be cleaned inside of the gym, right? So shouldn't we be inside of the game room till the body discovery announcement?"

"Yes, we would be inside of the game room, but if we're cleaning up, someone has to be the one who throws out the trash." Minori crossed his arms. "Rin was the one who took out the trash, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Kaniza looked to the jeweler. "But why? Why would that render suspicion? She only got out for a little while, and she even came back too."

"That 'little while' is valuable. That time could've been used to end Fuwari's life." The pseudologist didn't take a moment to wait for everyone's faces to pale. "Let's think about it this way- why was Fuwari killed in the cafe, and why wasn't she dead by arson? If the killer had hastily planned out her murder, whether that be Fuwari herself being reckless or hEr being the victim, then I think it would've been possible for Fuwari to escape the room, albeit with consequences."

Kamui frowned. "Are you trying to say that Rin would've been the one to end her life?"

"What?!" Amyto's eyes widened. She was stunned, silent for a moment before shaking her head. "W-wait a second there, Minnie. Everything you've been saying is not making sense at all, and after thinking that Fuwari could've been a murderer, you're suspecting Rin now? Remember? She wanted to join us in the seance! And wouldn't it be purely coincidence that Rin would see her?"

"Like I said, everything is a possibility. Saori, do you know when did Rin leave?"

Saori's eyes widened, but she regained composure and nodded. "About 6:25."

Nezumi was stunned. "A-and Fuwari died around 6:30..."

"I see." Minori nodded. "The possibility of Rin being the one who ended Fuwari's life and the time when she had left the cleanup to Fuwari's murder, it's connected. I don't think that she's the one who plotted the arson though, but she's connected somehow."

Rin was silent, face paling. She was in disbelief.

"Then who plotted the arson?" Ryoichi looked at the man. He seemed desperate to protect Rin, his expression stiff, and Minori understood that. He's seen the two talk and interact before, and from those few times, he could tell the duo were quite acquantanced with each other. "Was it Ms. Akatsuki who plotted it? And if not, then who? Ms. Akatsuki never introduced the idea of a seance until the party, so no one else could've plotted anything than her!"

"Yeah..." The jeweler was shaking. "A-and you're saying that I killed her? I-I was the one who took out the trash, and that's all I did. Meeting Fuwari would be nothing but a pure coincidence, if it truly did happen."

"Is everything by pure coincidence?" Amyto looked to the pseudologist. "Did Fuwari seriously die by just pure coincidences? I can't... I can't believe that!"

Kamui sighed underneath his breath. "Amyto is right, Minori. I doubt that this had happened all because of misfortune and coincidence. So, you're saying that not only the fire burnt Fuwari by pure misfortune in timing, but that Rin had killed her in the cafe simply after encountering her by pure coincidence? Two coincidences can't happen at the same day to the same person, and especially in the case of a murder."

"Maybe Rin is accomplices with someone?" Kaniza merely raised the suggestion, but quickly bowed her head to Kamui. "Sorry! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable!"

"I-I understand." Kamui awkwardly smiled and bowed back to the astrophotographer.

"You don't have to apologize to a murderer like him." Kakuma scoffed, rolling his eyes. He turned to Minori. "Alright, let's take your possibility into suggestion. Rin met Fuwari, and that led to her killing Fuwari. Is that right?"

Minori nodded his head slowly.

"Is there any reason to how Rin meeting Fuwari would not be by pure coincidence?"

Minori bit into his lips. "... Not exactly, however I believe there is something off with this case. With everything being disjointed and strange, I can't help but think that something off is happening here..."

Kakuma eyed him for a moment, then sighing. "Then do you believe the electrical fire happened by pure misfortune too? Do you think that Fuwari was the one who plotted murder herself, and then became reckless?"

The pseudologist thought for a moment, then shaking her head. "No, someone definitely planned to kill her."

Seiga's eyes widened. "Dude, really? Why?"

Minori took in a deep breath.

* * *

 **PRESENT THE EVIDENCE**

 **Truth Bullet Selected: Invisible Tape**

 **Minori:** I got it!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Fuwari wouldn't have tried to kill herself in the process then." The pseudologist looked at the wedding planner. "Fuwari had been trapped inside of the gym with invisible tape on the door frame. The moment she closed it, she would've been trapped and it would a long time before she could get out. If she had planned to murder someone during the seance, locking herself inside the room with us would've been a bad decision on her part."

Kakuma eyed Minori in return, silent for a moment. He then nodded his head. "That is true. That does seem to cross out the chances that Fuwari could've plotted murder. The rule does state that a maximum of only two people could be killed, so Fuwari couldn't have done that to kill the people in the seance."

"Minnie, I've fallen for you!" Amyto smiled, voice boisterous and chirpy. "See? I told you guys she would never plan murder!"

The astrophotographer crossed her arms. "But what if Fuwari planned to pin the murder on someone else by killing herself in the process?"

"Impossible." Kamui shook his head. "There would've been too many witnesses."

Nezumi's eyed suddenly widened. "But w-wait just a second. She still could've planned murder. W-what if she planned to abuse the school rules? If she killed more than two people, herself included, then-"

"Nope, not correct at all, Nezumi boy!" Monokuma suddenly jumped into the fray, grin as wide as can be. Strangely, his glass of martinis was now purple. "The moment Fuwari would've planned that I would've punished her by now. Before she could even kill one person I would've swooped in and kick her ass! Kids, don't you know? I know everything, and breaking the rules would result in instant punishment!"

"O-oh..." Nezumi didn't seem to care about Monokuma's words, instead caring about Monokuma himself. He paled as the bear stopped speaking, now allowing for the thief to breathe.

"Okay, well, Monokuma helped us in that regard," Sagiso stopped herself to hold back a disgusted look, "so we could conclude that Fuwari never planned murder."

"Good for that," Seiga began, scratching his head, "but like did she die seriously by pure misfortune?"

"The fire might've been caused by misfortune." Minori eyed the stunt double. "But considering that Fuwari had trapped herself inside of the gym and that it would've taken a while for her to try to escape, her chances of being caught in arson is quite likely."

"I mean, it makes sense, but saying that Fuwari died like that is pretty..." Kaniza bit into her lips. "It leaves a bad taste..."

Sheina frowned. "So is Rin the murderer?"

Rin's eyes widened. "N-no! Of course not... I only took out the trash..."

"There's still the fact that Ms. Akatsuki's death was planned by someone else!" Ryoichi cleached into his fists. " Just don't think that Ms. Hoseki could've killed her..."

"Does she look like the type of person to kill?" Kaniza bit into her lips. "I-it just can't be possible..."

Minori took a deep breath. "It's simply a possibility. We can't just cross off the possibility that Rin could've been the one who killed Fuwari."

"But Fumio and Kakuma are suspicious!" Amyto frowned. "They were supposed to be sleeping the entire time till the crime, right? Couldn't one of them be lying about staying in their room all night long till the body discovery announcement?"

 _I knew someone was going to mention that._ Minori bit into his lips. _If that's the case, then Fumio and Kakuma don't really have any alibis to exempt them of guilt. I'm sure that Fumio and Kakuma are exempt of murder, and I know Fumio couldn't have planned it since he was technically hidden in his room for most of the time._

Minori then looked at Kakuma. _I'm not exactly sure if Kakuma could've killed Fuwari, but... I think it's best if we focus on Rin for now. I feel like we'll get more answers if we walk down that path!_

The pseudologist nodded to himself. _In that case, I have to lie!_

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets Selected: The Sleeping's Alibis | Instructions | Knew of the Control Panel | Jacuzzis**

 **Seiga:** So you think Kakuma and Fumio are guilty?

 **Kakuma:** Unfortunately, it is understandable that you'd believe I and Fumio are guilty of murder.

 **Sheina:** Are those two subjects **murderers** then?

 **Nezumi:** That... That can't be true.

 **Ryoichi:** Yes, so Ms. Hoseki **isn't the only one** who could've killed Ms. Akatsuki!

 **Kamui:** And there was no else who left the game room **other than Rin** during the cleanup.

 **Amyto:** So there's _**no one**_ to testify for Fumio and Kakuma?

 **Saori:** Amyto only woke Rin and I up. She **never woke** them up.

 **Seiga:** Dude, so those two could've done it?

 **Rin:** I believe so.

 **Fumio:**...

 **Sagiso:** Hm...

 **-Lie Bullet Created: Minori's Alibi-**

 **Minori:** I'll use this lie to solve the case!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori eyed the group. "Wait, I forgot to mention something important. I was talking to Fumio and Kakuma earlier before the party since I thought they were tired. I was the one who told them that they should go to sleep earlier before the party started." The pseudologist awkwardly smiled at the duo. "So those two being suspicious of murder is my fault. Sorry."

Kakuma looked at Minori for a moment, then silent. Fumio was the same.

"Considering that you yourself was targeted..." Kamui nodded to himself. "I think Kakuma and Fumio are not guilty in that regard. I wouldn't think that either of those two would even sleep through the murder, but Minori does help hold their testimonies accountable here."

Amyto seemed hesitant, but sighed and nodded. "Well, if Minnie says so, then I guess it's true..."

Ryoichi bit into his lips. "But Ms. Hoseki..."

"Hm... Actually, I want to know about Minori's case." Sagiso crossed her arms. "We need to discuss if Minori's case was related to Fuwari's or if his was from a seperate individual unrelated to Fuwari's killer."

The astrophotographer nodded rapidly. "Yeah. If Minnie's case is related to Fuwari's, then we could find more clues that'll help pin down how her case happened."

Minori honestly didn't want to think about his case. To think about how he could've died, he was nothing more than uneasy. "I-I see. If it's necessary, then we'll speak about it. I guess I should retrace my steps then."

Sagiso nodded. "Please do."

The white-haired Ultimate smiled in return. "Of course. Um, well, it was a little around five when I fell unconscious. I think someone had drugged me during the time of the cleanup, and I was about to leave to check on Fuwari until I fell unconscious. I woke up around the time of the body discovery announcement inside of the swimming pool. I was tied up and gagged, so I couldn't call for help. I was just lucky that Kamui and Seiga found me."

"You should be thanking me!" Monokuma scoffed from his seat. "I was the one who announced your captive state, after all!"

Minori didn't bother to acknowledge the headmaster. "I don't know why I was kept alive nor why I was kept in the swimming pool, but I suspect that the killer didn't want me to reach the gym."

The extraterrestrial investigator frowned. "... Since Ms. Akatsuki is over there."

"Hm? But why would they not kill you instantly?" Kamui frowned. "If they were the one who plotted Fuwari's death, then they do not need to wait to kill you... And if they merely wanted to stop you from reaching the gym, they didn't have to tie you up."

Minori sighed. _Honestly._ He looked around the room, crossing his arms. "But let's think . If my case was seperate from Fuwari's, why did the killer not kill me? Why am I safe?"

 _Why am I safe? Why did the killer not kill me? Nothing is making sense, even with my case..._ The pseudologist then looked to Ryoichi. _There's nothing else that even connects him to Fuwari's case._

"Ryoichi." Minori caught ahold of the man's attention. "You remember when you gave me the drink, right? It was before I fell unconscious."

Ryoichi's eyes widened. "W-what are you talking about, Mr. Watanabe?"

"I was the only one you gave a drink to other than yourself." The pseudologist frowned. "If my gut instincts are telling me something, then you are likely to be the one who drugged me."

"What?!"

Ryoichi threw his hands back, shocked.

"Dude, Ryo?!" Seiga looked at Minori. "That's crazy!"

"But why would he try to kill you?" Kaniza looked at the pseudologist. "There's no reason to... Oh, is it because of the motives?"

"What?" The investigator bit into his lips. "E-even if the motives are uncomfortable, that doesn't pressure me into committing such an act to someone! B-besides, there's no evidence that could suggest that I did it other than the drink!"

"But you were the only one who gave Minori something, right?" Kamui cupped his chin, thinking silently for a moment. "You were also one of the people who knew how to control the gym, if I remember correctly..."

"No way." Amyto bit into her lips. "S-so is it true Ryoichi and Rin could be murderers? A-aren't they pretty close to each other too...?"

Minori watched the scene unfold before his eyes. He thought to himself for a moment, frustration entering into his brain. _Ryoichi... He looks genuinely confused. Why? There's nothing off about him at all. Would he truly kill because of the motives? The secret...and the video game..._

 _Think, Minori, think. If Ryoichi's genuinely confused about what's happening here, why? Is it... hm... It's... a possibility. If that's the case, why would he be the one who suffers like this?_

"M-Mr. Watanabe, you're wrong! I didn't do anything to you!"

The pseudologist thought for a moment, then biting into his lips.

"I-I would never do that to you!"

 _If I pin him down first, then I think I'll be able to see the truth of this matter._

* * *

 **REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN**

 **Truth Blades: Ryoichi's Testimony | Rope | Toolkit | Knew of the Control Panel**

 **Ryoichi:** Mr. Watanabe, I didn't do it!

==SLASH!==

 **Ryoichi:** I would never do something like that!

==SLASH!==

 **Ryoichi:** I don't even remember doing anything like that to you!

==SLASH!==

 **Ryoichi:** I have no reason to harm you!

==SLASH!==

 **ADVANCE!**

 **Minori:** Even if you say that...

 **Minori:** That doesn't hold any value unless you prove it with evidence.

 **Ryoichi:** B-but I didn't do it, I swear!

==SLASH!==

 **Ryoichi:** You can't prove that I was the one who did it too!

==SLASH!==

 **Ryoichi:** I cannot be the one who drugged you nor the one who tied you up!

==SLASH!==

 **Ryoichi:** Y-you might think that I was the one who drugged you...

==SLASH!==

 **Ryoichi:** But you _**can't prove**_ that I was the one who tied you up!

 **-Truth Blade Selected: Toolkit-**

 **Minori:** I'll slice down your words!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori crossed his arms. He knew he was wrong, but he had to test Ryoichi for himself. "You were trying to hide your belongings in the swimming pool, weren't you? There was a toolkit inside of the men's changing room, and there wasn't one inside of the women's room."

"What?" Ryoichi burrowed his brows. "What're you talking about?"

"There wasn't a toolkit inside of the changing room before, but why is there one now?" The pseudologist stared down the investigator. "Can you explain?"

"N-no, I can't." Ryoichi frowned. "Mr. Watanabe, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

The Ultimate slammed his fists down. "Then explain to me why you would drug me."

Ryoichi was shaking. "I-I seriously don't know! I don't know!"

Sheina scoffed underneath her breath, though at the same time she seemed concerned for the poor extraterrestrial investigator. "Is he still trying to feign ignorance or something...?"

Minori continued to watch the investigator for a moment, then inwardly nodding to himself. _Okay, he's genuine. The toolkit was nothing more than a red herring. Then that means..._

The pseudologist sighed, heart aching. He had a hunch. He had a strong hunch of who the killer could've been, and how the murder might've happened. The possibilities on how Fuwari was killed, why Fuwari was targeted, and why Minori himself was a target- he had a strong hunch on what could've happened and how.

 _This case is not going to be pretty, to anyone._

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL POSTPONED!**

 **Survivors: 13/16**

* * *

This case seems to be a twisty one, I see. Let's just hope it won't get any worse, maybe...

Well, I'm glad you all are still reading this. I'm glad I made it this far, and I hope I won't be stopping soon with this story! Anyways, I'll be juggling this story and Act of Despair, but cases do hold more importance, so I just want to say that a story will have first priority if an investigation/trial is happening. That is to say- I will still update on the other story anyways since I'm about halfway through the introductions in AoD anyways. Well, I'll see you all next time!


	21. Chapter 2 - Part 2, Part C

Hello, and welcome to the next part of Chapter 2's class trial! From the last chapter we've learned a plentiful of things, but will that be enough for Minori to solve the case? Well, just read below and let's see what happens...

Also, quick thing to note- I want to put my own little twist at how these trials function. To make them unique to me, but true enough to how Danganronpa trials actually play out...

 **ToonGuy:** "I'm glad you like sassy little Minori, haha! As always, your thoughts are interesting! Haha, you should give yourself more credit! Well, let's see if you are right. Hm, well, not certain, but I do try to imagine the characters speaking. I would love to hear them with certain voice actors though, haha. I just imagine how this story will go in comparison to how the Danganronpa games would go. Technically, I try to make this story feel as close to the Danganronpa games as possible!"

 **liammarklh88:** "Aww, I'm glad I was able to cheer you up with last chapter! Haha, and I'm glad you sent me an OC! Kaniza does need to protect Nezumi, since they are a cute little pair~ Ah, the third chapter will be the death of me, because I have two victims and a murderer, stupid Danganronpa formula! Fuwari deserves justice for being killed! Haha, well, from my original stories, I tend to write a lot of subplots, so yeah glad you liked Rin and Ryoichi's interactions! Don't worry, just trust your guts! Haha, well, your story does seem interesting, so of course I'd check it out!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "Well, let's see if you're right! I hope what will happen will be to your liking, and to mine, most of all. Hope I meet your expectations!"

 **AmaryllisGreen:** "Haha, well, the trials are what makes Danganronpa, well, Danganronpa! Haha, glad you're liking Ryoichi's interaction with Rin! Haha, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about his secret either. His secret does play a huge role, after all, and given his talent, it does raise him as suspicious. Hope you'll like this!"

 **mayurie:** "I don't think you were late at all, haha. I hope I will complete this story too. Haha, well, let's see if you are right. Minori is a sweet boy, so everything does raise suspicion because, well, it's pretty hard to imagine Minori as a pseudologist given his personality and the fact that he doesn't lie too often. Haha, I won't forget about Minori's little secret though, so don't worry! It'll come in due time. Haha, glad you enjoyed Sagiso and Minori's interactions. Yes, I understand too that couples do tend to die, so yeah, you're split opinions make sense. Haha, well, we'll see!"

 **Agrael:** "Well, let's see if what everyone says is correct! Haha, I'm glad I did Fuwari justice!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Well, let us see if what you say is correct! Haha, hope you enjoy this chapter!"

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL IN SESSION!**

 **ALL RISE!**

* * *

Minori took a deep breath and adjusted his scarf. He knew the room was going to get hotter. Hotter not because of the temperature, but because of the tensions that will rise soon. "Ryoichi," he began, staring straight into the investigator's eyes, "do you have any idea who could've manipulated you?"

Ryoichi's eyes widened. "Manipulated me? I-I don't remember anything... But it's true that I've been framed! I would never hurt you, Mr. Watanabe."

 _Doesn't remember anything._ The pseudologist crossed his arms. He thought for a moment, then nodding. He turned back to the crowd. "Alright then. Let's discuss something psychological, alright? I think we need to go over something."

"Psychological?" Sagiso frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Minori awkwardly smiled. "Well, would anyone of you argue that we are susceptible?"

Fumio scribbled into the notepad. "Susceptible?"

"What I am talking about is that we're vulnerable. We've been vulnerable. We're teenagers who are still growing up, and with this entire setting of a whole killing game, we've been stressed out and pressured nonstop into killing, investigating a crime scene, and fighting the culprit for our lives." Minori's tone was stern. "We are vulnerable in a psychological sense. Considering how we've been stressed and pressured nonstop, you could say that for someone to manipulate us- doing that is quite easy."

Sagiso cupped her chin for a moment, then frowning as she looked back at the pseudologist. "I see. So you're saying that because of our environment, we're vulnerable to manipulation."

"Huh, interesting." Seiga raised a brow. "Dude, how do you know this shit?"

"Huh? Oh, it's because of my little sister." Minori shook his head. "Anyways, because of the environment we're in and the constant pressure being placed on us, it wouldn't much for someone to easily manipulate us. And let's think, what happened recently that caused our unity to die?"

Kaniza's eyes widened. "The motives."

"Mhm." The pseudologist took a deep breath. "I tried to counter Monokuma by forming a gathering where we would share our secrets to one another. Though a few people did join, it certainly helped them." Minori could look to Nezumi to testify for that. "However, the others who didn't share their secrets, it was obviously because of the stress of what the secret brought to them, and with Monokuma using that to his advantage, everyone continues to distrust each other."

"I guess that's also one of the reasons why only a few people helped set up the party." Seiga cracked his knuckles, now glaring at Monokuma. "That evildoer!"

Minori nodded. "Yes, however, to counter the trust placed between those who did share their secrets, a second motive had been released- a video game that closely resembled our daily lives. I haven't played it myself, but noticing how those who did play it were acting, I could safely say that the second motive was used to make us distrust each other further. That, in return, made us much more vulnerable to manipulation."

"But didn't the speech you made at the party helped deter that?" Amyto frowned, tilting her head. "I mean, the speech should've stopped us from murder, right?"

"I had hoped it would, but Monokuma is superior to us." Minori was blunt with his words. "And, unfortunately, my speech was said a bit too late. I'm sure a few people had been manipulated already. It takes only a few seconds for someone to push another's buttons, after all."

The pseudologist then looked to Kamui whose eyes widened. "Someone who's been isolated like him would've been vulnerable to manipulation. In fact, not only that, but for those who's been constantly pressured and stressed without having someone to properly care for them- those people would've been the manipulator's prime victims. The two motives that's been forced upon us- those definitely had a role in this case, and not simply because of their contents, but because of the impact it had on us individually."

"Wait." Nezumi held his breath. "But doesn't that mean you're..."

"I do have a prime suspect in mind." The pseudologist smiled sadly. _She definitely had a role in this trial. I'm sure of it._

"Wait, really?" Kaniza's eyes widened. "Then who is it? Who's the culprit?"

Minori could hear his heartbeat. It was racing, racing quickly. "It's..."

* * *

 **CHOOSE THE PRIME SUSPECT**

...

 **Amyto Uchida**

...

 **Minori:** You're the only one!

 **SUSPECT CHOSEN!**

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori turned to Amyto, frowning and stern in his tone of voice. "I don't mean to be rude, but we need to consider the fact that you _are_ the Ultimate Hypnotist and that you were closest to Fuwari."

"What?" The woman tilted her head, raising her eyebrows. "What are you talking about? Are you suspecting me of murdering Fuwari?"

"I'm not suspecting you of that, but of manipulation. Actually, manipulation may as well be murder, if this is the road that will be taken." The pseudologist crossed his arms. "I find it strange that you wouldn't ask Fuwari why she was plotting a seance, well, that is, unless you already knew why."

"And you're suspecting me simply because of my talent?" Amyto smiled awkwardly. "Minnie, are you trying to pull my leg or something? I don't think this is very funny."

 _It is based on pure speculation, but considering the evidence and how this case is going..._ Minori shook his head. "I am not joking. I believe it is a likely possibility that you had a role in this case."

"And based on what?" The hypnotist pursed her lips, sweating. "Just because I was close to Fuwari and that I'm a hypnotist?"

The pseudologist did not back down. He couldn't. He had to continue pressuring her. He had to continue pressing forward. "Ryoichi does not know anything, and although Rin seems to be connected to this case, the evidence against them do not make up for most of the case. But then, let's ask- why does Ryoichi not know anything? Why doesn't the evidence point to Rin being the one who burnt the gym? The question that's needed to be answered most is about Ryoichi's case."

Ryoichi was stunned. He couldn't anything but look at Minori and Amyto in worry, nervous. "Um..."

"Let's do a comparison." Minori frowned. "What does Ryoichi and Fuwari have in common?"

Amyto raised a brow. "In common? What?"

 _Yes, what they have in common..._

* * *

 **THINKING TIME**

 **Question: What does Ryoichi and Fuwari have in common?**

 **A. They actually had nothing in common.**

 **B. They were both supposed to be present in the cleanup.**

 **C. They are both Ultimates.**

 **[D. They were both susceptible to the two motives.]**

 **Minori:** _I see it!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori took a stand, standing as confident as could be. "Ryoichi and Fuwari were both not present in the secrets gathering, and at that point they were both extremely unwilling to share their secrets. We also need to apply the fact that they were both extremely uncomfortable with the second motive, nonetheless pushed to the brink of anxiety. They both played the game, after all."

Ryoichi's eyes widened, and then he quickly bowed his head down. "Oh, right, that... I-I'm truly sorry for what I did last time. I was just extremely nervous after playing that video game..."

The wedding planner nodded his head, him looking over to Sagiso who had been present during that event as well. Kakuma sighed. "I do remember that time. Those two had caused a scene inside of the dining hall."

"It was extremely hard to calm them down..." Sagiso added, crossing her arms. "... Then again, Amyto was able to stop Fuwari easily after a while. A bit too easily..."

Minori nodded. "Now that I think about it, I find it really strange that Fuwari stopped instantly when Amyto told her to, however Amyto was the one who told me that she wasn't 'listening to her' beforehand."

"Huh? That was just a slip of the tongue!" Amyto frowned. "And I'd never hurt my friend like that! And shouldn't Ryoichi be the murderer? The toolkit was inside of the men's changing room!"

The pseudologist shook his head. "That was nothing more than a red herring. And, if we think about it, there is no use for the toolkit."

Saori cupped her chin, thinking. "But what if the toolkit was used for the control panel? The murderer could've gone back to fix the control panel or unscrewed it."

"No, that's impossible."

 _And I have the right evidence to present them with..._

* * *

 **PRESENT THE EVIDENCE**

 **Truth Bullet Selected: Softball Bat**

 **Minori:** I got it!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"What was used to destroy the control panel would be the softball bat found inside of the storage room." The pseudologist eyed the group, firm. "There are dents on one side of the bat, and considering the state the control panel was in, I can safely assume that the bat was used to break the control panel. Besides, it would take much more time to unscrew the control panel and make sure that a fire would occur."

"Then is the only use for the toolkit is a red herring?" Kakuma frowned. "I doubt that the killer would carelessly do such a thing."

Kamui crossed his arms, pondering to himself. "Yeah, I just can't believe the toolkit is just a red herring..."

"Hm, I understand that." Minori nodded. "Well, then let us go over the other questions about my case. The toolkit would connect my case to Fuwari's, however the question is- why were we chosen? I can assume Fuwari had been chosen deliberately, however her plan with the seance had been abruptly announced... Hm, well, for my case..."

Sagiso bit into her lips, raising a brow. "So, Minori had been captured on his way towards the gym. Would we argue that he had been chosen simply because he was going to meet with Fuwari, thus possibly making him see the crime scene?"

"That's likely, but then I want to raise the question to why Minori had been drugged beforehand." Kamui looked to the psychogeographer. "The culprit couldn't have known that Minori was going to check on Fuwari unless he had told us so beforehand."

Ryoichi pursed his lips. "Then he was chosen randomly?"

"That's unlikely." Minori took a deep breath. "If the killer wanted to kill Fuwari, why choose another person, and especially out of random? If my case was seperate from Fuwari's, then evidence would point to Ryoichi. However..." He looked back at the investigator. "Because he would've been the only one who could've done such to me, I am doubting it. I think my case is connected to Fuwari's, and I have no doubt that Ryoichi was chosen deliberately to be framed."

"Considering what you said about susceptibility..." Rin nodded slowly. "You... You have a point."

"Then why would you be chosen?" Amyto crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks out. "If you're claiming that I am the culprit, then why would I choose you? And what is this toolkit used for, if it's not a so-called 'red herring'?"

The pseudologist shook his head. "We need to discuss my case then."

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Rope | Toolkit | Ryoichi's Testimony | Knew of the Control Panel**

 **Amyto:** You're blaming me as the culprit, and for what? Just because **I'm a hypnotist**?

 **Amyto:** Besides, then why would I choose you as a victim, other than Fuwari?

 **Kamui:** Going over why Minori was targeted... Hm...

 **Saori:** Couldn't we consider that he was targeted because he was **walking towards the gym**?

 **Seiga:** Dude, I doubt that. The killer **couldn't have predicted** that he would be walking there beforehand!

 **Ryoichi:** O-okay, then what would it be?

 **Fumio:** I would think it would've been out of convenience or coincidence, but if it's not... Hm...

 **Sagiso:** If it wasn't because of convenience, then was it because of **{something Minori did or say}** earlier?

 **Sheina:** Did he even say or do anything to raise suspicion?

 **Kakuma:** Well, he was more assertive these past few days. He was the one who **came up with the secret gathering** too, after all.

 **Rin:** Huh? Then would it be because he took an _**active role**_ in stopping a murder from happening?

 **Kaniza:** I don't see why anyone would target poor Minnie just because of that.

 **Nezumi:** M-me neither...

 **Ryoichi:** Would Mr. Watanabe be targeted for such a petty reason though?

 **Kamui:** Hm... I wonder...

 **Minori:** _... What that person said- it makes sense!_

 **-Statement: "...something Minori did or say..."-**

 **Minori:** I agree with that!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

The pseudologist looked at Rin, firm. Though his heart was beating, beating in an erratic pace, he continued to speak. He had to lead this trial, no matter what. "There is a reason to why I was targeted."

"Really?" Kaniza's eyes widened. "Why?"

Minori turned to the astrophotographer, eyeing the woman as she toyed worriedly with her locks of hair. "Let's think about this- who was the person who actively tried to fight Monokuma's schemes? Seiga was the one who decided to take the initiative by focusing our attention to the party instead of murder, however that didn't work too well. However, despite that, I tried to help him and came up with my own plans. From the gathering to the speech I made, the things I've done would've definitely been vexing and frustrating to someone, especially if they were planning a murder."

"I mean, I get that. Everyone wasn't really participating in making the party a reality apart from a few people," Seiga began, scratching his head, "but are your assertive acts enough to get that person to target you?"

"If we bring in what I've said earlier, to manipulate someone you would need them to be constantly stressed and anxious. With a mixture of low self-esteem and low confidence, nonetheless the pressure having been placed upon us, these would've allowed someone to fall easily under another's will if that person was deemed as 'leaderlike' or 'reliable'." Minori crossed his arms. "And consider what the purpose of my actions are."

"Haha, you sound pretty proud of what you've done." The stunt double chuckled, but then cracked his fists and nodded rapidly. "The purpose of your actions are to make us unite as one!"

The pseudologist let out a small smile, then nodding. "If I take the initiative to help others and make us united, then no doubt it will deter a murder from ever happening. Nonetheless, the susceptibility of whoever the manipulator is targeting will slowly, but surely, disappear."

"True." Kaniza slowly tapped her chin. "Then the victim won't be easily manipulated..."

"These are how cults are made." Minori took a deep breath. "It really isn't hard to manipulate someone. Even the most normal of people can be easily manipulated."

"So my two subjects have been manipulated by a sinner!" Sheina held her chin high. "Unforgivable! The Son of Osiris will compel you!"

"I-is that why I don't remember anything?" Ryoichi was pale. "S-someone was manipulating me..."

Minori nodded. "You have been manipulated as well as Fuwari. It is a likely possibility that Fuwari had been manipulated as well. However, I believe that in order to make you completely forget about your wrongdoing, brainwashing had to be done." The man looked over to Amyto who was glaring at him. The pseudologist inwardly sighed.

"So, the culprit targeted you because of that." Sagiso bobbed her head slowly in acknowledgment, thinking for a moment. "I suppose the killer is quite the vengeful person then. I still do not know the reason to why they would manipulate Ryoichi into drugging you though. You walking over to the gym was merely coincidence, right?"

"True." The man cupped his chin. He pondered for a moment, heart beating. "Hm, I wonder..."

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Rope | Toolkit | Seance | Instructions**

 **Amyto:** Are we sure that him being targeted isn't just by mere coincidence?

 **Sagiso:** Minori's statement holds as the most likely possibility. He was definitely targeted because of **his assertive behavior**.

 **Kaniza:** Hm, so why would the killer target him though? Was it just **out of vengence**?

 **Nezumi:** I-I don't think it's smart of the killer to just do that though...

 **Kakuma:** Then the only reason why Minori was targeted was _**to murder him**_.

 **Seiga:** For real?!

 **Kamui:** Well, there is no other reasonable alternative...

 **Kamui:** And it is true that Minori walked towards the gym **out of pure coincidence**.

 **Ryoichi:** This is really hard to figure out. Ugh, I don't know!

 **Rin:** Hm...

 **Minori:** _..._

 **Minori:** _I think... I think I know the answer._

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Rope-**

 **Minori:** You've got that wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Kakuma looked at the pseudologist, eyes then slightly widening as he noticed the look of discomfort on his face. The wedding planner was silent for a moment. He then crossed his arms, raising a brow. He decided to speak, if nonetheless in his regular tone of voice. "Then what are the other alternatives, Minori?"

The white-haired man averted his gaze, but shook his head and looked at Kakuma. "If the culprit wanted to kill me, I would've been dead by now. However, the killer kept me inside of the swimming pool. I wouldn't think that the killer didn't have the time to kill me, right? If Fuwari was trapped inside of the gym, then the killer would've had the time to make due with me."

The wedding planner frowned. He had no idea what the man was talking about. "Then what other reason is there?"

"Let's consider another piece of evidence." Minori pursed his lips. "If the killer had wanted to kill me, they wouldn't have bothered to tie me up, and especially restrain my hands around the pole. I was a few inches away from plunging myself into the pool, and if the killer wanted me to tie, that wouldn't have been a problem. However, the killer had tied my hands around a metal pole which kept me from even touching the water. Why?"

"Why?" Kakuma thought for a moment, then silent. He took a small breath of air before speaking. "If that's the case, and with the toolkit found inside there..." He looked straight into Minori's eyes. "Wouldn't someone hear you?"

The pseudologist smiled sadly. "Considering that I had been gagged, not unless someone was really close."

"But..." The wedding planner's nose wrinkled. A disgusted look was on his face. "But it's still risky. It's like the killer was going to-"

"Wait." Seiga quickly interjected into the conversation, frowning. He was cracking his fists, disgruntled. "What the fuck are you two talking about? I'm confused here!"

Kaniza nodded. "Me too." The woman looked to Minori. "So if the killer didn't want to kill you, then why would they do that to you?"

"If it's not murder... the toolkit..." Rin was thinking to herself for a moment, pondering. She was thinking and thinking, but then suddenly her eyes widen. She threw her hands over her mouth, a quiet gasp escaping her lips. The jeweler was shaking.

"W-what's happening?" Nezumi was fidgeting in place, cupping his hands. "Why're you shaking, Rin? S-so, what's the purpose in Minori's capture...?"

The pseudologist watched the scene unfold before his eyes. He eyed Kakuma who was staring at him, then eyeing everyone else who was trying to make sense of the situation. Minori let out a small smile (though it was that out of nervousness and fear) as he crossed his arms, clearing his throat. "Like I mentioned with Kakuma, the killer couldn't have killed me. Instead, it was more like they wanted to toy with me."

"Toy with you?" Fumio was scribbling into his notepad, hands shaking. "What do you mean by that?"

 _I really don't want to flat out say this._ The man bit into his lips, hesitant for a moment. "Well... What are the uses of the instruments in a toolkit? Of course, it is to repair and build things, correct?" He watched the group who nodded their heads. "However, let's take the common usage of what's inside of the toolkit out of our heads and look at this from a darker angle. If the tools weren't to be used to build and repair things, then the only other use for them, in a logical, darker sense, would be- torture."

"W-what?!" Ryoichi threw his entire body back, almost falling from shock.

"Torture?" Kaniza was stunned. Her entire face was paling, her entire body freezing. She wasn't moving at all. "T-that can't be... W-who would even think to do something like that? T-to torture you... That's impossible!"

"S-so it's not just a red herring? The toolkit?" Sheina gulped. "Torturing someone is definitely a sin, you know!"

Minori averted his gaze. His fingers were touching the flaps from his scarf. "There is no need for the toolkit to even be used as a red herring. I would've already made my assertion that Ryoichi was the one who captured me because of the drink he gave me..." The man's hands were cold. He was sweating. "So, there is a different use for the toolkit other than as a red herring. Even going so far as to drug and capture me, the purpose in my case... That is to not keep me from walking into the crime scene, but it's a vengence to harm me as much as possible for deterring a murder from happening."

"But that's just..." Saori was displeased. "That's sick."

Ryoichi was struggling to move. "Ugh, just imagining what Mr. Watanabe would've gone through if he was tortured-!" The man quickly threw his hands over his mouth. "I'm gonna throw up!"

"Ryo, dude, don't!" Seiga's eyes widened.

It was too late, and Ryoichi was left vomiting on stage.

"Yuck!" Monokuma quickly covered his nose. It was not before he threw the investigator an empty bucket however. "What the fuck man?! Get ahold of yourself!"

The pseudologist watched the scene unfold for a moment, then deciding to speak again. "At least I'm fine, correct? Well, what matters most is that I've been targeted because the killer wanted to exact vengence on me. This also does say something about the killer. The killer killed Fuwari because she was susceptible, and they tried to harm me because of what I did. And I have no doubt that if any of you had done what I was doing, then you'd be targeted instead of me."

"Sounds obnoxious," Kakuma murmured under his breath. However, he crossed his arms and spoke loudly. "But it does make sense. It would make sense considering how you've been targeted, Minori."

"And you're accusing me of that?" Amyto bit into her lips. "Do you think I could think of something so cruel, Minnie?"

Minori bit into his lips. "Let us consider the fact that you're close to Fuwari and that you've been the one who's been relatively following her, or, in this case, her following you. How are we to know that Fuwari planning the seance wasn't actually your idea?"

"Do you have evidence to prove that?" The hypnotist continued to pry into the man. "Why're you trying to make me sound like a villain? It's like I never cared about Fuwari or anybody at all! A-and Ryoichi could still be lying to us!"

"W-what? I would never!" Ryoichi had gotten ahold of himself, wiping his lips. The bucket was to the side. "I would never harm Mr. Watanabe!"

"Those could be lies!" Amyto clenched her fists. She then threw a cold look at Minori. "And aren't you a pseudologist? You could be lying to us! You're just trying to make me look bad! I would never hurt Fuwari! I would never hurt you!"

Minori frowned. "And could you prove that to me?"

"And could you prove that I'd hurt any of you guys?"

The pseudologist couldn't help but inwardly smirk to himself. _We're going to play back and forth, huh? Well then._ The man raised a brow. "Ryoichi is not lying, and I am sure of that. Can you tell me what could label Ryoichi as the one who harmed me? You could've easily manipulated Ryoichi into giving you the toolkit- you are a hypnotist, after all. You're the only one who could've brainwashed him. That toolkit being in the men's locker room is a red herring, a way to distract us."

"I-I mean, I don't have any evidence to not prove that, but..." The hypnotist quickly shook her head, face paling. "B-but what about Rin? S-she's the one who could've killed Fuwari, remember? She was the one who could've stabbed her! The killer wouldn't be so careless to let another person kill her, right? I wasn't there to stab Fuwari!"

Rin's eyes widened. "W-we're going back on that...?"

"S-she's innocent!" Ryoichi was glaring at the hypnotist. "I told you Ms. Hoseki would never do that!"

"And so our suspect is trying to defend the other suspect." Kaniza awkwardly smiled at the duo, then looking at Minori. "Is there any way to prove that Rin's innocent? I mean, if Ryoichi's innocence could be proven, then..."

"Isn't it just enough that Rin isn't a hypnotist?" Seiga tilted his head. "I mean, Ryo got hypnotized right? Because he was 'susceptible' like Fuwari and all that shit? I wouldn't even know how to hypnotize someone!"

Amyto bit into her lips. "It's easy if you had a hypnotist watch!"

The stunt double shook his head. "We don't even have those here! I would've noticed one right away if I saw one!"

"And I doubt anyone would willingly allow themselves to be hypnotized," Kamui said under his breath, nodding his head. "The person who would've manipulated Ryoichi and Fuwari must've been close to them and discreet."

"So Amyto's the only one who could've done something like that..." The astrophotographer bit into her lips, anxious. "That's..."

"I..." Amyto looked at Kaniza, then shaking her head before looking back at Minori. "But it's still obvious that Rin was the only one who could've killed Fuwari! Fuwari didn't die from the fire, right? She was stabbed, and it was Rin who did it, right?! No matter how you put it, I wasn't the one who killed her! I would never kill her either!"

Minori frowned. _True. Rin was the only one who could've done such a thing, but... Was her meeting Fuwari just mere coincidence, or... Was it something else? Think, Minori, think. Was Rin meeting up with Fuwari pure coincidence, or was there something else that led to this unfortunate accident? The gym's layout..._

* * *

 **Psyche Taxi**

 **...**

 **Question 1: Why was Rin the only one who could've stabbed Fuwari?**

 **[A. She was the one who went out to take out the trash.]**

 **B. She knew when Fuwari was going to escape the gym.**

 **C. She was hiding outside of the gym throughout the murder.**

 **...**

 **GOT IT!**

 **...**

 **Question 2: Why was Rin apparent at the cleanup?**

 **A. She wasn't at the cleanup.**

 **B. Because she was apparent throughout the entire party.**

 **[C. Because Amyto woke her up for the seance.]**

 **...**

 **GOT IT!**

 **...**

 **Question 3: Was Rin susceptible to any of the two motives?**

 **[A. Yes.]**

 **B. There is no evidence to prove that she was or wasn't.**

 **C. No.**

 **...**

 **GOT IT!**

 **...**

 **Minori:** _I see it now!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

 _This isn't a matter about concrete evidence anymore. It's a matter of what could happen and how it could happen._ The pseudologist frowned. He looked straight at the hypnotist. "What do you think of this possibility- that Rin, being another person who was susceptible to the motives, was manipulated as well as Ryoichi?"

Rin's eyes widened. "What?"

"What?" Amyto repeated exactly what the jeweler said, eyebrows furrowing. She stared blankly at the pseudologist for a moment, then laughing. She was reeling her head back and laughing, wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes. "That's really cute, Minnie! So you think I'm capable of hypnotizing something to that extent- to the extent of manipulating them to killing someone? That's not how hypnotizing someone works, my dear Minnie."

Minori frowned, crossing his arms. "Please explain."

The woman nodded, an amused smile on her lips. "It's true that you could manipulate someone into doing something they may not like, but murder? That's impossible. If that could be done, then there would've been plenty of cases of it happening in the past. I couldn't hypnotize Rin into killing Fuwari, let alone would I dare try."

"True!" Sheina scoffed, putting a foot forward. "Hmph!"

Minori was silent. He looked at Amyto for a moment, then looking at Rin. "I want you to tell me something- did you also play the video game? I know you weren't at the gathering for the first motive, but I want to know if you've played the video game as well."

The jeweler was shocked, but then she averted her gaze. She was hesitant. "... I did."

"I see." Minori cupped his chin, pondering. _So she was susceptible to not only one motive, but both of them._ The white-haired man looked back at Amyto. "It's true that you cannot hypnotize someone into killing someone, but there's another way to get Rin to kill Fuwari."

Seiga's eyes widened. "Woah, dude. So you believe Rin killed Fuwari?"

"Possibly, but I need to confirm it." Minori didn't bother to look at Rin whose face paled. "It's true that Rin have gone outside to take out the trash, but what if that wasn't her true purpose?"

Fumio frowned. "True purpose?"

The pseudologist nodded. "Rin could've easily been manipulated to 'take out the trash', and, yes, she could've done that. There is no piece of evidence that suggests that Rin did not do her duty, and there is no piece of evidence that suggests that Rin did not have enough time to kill Fuwari. The culprit could've easily manipulated Rin into not only take out the trash, but to also wait for Fuwari just outside of the cafe. There is no need to say that Rin must kill her."

"W-wait." Ryoichi bit into his lips. Sweat was trickling down his lips. "B-but wouldn't that suggest that Ms. Hoseki killed Ms. Akatsuki o-out of her own will?"

"But that means that Rin is the killer!" Kaniza clenched into her fists. "I mean, right?!"

Minori was stern, an indifferent look on his face. "Fuwari was stabbed. Why? The manipulator was able to manipulate Rin into waiting for Fuwari, and the sight of seeing Fuwari's burnt body would've definitely scarred her. Just think about it- Fuwari was definitely alive at that point. She was able to escape the door and drag herself, and we're in no doubt that she was in immense pain. That would..." The man shook his head. "That would definitely scar somebody."

Nezumi was beginning to tear up, eyes watery. "A-are you trying to say that Rin killed her out of a... a mercy kill?"

Rin was shivering. Her lips were quivering, and she couldn't say anything other than incoherent noises.

"Wait." Saori stepped into the fray, expression stern. Her expression was definitely stern, but Minori could see it- that subtle feeling of worry and fear. "But can't we argue that Rin isn't the murderer? She was under the influence of brainwashing, right?"

Amyto bit into her lips. "You're still trying to pin me as the killer?"

Minori thought for a moment, then crossing his arms. He was staring straight at Amyto. "If this is truly the case and that Rin killed Fuwari because of influence, then it is safe to assume that Amyto was the one who definitely plotted Fuwari's murder. She was the one who manipulated not only Ryoichi and Fuwari's hearts, but Rin's as well!"

"What?!" Amyto was stunned. She looked at the man for a second, then shaking her head. She was sweating, then pointing to Rin. "But Rin isn't fighting back! Isn't it obvious that she's the one who burnt the gym and killed Fuwari?"

"It's impossible that she set up the gym. There is no evidence that suggests that Rin was the one who set up the murder, only that she was the one who could've stabbed Fuwari." Minori frowned. "You, on the other hand, are a different story. Amyto, just give it up."

Amyto was forced into silence, body shaking. Her mouth stood agape, and her face paled. Slowly, slowly, she hung her head low. She was immobile.

The entire courtroom was silent. It was tense. It was tense, and nothing happened.

Nothing happened for a few moments, but Amyto suddenly began to move. Slowly, slowly, she looked back at Minori.

"You always ruin everything, Minori."

Minori's eyes widened. He could feel his heart stopping. His breath hitched. He was looking at Amyto, that was for certain. However, was the Amyto in front of him the real Amyto? That woman who used to be so jolly and hyper- that woman who was now staring at him with clouded hazel eyes and gloom.

"A-Amyto...?"

The woman's expression didn't change. She was emotionless, lips curved into a gloomy frown. "Why do you always ruin everything for me, Minori? It's harder to create my world of dreams with you in the way."

"W-what?" Minori was shocked. Seeing Amyto act so emotionless was eerie. It was definitely unsettling. "What are you talking about?"

"It's hard to create my world of dreams and wash away this fake reality with you in the way." The hypnotist's eyes were cloudy, yet they seem to be glowing in disgust and hatred. Her nose wrinkled. "I should've gotten rid of you instead."

The pseudologist's face paled.

"What the fuck?" Seiga was thrown aback. Sweat was trickling down his chin, lips curved into a forceful smile. "Um, Amy, what're you talking about? World of dreams? Fake reality? What's with this bullshit you're spewing?"

"I mean what I say." The woman let out a smug grin. "This world is nothing more than an illusion. This world cannot be real, and I have to prove that by creating my world of dreams."

"Wait." Kamui took a deep breath. "Then did you actually hypnotize Ryoichi into kidnapping Minori and Rin into killing Fuwari?"

Amyto looked at Kamui for a moment, then scoffing. "I honestly should've had Minori killed first, but since he was getting in the way of me and Sai..." She gritted into her teeth, eyes suddenly shining a sharp hazel color. "I wanted to make him suffer for as long as possible. He's in my way of being with Sai... To tear him apart into bits and bits, breaking his bones and seeing him beg for mercy-!"

Minori couldn't say anything. He found himself shaking, unable to comprehand the hatred and disgust behind Amyto's voice.

The woman noticed the pseudologist's fear, then deciding to regain her composure. She looked back to the mortician and nodded. "But what does it matter? I am a nobody, and as a nobody I cannot be pinned as the murderer."

Kaniza held her breath. "W-what do you mean by that?"

"I mean what I say." Amyto looked at Kaniza. "I wasn't the one who dealt the final blow to Fuwari's life, right? I cannot be pinned as the murderer because I wasn't the one who actually killed her."

Rin realized this horrible conclusion, her entire body falling weak. She found herself falling to the ground, shaking.

"T-that can't be possible!" The thief was shaking his head. "Rin never even thought about killing her-"

"Are you sure about that?" The hypnotist let out a small huff. "I only told her to wait by for Fuwari, not to kill her. In the end, it was Rin who killed Fuwari, not me. I never told her to kill Fuwari, but yet she did the job and was pinned as the murderer. She only killed Fuwari because she was kind enough to think that she was doing a 'mercy kill'."

"T-that's foul play!" Ryoichi slammed his fists to the rail. "You manipulated her into doing this! Ms. Hoseki, tell her!"

Rin was unable to speak, instead shaking her head. "I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to..."

"Ms. Hoseki?" Ryoichi's tone fell into a shaky whisper. "You..."

"So you're forcing us into this situation." Sagiso bit into her lips, pained. "To choose between someone who physically killed Fuwari or someone who forced a victim to kill another... You're sick."

"What does it matter?" Amyto was emotionless. "I am a nobody. I'm only doing what I'm doing because it is necessary in order to create my reality with Sai."

"Sai?" Minori's heart was pounding. "You mean... Your best friend?"

"You remember that?" The woman seemed amused by Minori's response. "Sai is the only person who exists in reality. Everyone else here are living in a fake world, and I need to create the reality where I'm together with Sai. This world... This world is nothing more than an illusion."

"W-why're you talking about Sai like that?" The pseudologist bit into his lips. "Is he-"

"Dead?" Amyto frowned. "That's what this false world wants me to think. This is why I need to leave. This world is fake, and to create my reality with Sai, I need to protect myself and do as much as I can to create that world. To use test subjects to experiment how to reach him... I need to experiment as much as I can until I reach Sai."

Sheina averted her gaze. She was definitely shattered by Amyto's sudden transformation. "Even if that means hurting all of us?"

"I need to reach Sai." Amyto's response was blunt, and it silenced the egyptologist. She looked at Monokuma. "Are we going to vote now?"

"H-huh? Wait!" Ryoichi was shaking his head, legs shaking. "Ms. Hoseki cannot be the killer! She was under your influence, right?!"

Kakuma frowned. "But considering that Rin was the one who actually stabbed Fuwari..."

"Silence!" The courtroom was silent, listening to the headmaster's demand. Monokuma smirked, then thought for a moment, humming loudly with his high-pitched tone of voice. He continued to cup his chin for a moment, then snapping his fingers and looking down at the group. "Well, who knows who's the killer and who isn't? You guys have to decide for yourselves!"

"What?! No way!" Nezumi was white, his entire body pale. "Y-you can't be serious! We don't even know what to do anymore!"

Fumio was biting into his lips, then shakily writing into his notepad. "I must agree with Nezumi. How do we know if our decision is right?"

"Amyto literally admitted to being the culprit!" Kaniza's eyes were teary. "You can't tell me that Rin's the killer! She's been brainwashed!"

"Pfft!" The headmaster rolled his head back. "Like I could give a shit about that? I honestly don't care as long as you vote who's the blackened! Why would I tell you shit about who's the exact killer of this case? I'm not telling any of you guys shit so just fucking discuss the killer already! Stop crying about your poor baby Rin! God!"

"But Ms. Hoseki..." Ryoichi looked to Rin, the jeweler's eyes watering. He held his breath before looking over to Amyto, anger in his eyes. "You are a monster."

"And what does it matter to me?" Amyto crossed her arms. "Rin will be the blackened of this case, and I will continue to create my ideal world with Sai."

Seiga clenched into his fists. He was cracking his knuckles. "I think this evildoer needs to be taught a lesson, huh?"

"Wait a second." The wedding planner crossed his arms, stern in his expression. "But she has a point. What if Monokuma wants us to vote for Rin? She was the one who actually murdered Fuwari."

"Agreed." Sagiso bit into her lips. "No matter how painful it is to think about it, Rin was the one who physically killed Fuwari..."

"B-but!" The investigator was shaking. "No way... I won't pin her as the murderer!"

"M-me neither!" Nezumi slammed his fists to the rail. "A-an innocent person like Rin cannot be the killer!"

"Even if she did admitted to manipulating Ryoichi, Fuwari, and Rin..." Kamui thought for a moment, then frowning. "... Rin might be pinned as the blackened in this case simply because she ended Fuwari's life."

Minori's eyes widened. "K-Kamui!"

Kamui's eyes widened in response, his head turning to the pseudologist's. It was obvious what the mortician was thinking, what he was wondering- _you don't believe that Rin's the blackened?_

Minori bit into his lips. He looked at everyone, then eyeing Amyto who was staring at him in disdain. He was sweating, but he had to take a stance. He had to take a stance on who's the killer, and he had to believe in not logic, but in his intuition- in the truth that he can see within his path. "I believe that Amyto's the blackened in this case. Her case is definitely that of manipulation, and I think that alone is enough to pin her as the killer."

Amyto rolled her eyes.

"Really?" Kakuma burrowed his brows. "But-"

"Hold up for just a fucking second!" Monokuma quickly yelled into the courtroom, arms wide open. "You guys seem evenly split about this! Upupupupu! I think this calls for a scrum debate, huh!"

"Scrum debate?" Sheina frowned. "Oh, that strange thing again...?"

"But how do we do this?" Fumio was gripping tightly to his notepad. "To convince the other side that either Amyto or Rin is the killer... We don't even know how you will approach the blacken as well. This is just foul play!"

"No complaining, Mr. Mute!" The headmaster groaned. "Just convince the other side and shit! Just make up your damn minds already! We're gonna fucking do this!"

And within seconds did Monokuma took out the golden key, a device appearing from midair. Monokuma slapped the key into the slot, and immediately did the courtroom begin to transform.

Minori cupped his chin, the ground beneath him beginning to rumble. _This case is definitely difficult, but I think Amyto's the killer. I know it. It can't be Rin. I have to convince them of that!_

* * *

 **SCRUM DEBATE**

 **Question:** Who should be chosen as the blackened?

 **LEFT SIDE "RIN":** Amyto, Kamui, Kakuma, Fumio, Sagiso, Saori, Sheina

 **RIGHT SIDE "AMYTO":** Minori, Rin, Ryoichi, Nezumi, Seiga, Kaniza

. | . | . | .

 **Kakuma:** Rin should be the blackened since she was the one who **_killed_** Fuwari.

 **Ryoichi:** But the one who **_killed_** Ms. Akatsuki should be the one who plotted to kill her!

.

 **Kamui:** Rin was the one who **_physically_** murdered Fuwari though.

 **Minori:** Even if Rin had killed Fuwari _**physically**_ , the one who harmed Fuwari the most was Amyto!

.

 **Sagiso:** We also need to take into account that _**Monokuma**_ might be trying to trick us into voting for Amyto.

 **Kaniza:** But _**Monokuma**_ could be tricking us into voting for Rin!

.

 **Fumio:** How do we know for sure that Rin isn't the **_blackened_** of this case?

 **Nezumi:** W-we don't know that Amyto's not the _**blackened**_ either!

.

 **Sheina:** But if we vote _**wrong**_ , then we will be sinned!

 **Rin:** H-how do you know that voting for me isn't _**wrong**_ though?

.

 **Saori:** Our fates lies on this _**decision**_...

 **Seiga:** I'm sure we'll be able to reach the right **_decision_** if we trust Rin!

.

 **Amyto:** Why are we arguing about this? Just _**vote**_ Rin as the murderer.

 **Minori:** We cannot _**vote**_ Rin as the murderer!

.

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Rin cannot be the murderer." Minori crossed his arms. "With the amount of evidence we've been given and the fact that Rin's been manipulated, Amyto has to be the killer!"

"Seriously...?" Kamui looked doubtful. He eyed the pseudologist for a moment, then lowering his head and cupping his chin. He was unsure of what to say, puckering his lips. "But... If you really believe that, then wouldn't that counter the result from last case?"

Minori's eyes widened. The mortician had a point, and the pseudologist knew that. He knew that, yet he knew that this case, this present case, was different. "You and Asami both did it willingly," he said, trying to sound as gentle as possible. If anything, he did not want to hurt Kamui. "Rin had been manipulated. Amyto is at fault here, and Rin's innocent in that case."

"You think?" Amyto looked dryly at the man. "But like I said- I did not specifically tell her to murder Fuwari, right? I do admit I was the one responsible for hypnotizing a plentiful of you, but like I said a hypnotist could only go far before hitting a wall. I cannot hypnotize someone into killing another. That is impossible."

Rin was silent, paling.

"So, it was Rin who made the choice to kill Fuwari." The hypnotist let out a wry, small smirk. "You can't say that I was the one who actually killed Fuwari, right?"

Kaniza slammed her fists down. "But you were the one who planned this entire thing!"

Amyto looked at Kaniza for a moment. She then sighed, then suddenly taking something out from her pockets. It was a couple of pills. A couple of blank, colorless pills. She threw them into her mouth, gulping it down within seconds.

A few seconds passed before she cleared her throat. She looked at the group for a second, then suddenly her eyes sparkling and lips curving to a wide smile. "I mean, I did tell Fuwari that planning a seance would be a good idea, but, like, I only told her because I wanted to meet Ko and Asami!"

"W-what the fuck?" Seiga bit into his lips. "You're suddenly perky again..."

"Oh, that's because of the drugs!" Amyto giggled, winking to the stunt double. She turned to Minori, expression saddened. "And I'm truly sorry for what happened to you. I didn't think that my prank would actually scare you, Minnie~"

"H-how is it a prank?" Minori's body was shaking. "You literally said that you wanted to torture me!"

"Is that so?" The woman thought for a moment, then giggling again. She bumped her fist to her head. "Oopsy!"

 _W-what the fuck? She's trying to play with my emotions..._ Minori quickly shook his head, forcing himself to hold his composure. "Amyto, you're the one who manipulated Ryoichi and Rin into committing your deeds. You are the one who is most responsible for Fuwari's death."

"I-I don't get it." Nezumi was fiddling with his fingers. "I thought you were close to her."

"Close? Well, I guess?" Amyto tilted her head, feigning confusion. "But I couldn't care less about us being 'friends', rather that I care about having a plentiful of 'subjects' by my side. My ultimate wish is to be with Sai after all!"

"What?" The thief was sweating. "Do you even consider any of us to be your friends?"

The hypnotist smiled brightly. "Of course not. Sai is the only person I care about. The only worth you guys are to me are your use as my test subjects."

"That's..." Ryoichi forced a smile. "That's harsh..."

"But let's not pry into that!" Amyto clapped her hands together. Her eyes suddenly stared down into Rin's. "Rin, tell us the truth. I never told you to kill Fuwari, right? You were the one who actually killed her, right?"

Rin's eyes widened. She was staring at Amyto, baffled. A moment passed, and she quickly lowered her head, averting her gaze. Her voice was quiet, meek. "S... She's right."

The investigator's mouth fell agape. "M-Ms. Hoseki!"

"I don't remember everything that happened, but... I-I remember it. So clearly." The jeweler hugged her arms, shaking. "Fuwari's burnt body... Her begging for relief... She wanted to die... I didn't know what to do! There was no chance of her ever recovering from her burns, and she knew that! T-that's why she begged for me to kill her! T-that's why..."

The jeweler suddenly found herself in tears, Ryoichi and Kaniza running over to comfort her.

Minori watched the jeweler cry in distress. Her sobs were escaping the room, and his anger was aimed at Amyto. "You're the one at fault here. If you hadn't told Rin to wait near the crime scene, then this wouldn't have happened. You're the one at fault here, not Rin."

"You think?" Amyto's smile was turned upside down. "Minnie, what doesn't matter is what you think is morally right, but who actually ended Fuwari's life."

Sagiso looked at Minori for a moment, eyes shining in worry. "Amyto, I understand where you're coming from, but-"

"But what? You think I'll just happily agree to the fact that you guys think I'm the blackened?" Amyto bit into her lips. Frustration was clear on her face. "Then tell me this- how are you so sure that I'm the blackened? You don't even know what Monokuma thinks. Isn't it better to play safe and vote for Rin?"

"Minori." Saori was staring at the man. "What should we do?"

Fumio scribbled into his notepad. Strangely, there was a firm expression on his face. A determined expression. "Minori, we should vote for Amyto."

"What?" The pseudologist frowned. "You're... confident about that. Why?"

The scholar didn't move. Instead, he was looking at the man.

Minori bit into his lips. _What's up with Fumio?_ The pseudologist looked around the room. He then looked to Monokuma who was watching the group, amused as he sipped into his martini. The white-haired man raised a brow. _Does he know something about Monokuma...?_

The pseudologist wasn't sure, but if Fumio was confident- Minori trusted him. The man cleared his throat. "We should vote for Amyto."

"What?" Kakuma's eyes widened. "Minori, are you insane? How do we know that Monokuma won't select Rin as the blackened?"

 _I don't know._ The man pursed his lips. "Kakuma, just trust me." He looked to the group. "Everyone, please trust me. We need to vote Amyto as the killer."

"I-I was going to do that anyways!" Ryoichi was sweating. His hand was on Rin's shoulder, acting as a comforting gesture. "Let's vote."

Kamui looked hesitant. "Are you sure about that?"

"Hmph." Amyto looked at the pseudologist. "You're making a huge mistake there, Minnie."

The man ignored Amyto's statements, instead looking at the others. His heart was beating. "Please, we need to vote for Amyto as the killer."

Sagiso frowned. "We still haven't gone over through a couple of things about this case."

The pseudologist looked down at his MonoPad. He could see a couple of truth bullets which weren't used. He frowned. Shutting off the device, he adjusted his scarf and looked to Monokuma. The headmaster was amused, a smirk escaping his mouth as he eyed Minori. The man let out a deep breath. "Please trust me on this. Amyto is definitely the one who will be held most responsible for Fuwari's death. As for the case... I'll go over the basic gist of what happened."

Minori glanced to Fumio who nodded, sweat trickling down his forehead. The pseudologist held no idea of where the scholar had gotten ahold of that confidence, but he had to trust in him.

 _Alright, let's do this._

* * *

 **CLOSING ARGUMENT**

 **Minori:** I'll have to convince you with this!

This all started when Monokuma had laid out the two motives, the first one specifically. The first motive would be one about our secrets being revealed. If we weren't to kill someone in under a few days, then our secrets would be revealed to the naked eye. I wanted to fight against the killing game as much as possible, and so I had arranged for a gathering where we would all share our secrets. Though it was only a few of us, it definitely worked to our wonders, as Monokuma was then forced to reveal his second motive.

The second motive would be that of a video game. I haven't played it myself, but from what I've been hearing the video game relates back to our daily lives. It was a disgusting thing for Monokuma to do, and this left with a plentiful of us nervous. Nervous and susceptible. Suspectible to manipulation- brainwash. Those who weren't seen at the gathering and had played the video game were much more susceptible to our killer's manipulation, and it worked wonders to plenty of us- specifically to Rin, Ryoichi, and Fuwari.

In order to fight these rising tensions, I had decided to speak out against the killing game before Seiga's party. The party was to help relieve us of the killing game and for us to act as teenagers. Regular, regular teenagers- I wanted nothing more than for us to have fun and ignore Monokuma's killing game. My speech seemed to have worked, however that only ended up with the killer targeting me out of their hatred. Hatred because of their plan falling into jeopardy.

You see, the killer had planned to kill Fuwari. The killer had talked to Fuwari about planning a seance, and Fuwari was misfortunate. She had accepted whom she thought was her friend's idea, and she announced it to us. Fuwari was to commit a seance after the party, however because of the sudden announcement she had to spend her time preparing inside of the gym. With her indubitably staying in the gymnasium to prepare the seance, the killer could easily rid of her- and that was by manipulating the gym's setup to their liking.

The killer, after Seiga and Nezumi's performance, spent their time inside of the gym. They changed the gym's layout to that of the jacuzzis, and although we are unsure of whether they knew of the layout or not, they tried to hide this tidbit by breaking the controls with a bat. The broken controls didn't only serve as a purpose to hide this tidbit, but to provide as the primary cause for the fire that would soon occur when Fuwari was trapped inside. The killer had made sure that the jacuzzis were set at a high temperature, and they also taped the door frames with invisible tape. This would certainly cause Fuwari to trap herself inside, and the moment Fuwari would notice that the gym wasn't the safest place to be in, she would have trouble opening the doors.

Fuwari's case wasn't the only thing that happened. Apparently, the killer wanted to exact their revenge on me. To do this, the killer had manipulated Ryoichi into drugging me. By drugging me, I was left vulnerable and I was tied up inside of the swimming pool. Ryoichi most likely had placed the toolkit found inside of the boy's changing room, however that toolkit was not a red herring. I was tied up specifically for a reason- for the killer to exact their revenge on me. That toolkit's purpose was to... well, to torture me.

I was out until after the murder had occured, but from what I've gathered... The killer did not want to be the one immediately targeted as the murderer, so they threw in a scapegoat- Rin. Rin, who was susceptible to both of the motives, was prey for the killer's brainwashing. The killer had told Rin to wait for Fuwari, and once Rin went out to throw away the trash, she most likely took her time waiting for Fuwari. It was only then did Rin regain her senses when she saw Fuwari- burnt and suffering.

Rin was a victim in this. She did not know what to do, and was pressured by Fuwari. The poor spirit medium wanted to die. She did not want to suffer any longer, and Rin killed her. Rin killed her not because she was willing and selfish, but because of Amyto and because of the sight of poor Fuwari's body. Of course, being the one who stabbed Fuwari, Rin was terrified and left in hopes of not recalling such a scene ever again.

How can Rin be at blame here? She was a victim. The killer had purposely placed her into that situation in order to cause Rin to murder Fuwari. It's sickening. Rin had never done anything wrong, yet the killer toyed with her. They toyed with Rin, Ryoichi, me, and possibly- they could've toyed with all of us. They could've toyed with us simply because of their desire to create another world. The killer views us as 'test subjects', and nothing more.

That is why you, Amyto Uchida, the Ultimate Hypnotist, are the blackened in this case!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Amyto was silent. She was looking at Minori for a moment. Her lips curved into a smile. It was a mocking, laughable smile. "So, you truly believe that I'm the blackened? Minnie, you make me sick. This is why I regret not toying with you first."

Minori didn't speak. He was simply staring down at the woman.

"So..." Seiga looked to each person, unsure of what to do. He was scratching his head. "So... The plan is to vote for Amy, right? I mean, I have no problems with that. Justice is served, but, like..." The stunt double looked at Monokuma. "You think that bastard will be on our side?"

"H-he needs to be!" Ryoichi clenched into his fists. "I-I will never forgive him if Ms. Hoseki was the murderer!"

Kakuma seemed doubtful as well. He tapped his foot on the ground, lips curving slightly into that of disdain. "Well, if we are all voting for Amyto, then I shall vote for her as well."

"I-I believe in Minori!" Nezumi nodded rapidly. "I'll vote for Amyto!"

Saori was hesitant. She looked at the group for a moment, then slowly nodding her head. "I'll do so then as well."

"Really?" Amyto was shocked. "You're seriously going to do as Minori says?"

Kamui took a deep breath. His face was pale. His heart was racing. However, he seemed certain as well. "I trust you then, Minori."

Minori smiled awkwardly. _Well, I'm actually hesitant as well... I'm shaking, but I believe in Fumio. I believe in Rin, and I will believe that this choice is right!_ The man shot up at the bear. "Monokuma, let's vote!"

Monokuma grinned widely, suddenly standing up from his seat. "Upupupu! I've been waiting for this moment!"

The gavel was dropped, and the voting ballots appeared. In front of each Ultimate, their fates would soon be decided.

"Now then, please place your votes in the ballot! Remember that failure to vote for someone will result in immediate punishment, so please think very carefully and vote for someone! Upupupupupu!"

Minori held his breath. _Please, let this decision be right. I will lie to myself that I am fine as much as needed, as long as our choice is right-!_

* * *

 **VOTING TIME**

 **CHOOSE THE BLACKENED OF THIS CASE!**

Minori Watanabe

Fumio Fujiyoshi

Kakuma Arakaki

Nezumi Jirokichi

Kamui Setsushi

Seiga Kosoku

-Haruko Yoshikawa-

Ryoichi Homura

-Fuwari Akatsuki-

Saori Arai

Rin Hoseki

Sagiso Hazuki

Kaniza Tsukitaiyo

Sheina Yakamuro the 12th

 **Amyto Uchida**

-Asami Karihime-

* * *

The voting ballots disappeared, and this signaled Monokuma's time. He raised his paws up, clearing his throat. His voice was echoing throughout the courtroom, excitement clearly written on his face.

"Well now, let's see what the results are! Did you bastards pick the right person, or did you pick the wrong one?"

The tallies were shown throughout the room, listed in bright red.

* * *

 **VOTING RESULTS**

 **Amyto Uchida** \- 12 Votes

 **Rin Hoseki** \- 1 Vote

 **Answer:** Rin Hoseki

 **WRONG!**

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL END!**

 **PLEASE RISE!**

* * *

 _What... Was Fumio wrong? Was I wrong? Was..._ Minori's eyes widened. His entire body froze. His legs were shaking, giving out on him. _What the hell is happening? Why? Why is this happening? There's no way...!_

"No fucking way!" Seiga threw his head back, entire body white. He was frozen for a while, shocked. It was then did he charged over and quickly grabbed ahold of Minori, a mixture of confusion and anger in his face. "Minori, what the fuck happened?!"

"S-Seiga!" The pseudologist suddenly found himself shaking. He never expected the stunt double to speak to him in such a tone, let alone aim his entire anger straight at him. "I-I'm sorry, but I don't know!"

Seiga's fists were gripping tightly to Minori's collar. "You fucking don't know?!"

Laughter escaped the room.

Amyto was laughing loudly, looking at the group with a wry smile on her face. "See? I told you- I'm not the killer. It was Rin."

"Shut up!" Ryoichi was growling at the hypnotist."I'm not accepting this! I'll never accept this!"

The hypnotist was laughing, but she was suddenly stopped when she noticed the scholar walking over to the headmaster.

Fumio was scribbling into his notepad. He was scribbling, a moment passing before he passed the notepad to Monokuma. The words on the notepad read the following, "The purpose of this killing game is to provide you entertainment, right?"

The headmaster grinned. "Oh, I see where you're going with this. Clever. No wonder why you're the Ultimate Scholar!" Monokuma was laughing himself, then jumping down in the middle of Seiga and Minori. "Okay, you two, break it up."

"W-what's happening?" Kaniza was nervously twirling her skirt. "A-are we going to die?"

Monokuma continued to laugh. "Puhuhuhu! I mean, I would, but my source of entertainment would end abruptly if I'd do so." The headmaster looked to Minori. "You're an interesting one. Being able to gain the trust of everyone despite your talent... And not only that, but actually making this class trial into that of your own..."

Minori bit into his lips. "W-what the hell do you mean?"

"Heh, I'll definitely be keeping an eye on you, my dear Minnie. You're much more interesting than I thought." The bear smirked, then turning back to the group. "As the headmaster here, I hereby declare that the answer was wrong! Amyto is definitely the killer."

"What?" Amyto's eyes widened.

"Really?" Nezumi was stunned. "B-but..."

"Hah! You all look confused, so let me briefly tell you what's up!" Monokuma suddenly jumped back from his seat, now staring down at all of the Ultimates. "You see, I don't know when or how, but Fumio here seemed to have realized that I prioritize entertainment the most out of anything! But it's not only entertainment, but you guys as well."

"Us?" Kakuma frowned. "Explain."

The bear chuckled. "And why should I explain more than what I believe is 'briefly'?" Monokuma was amused the moment he saw Kakuma's expression stiffen. The headmaster clapped his paws together. "Well, lovely bastards, because I've been entertained, I'll excuse you all for this time! Amyto is the killer, not Rin!"

"S-so..." Kaniza's lips curved to a smile. "We're safe?"

"Yup!" Monokuma laughed. "Isn't that great? You all get to live for another day!"

Everyone's faces were changed into a mixture of expressions. Happiness for living, confusion for the sudden change, frustration over Monokuma, etc. However, what Minori noticed the most was bafflement and shock- all coming from an enraged Amyto.

"Why?" Amyto was screaming. "Why?!"

Monokuma's expression was still. He wasn't at all caring for the woman's outburst. He couldn't care, at all.

"Rin was the one who killed Fuwari, not me!" The woman was clenching her fists. "This is unfair!"

"And how is it unfair?" The headmaster's tone was stern. "I'm in charge of this game, and I could do what I want."

"But-!" The woman was left speechless. Monokuma did not care about her at all. Her expression fell into gloom, but after a while it changed- changed into that of distorted happiness. Her eyes were clouded, and her lips were curved into a wry smile. "Well, it's no matter. I'll be with Sai no matter what happens."

"Ew." Monokuma spat on the ground. "What a crazy woman."

Sheina was looking at Amyto. Usually she would scoff and speak about the Gods, but yet she was silent. She gritted her teeth and turned away from the hypnotist. She refused to look at her.

 _Sheina was close to Fuwari and Amyto... She didn't really speak much about this..._ Minori bit into his lips. _I hope she's fine._

"Minori."

The man was caught off guard, eyes suddenly looking upon Amyto's. She was looking at him, her expression dry. She was quiet. She was looking at him for a moment, then grinning. "Sucks to be you."

"Huh?"

The woman then spread her arms out, lips curving into a insane smile as she looked at the group. "Sucks to be all of you! You will never escape from this false world, only I will! I will finally escape this illusion and return to Sai! Haha!"

The pseudologist took a step back, unable to say anything. All he could think of was that the woman was insane. She was insane, and she couldn't care less.

"Hahahaha!" Amyto was laughing, wiping the tears from her eyes. She looked to the headmaster, seemingly eager. "Let's do this."

"Huh? Oh, right, sure." Monokuma quickly regained his composure. "Ahem! Well now, I have a very special punishment for the Ultimate Hypnotist, Amyto Uchida!"

The woman smirked. She looked back to the pseudologist, expression that of pure hatred and disgust. "You're lucky I didn't mess with you first."

Minori was silent.

Sagiso quickly walked into the scene, arms spread out. She was in-between the duo. "Don't talk to Minori like this, Amyto."

"Hmph." The hypnotist rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Sagi."

"Let's do this!" Monokuma pressed the red button from thin air. "It's punishment time!"

* * *

 **GAME OVER**

 **Amyto Uchida has been found guilty.**

* * *

 **EXECUTION START!**

 **AMYTO UCHIDA - Our Dream World**

Amyto found herself inside of a familiar room. It was a room that she realized had belong to her master- the one she had killed. She looked around the room. It was empty, dusty, and spacious. The woman paced herself around the room before a sudden scream was heard. She looked back and forth, back and forth.

There was no one to be seen.

The woman let out a sigh of relief. She was about to walk towards the door when it suddenly disappeared, the woman's eyes widening as her feet suddenly stepped into a pool of blood. Crimson, iron blood.

Amyto gasped, tripping to the ground. She fell to her bottom, a soft groan escaping her lips. She rubbed her bosom and was about to stand up until the room suddenly began to change. It was changing, flashing in different colors and spinning around and around. Amyto was thrown from left to right, the room continuously spinning with her head aching. Her head was aching from the flashes of colors- from red, purple, yellow, green, and finally- to a disgustingly colorful rainbow palette.

The room stopped spinning, and Amyto found herself looking upon a young man. A young man whom she knew all too well.

It was Sai. He was alive! He was alive, and he was healthy. The man was smiling at her, welcoming her with open arms.

And the woman accepted those open arms. She threw herself onto the man, embracing him tightly. She didn't want to let him go, and she will never let him go.

The world was changing, and she continued to embrace the man. She continued to embrace the man as the world transformed. The couple was sank into the abyss, and Amyto was drowning. She was drowning, and she wanted to breathe. She wanted to swim back to the surface and breath for air, but yet Sai kept her closeby. He forced her into his chest, and she was drowning. They were continuing to sink into the abyss, and Amyto was forcing herself to hold her breath.

They sank and sank, but finally the abyss came to a close. A closing ceremony of fire and death. Amyto was suddenly released from Sai's grip, and she fell down. Her hands were dipped into a pool of lava, and the woman suddenly found herself screaming.

She was screaming, and she rolled to the stone ground. She looked to Sai for safety, but her eyes widened. The man was dead, his chest bloodied and his eyes dull. He was floating in midair, and before Amyto could speak did the man whistle.

His whistle rang through the world, and before Amyto could make out what was happening she was suddenly surrounded by a group of ghosts.

Ghosts in which she knew all too well. They were the people she had toyed with before.

Amyto wanted to beg for Sai for answers, but the man disappeared, and suddenly the horde of corpses jumped at her. They lunged at her, and her screams escaped into the humid air. Her entire body was being ripped apart. Her flesh and organs were torn out, and her screams were bloodied and piercing.

She was screaming for Sai. She was begging for Sai to help her, but her cries reached no one.

Everyone was dead, and her reality was nothing more than an illusion itself.

To be with Sai was impossible, yet Amyto had failed to realize that.

* * *

Everyone was silent.

Everyone was silent, fear written all over their faces.

"I-I'm gonna throw up-!" Ryoichi took no time in hesitating, throwing up straight on the spot.

Rin was silent, hands over her mouth. She was unable to say anything.

Saori was clenching into her fists, pursing her lips. "This is... this is too brutal."

"Hey, bastards, why're you all crying over there?!" Monokuma was yelling from his seat. He was definitely enjoying how pale his students were. "Upupupu! You guys shouldn't worry about that! Just be relieved that you guys aren't the ones in the execution grounds!"

"B-but still!" Nezumi was shaking his head, crying. "This is too cruel!"

"You think?" Monokuma tilted his head. "You guys are weird."

Minori couldn't say anything in return. He hated how the headmaster was taunting them, but he couldn't say anything. All he could think of was how cruel Amyto's death was. Sure, Amyto was the culprit and she was the one who broke Minori into pieces, but the man knew it- her execution was brutal. Her execution was too brutal. Monokuma was definitely treating the blackened's execution as nothing more than a game. It was a show to laugh at- and that's what made Minori's stomach churn the most.

 _Now four people are dead. How long will this last? How long will this damn killing game last? When will this end?_

"I... I seriously can't do this anymore." Kaniza was trembling. She was hugging her own body. "Why do we have to do this every single time...?"

"Because I want you to?" The headmaster grinned. "Complain all you want, but I'm not gonna change my mind! We'll continue this game to the end! Ahahahaha!"

Kakuma growled at the bear. "Now's not the time to be mocking us."

"Ooh, scary." The bear giggled, paws to his mouth. "But, I guess I'll listen to you, Mr. Wedding Planner sir. It's boring to see you guys all moan and weep, and even if I do laugh at you guys you'll just moan and weep more so... Well! I'll be taking my beauty sleep now! Ta-ta!"

"What- Hey!"

It was too late. Monokuma had, once again, disappeared from thin air.

He disappeared from thin air, but Minori knew he would never disappear from their lives.

* * *

... And here's the end of the trial! Gosh, this one actually took a long time for me to write out. I was having a hard time actually reaching into this segment of the trial, and ugh am I glad I finally finished writing it! Anyways, I know the ending was short and that there are a lot of questions needed to be answered, but that is why we will have a resolution chapter after this! I do want to give you all a break from this exhausting chapter, after all!

Anyways, what did you think of this trial? I am hoping to be better at the next trials to come, so I hope a lot of you are not put off by my amateur trial-writing skills! Anyways, yeah, I do want to put a little twist in how these trials will play out in this story, as it does relate to the entire plot overall...

If you're wondering, I still haven't forgotten about Minori's little lie. His backstory is really important and him lying about his secret will come, but not right now... Soon, when the plot starts thickening :) Anyways, I hope to see you all next time!


	22. Chapter 2 - Part 2, Part D

Alright! Here we go- the aftermath of the second chapter's class trial! This will be kinda short... Anyways, for now, I will start working on the FTEs for Fuwari and Amyto, as well as a few more special things to come (possibly).

 **liammarklh88:** "Nah, your second victim's death was just brutal. Twisted cookies are my favorite to write. Haha, well, glad you liked the twist! I love writing things that are gray in morality, at least if I could mention it. Well, considering how yanderes work in the real world... Yeah, I understand you. Glad you enjoyed the trial! Haha, of course. Of course, good luck! Haha, shameless plug, but yeah I'll definitely try to send you some characters."

 **ToonGuy:** "I seriously love reading your reactions. They're so fun to read! Haha, don't worry, Minori's backstory will be coming sooner or later in the story. Haha, your reactions to Amyto are amazing. I'm sorry I scared you at the end, oops. I'm glad you praise Amyto of being a good murderer! That'll do wonders for her creator. I'm so glad you enjoyed the trial!"

 **zephryr:** "I know right? I can seriously see the time and effort went into creating Amyto, and your information of Sai and all that makes me understand that further. Haha, well, you have a point. If Rin died and Amyto lived, everyone will go batshit crazy on me. Yeah, and that means Rin will need screentime! Glad you feel that way, Seiga's sort of actions should prove disgusting to you. I mean, I wouldn't want some to throw me in as a scapegoat. I love the information you told me about Amyto, seriously. It makes me respect the creator more for their devotion towards creating her. And the names are certainly interesting... It's nice to know this! Of course I'll take that into consideration as Minori did do most of the grunt work in this trial. Haha thanks for your input!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "Well, it is gory, so yeah I'd ask Ryoichi as well. Gruesome and grotesque. Haha, well, true, it's hard to even see anything of Amyto but of a ditzy girl till the trial. Of course, that is a thing to be addressed, whether sooner or later. Ack, why do I always miss the names in the closing arguments?! Thank you!"

 **Guest A:** "Glad you loved the trial XD. I'm surprised I was able to emit such emotions from you! Just from my writing alone? Amazing! Haha, I'm glad you loved the trial and how intense it seemed to be. Haha, well, I understand how people felt about Amyto, honestly. Oh no, well, let's see who dies next chapter... Haha, thanks for the review! I'm glad you're liking this story so far!"

 **dashunterman:** "Yessir!"

 **Kukasabe Swift:** "School takes up everybody's time, so don't worry about it! Haha, I love me some good old constructive criticism. Yeah, it's just the second chapter, so not a whole lot to go on yet. Glad you saw that, I really do want to put emphasis on the theme here. Well, for the twist, there will be more, so yes. Yeah, Monokuma's little verdict lowers the stakes in some form, but I hope to solve it throughout the story. Haha, honestly, I do find myself interested in all sorts of personalities in any given media, so I bet I'd be interested in Amyto like I was to Korekiyo. I know right, zephryr's awesome for researching on that. I'm glad you pointed those little flaws and skills out! Definitely will try to work on those and showcase them in the story. Haha, loved your predictions and glad you enjoyed the trial overall though. Definitely made a forum though based on your interest!"

 **irwegwert:** "School always keeps me busy as well, so don't worry! You do have a point. A lot of things do tend to come out lefthanded without any sort of heavy foreshadowing, so I understand that. It does make everything baffling now. Hm, yeah, that's what I was aiming for. I did wanted to make doubt linger in the cast as it'll later cause conflict in the story. I'm surprised you thought I handled the trial well though. Hm, that's true. I am hoping to make the trials feel much more like trials though for sure, as considering Minori did most of the work. Lol, the expectations are high. Theories do hold something to them, so let's see what happens! Thanks for the support!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "A brutal trial, but a fun one *wink wink*. I'm glad you're seeing things in that way. Amyto is a human throughout and throughout, and there are reasons to why she became like that. Definitely will expand on her backstory and such in her FTEs for sure. Rin's a sad case, and yes when it is the victim saying it that causes an entire shift to the situation. Let's hope someone cheers not only her up, but the others. Yes, Fuwari will definitely be someone I'll spend time on in the special story. I do want people to see her lovable side, not just through her FTEs. Possibly will create some side stories with her involved. Thanks so much!"

 **Tario Ed:** "Haha, I'm glad you enjoyed it overall. I'm happy I did not overdo it. Haha. That was honestly genius with how you came up with Sai's name and all that. I'm glad zephryr told me about it! You really did think much about your character! She was a fun character to write for sure. ^^"

 **Guest:** "Haha you're probably Sheina's number 1 fan!"

 **Agrael:** "Well, to an extent, you're correct. Haha, I'm glad you seemed to like the sudden twist in personality, and well her execution was brutal... Haha, well, let's see if I meet your expectations for the next chapter and to come. Thanks!"

* * *

The entire world was silent.

It wasn't the entire world that was silent- Minori knew that. However, the world Minori was living in was silent. Silent in grief, and silent in bafflement. No one wanted to speak to one another, and despite their breaths mixing in with each other, there has yet to be a whine or voice.

It was deathly silent. An eerie silence.

Minori didn't know what to say. He couldn't say anything. He could only hide his lips underneath his scarf, eyes staring straight at his feet. What should he do? What should he say? Should he even speak? The pseudologist didn't know the answer to any of them.

He could feel a tap on his shoulder.

Minori looked back, finding Fumio who was showing him a small block of words. The pseudologist squinted. He could read the words clearly within seconds, his heart beating.

The scholar knew that Minori questioned Fumio's knowledge of the trial's outcome. Minori questioned an array of things, and so he continued to stare blankly at Fumio who shoved the notepad away into his pockets. The pseudologist watched as the scholar walked back to where he had first stood.

Minori crossed his arms. He didn't cross his arms to only ponder on Fumio's words, but to shy away from the reality of this world. He didn't want to remember what had happened earlier- that Amyto hated them, that Amyto wanted to torture him, that Fuwari was dead. He didn't want to remember all of them, yet his memories had been stitched. He couldn't forget, and he would never forget.

What does he feel at the moment?

Was it pain? Was it guilt? Was it hatred?

Honestly, he didn't know. Of course he pitied Fuwari, but Minori honestly couldn't help himself but to think about Amyto. He didn't know what he felt about her. He didn't know if he could sympathize with her nor could he understand her reasoning for killing Fuwari. Minori never even knew Fuwari as closely as Sheina and Amyto did, and that made him all the more angry at not only himself, but at Amyto.

Minori's thoughts circled to Monokuma. It was even a miracle that the headmaster decided to let them live. Minori couldn't bear the guilt that he would've faced if he were to have his classmates executed. The pseudologist was relieved that he and the others were alive, but why? Why did Monokuma so willingly changed the outcome? Minori wasn't sure, but at the same time he couldn't care less.

Rin would've been the one to live entirely with guilt on her shoulders, after all. Minori pursed his lips. He couldn't imagine being the one who not only survived the entire killing game, but be an involutary murderer to a case. Rin was innocent, yet if she had been claimed guilty Minori knew that title would live on with her forever.

It was an eerie thought, but nonetheless a truthful one. It almost made Minori vomit- almost.

Minori held his breath. He looked around the room. Everyone had refused to talk to one another, and the silence was killing him. The pseudologist couldn't stand this. He wanted to speak. He wanted to end this awful tension. His mouth hung. Minori's throat was dry, but nonetheless he tried to speak, even if his voice came off as a hoarse whine.

"... So, now what?"

That seemed to scare the Ultimates.

People shot looks at the pseudologist. Those of shock, fear, and anger. No one knew what to say, nor how to react. They were all looking at one another in a hopeless attempt.

"I guess..." Seiga was scratching his head. Strangely, he seemed to be avoiding Minori's gaze. "... I guess we should head back and sleep."

Kaniza let out a forceful chuckle. Sweat was trickling down from her forehead, face pale. "Y-yeah, we should..."

Despite what had been said, no one dared to move. Rather, everyone was to afraid to move.

Minori heaved a deep breath. The tension was killing him.

Honestly, what could he say? He honestly didn't know.

Sagiso seemed to have noticed the man's distress, her eyes staring straight at him. She looked at Minori for a moment, then crossing her arms and standing firm. "We can't just sit around here. We have to move." She looked at the crowd for a moment, then looking back at Minori. "I need to talk to you for a moment."

"M-me?" Minori was honestly unsure of what to do. "Um... Sure."

"I... I honestly don't know what to feel anymore," Nezumi admitted, his eyes teary. "Why do we have to keep doing this...? This entire killing game..."

"Hey, Nezzy, don't cry." Kaniza immediately ran over to the thief's side, throwing him in an embrace. Her tone was soft and gentle, her hand rubbing her poor boyfriend's back. "We'll find a way to stop Monokuma, I'm sure of it."

"If we could," Kakuma murmured underneath his breath. He let out a deep breath of air, now looking around the area. His eyes were then focused to Monokuma's throne, lips curving slightly in distaste. "But it's true that if we don't do something about it, he'll..."

Ryoichi clenched into his fists. His tears were that out of anger. "What even is his purpose in torturing us like this...?"

"Entertainment." Kamui bit into his lips. "I would think that he is doing this simply because, to him, it is fun."

"Well, it's not fun to us!" The investigator threw his fist to the ground. "We need to stop this killing game! This is torture!"

That word, 'need', was a strong word. It was a word that decided the outcome of many things, and it was a word that tended to hold nothing but a false stronghold. It was nothing more than a word used to create a mask of hope, a mask of determination.

It was a word that meant nothing anymore.

"Seriously though..." The investigator let out a shaky sigh. "Why isn't help coming to us?"

"We're isolated from mankind, most likely." Kakuma had mused from where he stood, eyes directing their attention to nobody but the cold, hard floor. "I'm more concerned about Monokuma's purpose. For entertainment..."

"It can't be that." Saori frowned. "I can't believe that."

"M-me neither!" Nezumi clenched into his fists. His lips were quivering. "Who would believe that this sort of thing is funny?"

Silence. The answer was obvious.

Minori let out a soft sigh, gloomy and depressed. Not only was he sad, but frustrated. He was frustrated, and he was tired. He was exhausted. _How long will this entire killing game last? When will it ever stop? Will these stupid killings ever end?_

The answers were uncertain, and the man knew that. He knew that, and his heart ached in pain.

"We... I... I should go."

Minori looked back, finding Rin walking sluggishly into the elevator. The pseudologist pursed his lips. The woman's eyes were red, her body slouched and her lips chapped. He hated it. Seeing his dear classmates go through such pain was unbearable.

 _... And it's not because of any of us, but because of Monokuma._

"W-wait up, Ms. Hoseki!"

Ryoichi quickly ran after the jeweler, and within moments, the doors closed. There was no sight of them to be seen now.

Kamui scratched his head, awkwardly looking toward Minori. "Poor Rin," he said, only loud enough for the white-haired man to hear.

Minori agreed wholeheartedly.

It was then did he heard foosteps walking past him. Sheina was walking to the elevator herself, silent. There was nothing to be said from the woman. She was completely and utterly silent. No boisterous comments, no haughty expressions, nothing. She was completely silent.

The elevator doors opened, and she was gone.

"Sheina..."

 _Everyone's breaking down..._ Minori let out a shaky breath. Sweat was trickling from his forehead. Cold, cold sweat. _If this killing game continues, then..._

"We should really rest." Kaniza let out a small smile. She was trying her best to smile, but it only came off as forced and superficial. She knew that too, her smile fading as she looked back to Nezumi. She reached a hand out to his, now gripping tightly to his. "... Can you come with me back up? I... I don't want to be alone right now."

Nezumi eyed the woman for a moment, then nodding. His cheeks were a complete dark red hue. "O-of course."

Everyone was finally beginning to leave, one by one. Nobody seemed in any situation to laugh nor speak happily, each Ultimate walking past one another without even glancing towards their way.

Everyone was tense, and everyone was soon beginning to disappear from Minori's grasp. From his eyes.

It was like they were leaving not only him, but the world they're living in.

It was like they were in a stage of complete melancholy and distrust, unable to believe that they could do something. There was no unity to be seen, no sense of trust towards the cast.

Everyone was done with those words- unity and togetherness.

Minori averted his gaze, now looking down at the ground. He begged for the Gods above to promise them their safety, their health. He begged the Gods to give him and his classmates a chance against Monokuma.

He prayed to whoever the hell was above to make them live- to make this stupid world freeze in time.

 _It's possible. I just have to believe... I need to believe that we'll find a way out of here. If I falter, then..._

His thoughts ran around and around. He honestly couldn't help himself. To escape Monokuma's clutches and to escape the reality of the killing game was near impossible- if not just impossible. He had continued to fight and fight, yet nothing had seemed to work.

Nothing was working, and he was continuing to falter.

"Minori."

Minori's eyes widened, suddenly finding themselves looking straight at Sagiso. The woman was extremely close to him, her hands cupping his cheeks. Instinctively, the pseudologist blushed and backed off.

"S-Sagiso?!"

Sagiso eyed the man for a moment, baffled. She then crossed her arms and continued, unaware of the pseudologist's flustered state. "Sorry, you seemed to be in a deep thought. I couldn't get your attention earlier."

"O-oh..." The pseudologist let out a small smile. An awkward smile nonetheless. "Sorry about that. Did you need something from me?"

Sagiso nodded. "Yes, I wanted to ask you something since everyone else had left already. We're alone here, after all, so I decided it would be best to discuss with you about this now."

"R-right..."

Minori looked around the room. The psychogeographer was right- everyone was gone. Everyone had left, and only he and Sagiso were left.

"What did you want to ask me?" The man curiously glanced at the woman, crossing his arms. "Is it about the trial?"

The woman hesitated for a moment. Her lips curved into a nervous frown, but nonetheless she nodded and continued. "Yes, I wanted to discuss with you about something I discovered. It's about the truth bullets."

"The truth bullets?" Minori raised a brow. He reached into his pocket and took out his MonoPad, bringing himself back to the application. He clicked onto it, now brought back to the list of evidence he had found from the investigation. He scrolled through the evidence before looking back to the psychogeographer. "What's wrong? I mean, I know we haven't discussed much about the rest of truth bullets here, but-"

"It's not about what we haven't discussed, it's about what you have." Sagiso reached for her own MonoPad, turning it on. The screen flashed, and she clicked to the truth bullets. It was then did she handed the device to Minori. "Look at what you have in comparison to what I have."

Minori was baffled, but heeded the woman's words. He began scrolling down through the psychogeographer's list of truth bullets, and within seconds did his lips curved to a frown. Though a few of Sagiso's truth bullets aligned with what he had gotten, there were a few that were either missing completely from the list or are completely different to what Minori had.

Sagiso had a different array of evidence, and her alibis/testimonies were different. The one that stood out to Minori was a bullet that listed a possible array of paths that killer could've taken to kill Fuwari, and there was another that told Minori of how strangely suspicious Sheina was acting before the seance had started- particularly that Sheina seemed hesitant to help the spirit medium with the seance.

"Our's are different..." Minori handed the MonoPad back to Sagiso. "I've always assumed that we've gotten the same truth bullets since I thought that Monokuma calls an end to investigation when we all found the same pieces of evidence, but I guess not... No one said anything at the first trial either..."

"That's the thing." Sagiso frowned. "We all had the same pieces of evidence in the first trial."

"What?" The pseudologist pursed his lips. "How are you so sure?"

The woman let out a worried sigh. "Well, during the first trial, Saori had told me that she found it strange that she had been given a truth bullet which showcased her own alibi. And speaking to Kaniza and... well, Asami at that time as well, we all had the same amount of truth bullets when we came into the trial. Kakuma even mentioned this to me before the trial. Although Kakuma was sick and didn't know much of what had happened, he still had been given all of those truth bullets despite his lack of knowledge of what they entail."

"That's strange, and concerning." Minori found himself cupping his chin. "Then why are our truth bullets different so suddenly? And why didn't anyone tell me during the trial?"

"Thing is, we were so caught up in Amyto's mess that none of us could've mentioned it. Besides, we were also caught trying to solve the case, after all." Sagiso stared into the man's eyes. "What do you think happened? Do you suppose this is intentional?"

"I mean... Yes, of course, considering who Monokuma is..." The man hummed to himself. "But this is an entirely new problem. If we all have different truth bullets that are different on a spectrum of misleading as red herrings and true to the actual case, then solving a case would be much harder than it is already."

"That's what I'm concerned about as well. Do you suppose this is also because of Monokuma's lust for entertainment?"

"Possibly." The man frowned. "I don't understand Monokuma. What's his true goal? Keeping us alive, making us play in this game... It's not just for his entertainment, right?"

"I don't think so." Sagiso bit into her lips. "I'm not sure."

Minori was silent. He honestly didn't know what to say.

Sagiso was silent as well, eyeing the man. She was silent until she pursed her lips, letting out a small sigh. "You look exhausted. You should rest for now. We can discuss things with everyone else tomorrow."

"I-I'm fine." Minori let out a small smile. "I still need to talk with a few others and sort my mind out a little. Thanks for worrying about me though. I mean it."

Sagiso smiled back at the man, her cheeks a slight pink hue.

The psychogeographer excused herself. She was walking towards the elevator, but once the doors opened her feet stopped. Her voice echoed throughout the courtroom, steady and worried.

"Honestly, don't push yourself. You can always lean to someone for help."

Minori was silent as he watched the woman leave, the doors now closing.

 _Lean on to somebody huh?_ The pseudologist tickled himself with the thought. A smile was carved in his face, but it sadly disappeared within seconds. Milliseconds. _I don't think I even have the time to think about that though. There's too much things to do, regarding Monokuma..._

Minori found himself letting out a long yawn. His eyes were watery, and his entire body was limp.

He was sleepy and exhausted, and he never even realized it.

 _Still, I can't sleep yet. I still need to talk to Fumio._

With that thought in mind, the pseudologist headed into the elevator. The doors closed, and Minori could feel the rumbling beneath his feet. It would've been a tranquil ride if not for how subtle the creakings were, how dark the area was, and how Minori could hear his breath echoing within the walls. It was creepy and nonetheless eerie.

Fortunately, it lasted for a few seconds as Minori was suddenly back in the auditorium, the lights having been shut off.

It was deadly silent.

Minori's heart was beating, and he made his way outside of the auditorium. His steady feet were making their way towards the dormitory, eyes darting back and forth. He couldn't help but grow wary of the neverending darkness. The neverending suspicion that something was amiss.

He continued to look back and forth, but eventually he made his way towards Fumio's room. He was safe. Nothing had happened. A shaky breath escaped his lips, and he decided to knock on the door.

A few seconds passed, then the click of the lock.

The door opened, revealing the scholar who looked up at the pseudologist.

Minori let out a small, if nonetheless awkward smile. "Hello?"

Fumio scribbled down into his notepad. "Sorry if I'm bothering you at the moment."

"No, it's fine!" The pseudologist couldn't help but let out a kind, awkward laugh. "I mean, I am curious about what you told me earlier."

Fumio nodded, allowing Minori inside of the room. The pseudologist took a seat near Fumio, relaxing himself easily in the situation. Minori looked at the man, crossing his arms. The door was shut closed.

"So," Minori began, observing the room. The scholar's room was neat and tidy, not at all messy. "How exactly did you know that Monokuma would let us live? For him to give in so easily..."

Fumio thought for a moment, then scribbling into his notepad. "Since I was inside of my room all day, I ended up meeting the bear. Monokuma was annoyed that I was crying all the time and kept complaining that I should've been thinking about murder... Even killing myself..."

"He actually said that?" Minori gritted his teeth. "That bastard..."

Fumio nodded his head. "It annoyed me, but I decided I should just ask him questions instead of straight-out ignoring him. I asked him about the killing game and his intentions... And like what he explained in the trial, he said that he is doing this for 'entertainment'." The scholar then frowned. "Of course, I didn't believe him, at least halfway..."

Minori listened intently to the man, reading the words on the notepad.

"Honestly, I don't know why he said what he said beforehand, but he said that because of how 'timid' I was, that he wanted to make a deal with me, at least for the trial." Fumio hesitated for a moment, then continuing to scribble into the notepad. "He said something about 'entertaining' him. I don't know why though... But I related it to the trial, and so I took the initiative."

"That's...baffling, nonetheless concerning." Minori cupped his chin. He was now worried for the scholar. "Maybe Monokuma has plans for you?"

"I hope not. I don't even know why he did that in the first place." Fumio let out a frown. "I... I'm honestly worried about his intentions."

"Honestly, I think everyone are." The pseudologist scratched his head, wondering what to say. He eyed the scholar who was beginning to tremble, then letting out a small smile and moving a hand to Fumio's hair, ruffling it. "Don't worry. I'm sure he won't hurt you. He isn't even allowed to in the first place."

"The rules though..." Fumio's hand was shaking. "But weren't the rules crelated by him? He could easily change them, couldn't he?"

"Why does he even allow himself to be restricted like this?" Minori found himself questioning. "What purpose is even there...?"

The pseudologist looked back to Fumio, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. If it comes down to it, then you have all of us to protect you."

Fumio found himself blushing at that point, averting his gaze. He was staring at his feet, silent. It was then did he nod and look back to the pseudologist, a note already written in his notepad. "Thank you, Minori."

Minori couldn't help but blush himself, a smile plastered on his face. He was honestly relieved that the scholar was beginning to open up to him. He was glad that his efforts were not a waste of time. "It's not a problem at all. Just don't think you're alone. All of us are here to support you, Fumio. Remember that, okay?"

The scholar nodded, then standing up from his seat.

That caused Minori to stand up as well, the pseudologist knowing what this meant. "I'll see at the dining hall tomorrow, right?"

He could see Fumio nodding.

Minori chuckled as he opened the door, leaving the scholar to his sleep. The pseudologist himself thought about the wonders of sleep, and so he headed straight into his dorm room. He opened the door, and slammed it shut the moment he was in.

 _I would say that this is 'home sweet home'...but I'm not._

Minori found himself falling flat on the bed.

 _I wonder if Kamui will prepare a funeral or something like that tomorrow... And there's also Rin and Sheina. I hope those two will be fine. Fumio's case is also worrying as well as what Sagiso brought up. There's also the next motive to worry about, and considering who Monokuma is... There's a lot of things to do..._

 _There's... there's too many things to even handle right now._

Minori's mind recalled back to previous events.

Fuwari and Amyto were dead. Now, about four people were dead, and for what? It wasn't anyone's fault but Monokuma's. Monokuma was the one forcing them to play, after all. Fuwari didn't deserve her death and while Amyto was insane, Minori couldn't help but feel like he could've changed that outcome.

He didn't know if he forgave Amyto, but he couldn't help but feel guilty nonetheless.

And maybe if he had tried harder, or if Monokuma wasn't alive at all- then maybe everyone would've been friends and there would be nothing standing in their way.

That, unfortunately, wasn't a plausible reality.

 _This is so exhausting... Honestly, I want everything to just stop._

'To just stop'- Minori honestly wished he could've said that out loud. It was a phrase he wanted to say so badly, yet he knew- it was a phrase that only the weak would say.

And he knew that he couldn't stop. He vowed that he'll try- that he'll try to stop Monokuma.

It sounded impossible, but nonetheless the man wanted to try.

He had to try. He just had to.

He had to do it, but for now-

-he wanted to sleep.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2 -** **Delving Into Misery**

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **WOULD YOU LIKE TO START CHAPTER 3?**

 **[YES] | NO**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3 - ?TITLE UNKNOWN?**

 **[START]**

 **Survivors: 12**

* * *

And that's it for this chapter! Honestly, it was a short chapter, but don't worry! Chapter 3 will definitely be filled with a lot of content and beautiful depth. I hope I will be able to answer the questions raised in this chapter throughout the story and exceed your expectations you have of this story.

I hoped you all liked this chapter as a whole, and I hope I will be able to surprise you all in the next chapter! I am hoping to take in consideration of what has been said about this chapter- more particularly, what could've been done better. I will definitely focus more on making the trial more like an actual trial and not a discussion,a nd of course to make it much more intense. I am also hoping to showcase some character dynamic and showcase their differing morals, as, well, this story is going to run in the halfway point soon.

Well, I'll hopefully see you all soon! Also, if you want, on my profile page you can see random links that are based around this story such as my Tumblr blog on it. You can even ask me questions there if you'd like (hopefully it works).


	23. Chapter 3 - Part 1, Part A

Hello, and welcome to the official third chapter! I hate how I gotten sick near the end of my school year, and damn did being sick ruined the time it took to write this! Anyways, I'm getting better, so yeah! And now that this chapter is done, I shall now be focused on writing Fuwari and Amyto's FTEs.

 **ToonGuy:** "Yes, I am glad you enjoyed looking through Minori's mindset. Let us hope the sidestories would tell us more about Fuwari and the others, haha. If Amyto was alive, oh gosh... Yes, Seiga's reaction was purely out of him being human. Sheina and Rin would need tons of hugs, for sure! I like your thoughts, and haha the Sagiso and Minori ship is running pretty strong. Entertainment is usually a motive for a lot of villains, I see. Chapter 3 will be a bitch for me to write, lol. I'm glad you enjoyed the second trial, even in the least bit! Thank you!"

 **Pretty Palutena:** "Aw, I'm glad you enjoyed this story! Haha, poor Sheina. One can only hope she will be better soon. Well, let's see what happened in this chapter!"

 **liammarklh88:** "Yes, and I am glad to see you haha. It's like you gave your sickness to me, but I'm just kidding haha! Yes, of course, your thoughts make sense. Understandable for you to be mad at Amyto. Sagiso is such a sweet person, one can only hope she won't suffer. Let us pray for Fumio's safety. Gender balance is a beautiful thing, haha. If Amyto died, chaos would break out not only in the story, but within you and all the other followers as well haha. An interesting, and hard concept. Haha, well, let us hope you enjoy this chapter!"

 **KISL:** "Haha, it's fine! Glad you're excited for this story still! Haha, glad you're reading into things, and well, it is a concept I will have to juggle. It can be hard to pull off. I'm still worried nonetheless about the stakes, sigh. Glad you think Fumio will be safe, well, from death, that is haha. Don't worry, there will be a lot of beautiful moments between characters, I'll make sure of it. Well, let us see how I juggle this chapter haha. Ah, I put the name on the forum on the bottom of this chapter, just for everyone to see~ And thank you!"

 **Kukasabe Swift:** "Nah, it's fine! I know it's you, haha. Chapter titles are beautiful, haha. And thank you again!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "Yes, chapter two was a wild ride. Let us worry for Fumio's safety, and curse Monokuma for his entertainment desire. The body count will go up for sure, not going to lie."

 **zephryr** **:** "Ah, theories are so fun to read! And you gave one out in such detail! I love reading what you have to offer for me, and wow this is quite an elaborate theory! I don't know what I did to deserve such an elaborate theory, but thank you! Hm, well, the matters you brought up is worth something to concern over, but let us see if they are true. I seriously do not know what to say to this without spoiling things, so I'll just leave it like this for now... I'll definitely mention this if proven wrong or right in the future though, so wait for that!"

* * *

It was another dream.

It was another dream where he faced off the same person he met last time.

A person whom he now know seemed to have known well, but at the same time he still couldn't recongize. Who that person was should've been familiar to him. He should've known who that person was, but yet, he didn't. He held no recollection of who that person was.

"Your siblings... They're not living with you anymore?"

Minori didn't understand. He didn't understand why the person was speaking to him.

"Why does it matter to you?" He asked. His voice was strangely growly. "I don't know you."

"That's a lie. You know you can't lie to me. You can't lie to me..."

* * *

Minori bolted up in a sweat, his face paling. His heart was racing. He was shaking, and he didn't know why.

 _Shit._ The pseudologist slapped his cheeks, hard. The pain was spreading across his face, but he couldn't care less. He needed to stop himself from shaking, and the pain worked. It worked, and the man let out a small sigh. _How long was I even asleep?_

He turned around, looking for his MonoPad. He booted it on, the screen bright enough to make him squint. The time read- '11:05 AM'. Minori frowned. He had overslept. He had even overslept through Monokuma's morning announcement.

 _And that's telling something, considering how boisterous the bastard is._

Minori scratched his head, letting out a long yawn. His eyes were watery, but he quickly wiped the wetness away. His lips were chapped, and his entire body was numb, stiff. He hated it. He hated that feeling of exhaustion, and so he forced himself out of bed. He couldn't care less about the groan that escaped his mouth and headed his way straight into his nearby restroom.

Staring straight into the mirror, he found himself staring at a reflection of his wornout self. His hair was messier than usual and the bangs under his eyes seemed much more noticeable than before. The pseudologist bit into his lips, turning on the faucet. He threw cold water to his face, trying his best to look fine- it didn't work. He wasn't fine. He was exhausted.

The pseudologist sighed, deciding to brush his hair at least. He brushed his hair, and although there were a few strands beyond saving, he was able to make himself look at least decent. He knew Sagiso would nag, but nonetheless he couldn't help but throw the comb away after a few minutes. Those strands would never go down, and he couldn't help it. As long as his bangs were neat- he was fine.

Minori then decided to change. Despite his attire being the same, he didn't like the feeling of sweat touching his skin. He headed to the closet to grab an outfit, then walking back into the restroom. He wrapped a newly cleaned scarf around him, buttoning up his coat, and changed into a lookalike outfit. He checked himself in the mirror for a moment, then tossing his old clothing into a basket. He noticed the layers of clothes- he definitely had to wash them later.

The pseudologist let out a sigh as he got out of the restroom, now deciding to check his MonoPad.

Minori's finger moved through the screen, and within seconds did the man's face paled.

 _What the hell is this?_

Contrary to the man's expectations, what was seen on the MonoPad was the same motive that he had seen from just days ago. The same game that led to Fuwari's death, and Amyto's execution. The same game that led to a plentiful of horrid events.

 _Why is this game still here...?_

The moment Minori's mind thought such a thing, a familiar black-and-white bear fell from the sky. Or most accurately, fell from the ceiling.

"M-Monokuma!" Minori jumped at the headmaster's sudden entrance. He almost even dropped his device. "W-what're you doing here? Get out! Please!"

"Huh? Why do you look so creeped out? It's not like you're some naked little tsundere, right?!" Monokuma let out a cackle as he saw the pseudologist blush within seconds. The bear swung his foot back and forth, then taking a seat down on the ground. "So! I saw that you noticed the game on the MonoPad."

"A-ah, right..." Minori crossed his arms, frowning. "Why is the game still here? Are you reusing this as a motive?"

"Naw, it's nothing like that, Minnie." Monokuma crossed his legs, almost too relaxed in this situation. His tone was strangely perky and energetic. "You see, since I love you all so much- Actually, hmm, I do only like you the most though..." The bear then shrugged. "Whatever! Well, since I'm so beary nice, I decided to be nice and change that game into something more... killer-free."

Minori pursed his lips. "What does that mean?"

"Exactly what I mean!" Monokuma put his paws to his mouth. "Upupupu! Well, it means that you could play a game where you make your very own cute little avatar live in their daily lives! Feed your avatar, clean your avatar, etc.! It's basically a life simulator game."

Minori eyed the headmaster for a moment, then looking at his MonoPad. Slowly, he turned the device back on and tapped to the game. The game loaded, and soon the man was brought to the title screen. It looked the same, sounded the same, etc. Everything seemed the same. Minori looked back to Monokuma. "Are you sure you're not lying?"

Monokuma grinned. "Shouldn't you know, Minnie?"

The pseudologist rolled his eyes, but clicked the 'Start' button. Soon he was brought to the core of the game, and that was where he noticed the significant changes. There was an avatar of himself simply standing in an empty room, silent. The avatar was moving to and fro, however other than that the avatar did nothing. There was a small menu board where Minori could see a few options- clean, cook, sleep, play, etc. There was a plentiful of options for the man to press.

"See? Not lying!" Monokuma suddenly broke Minori from his concentration. "Isn't that great? Now you'll be able to waste your time playing that useless life simulator game!"

"I didn't even need this." Minori shook his head. "What's your true objective in doing this? I know you wouldn't keep this game here without reason."

Monokuma turned around to stare directly into the man's eyes. The headmaster was definitely amused. "And why should I tell you? Isn't it obvious? It's for entertainment, Minnie. Entertainment."

"That... that doesn't make sense." The pseudologist bit into his lips. "I can't just believe that this is all for entertainment. To go through all the trouble to capture Ultimates, lock them in a school, and then force them to play some killing game... Is it just for entertainment? No. There's no way. To go all through the trouble just to have fun- I can't believe that. There must be another reason."

"Why are you thinking about that? Like I said, everything is for entertainment-"

"Then how about this?" Minori pointed at the bear. "If you truly do everything for entertainment, then why are you doing this? If it's entertainment for you, then why go through all the trouble? Are you calling this 'entertaining' because it is to you, or because it is to someone else? If it's not you or the person controlling you, then who?"

"Controlling me?" Monokuma laughed. "Silly Minnie, I'm my own bear. And what do you mean by 'who'? I'm the only one here. I'm the one coordinating everything."

"Considering what happened days ago, I can safely assume someone's controlling you." The pseudologist frowned. "But then why did this mastermind create you? Are they working under someone- Mmph!"

The man was caught by surprise, a muffled cry escaping his lips. He didn't know how, but Monokuma had quickly wrapped the Ultimate's scarf tightly around his mouth. Monokuma was now on his two feet, an annoyed expression on his face. He was definitely annoyed.

"Sheesh, it's not nice to annoy your headmaster." Monokuma let out a smirk, poking the pseudologist's cheek. It was a mocking gesture. "Don't think about stuff like that, alright? Let's think about murder instead! Think about murder, and think about how you'll entertain me further until you coil in my hands."

Monokuma then giggled to himself, patting the man on the head. "Don't worry about that sort of shit anymore, alright? Just focus on murdering your little shits! Alright? Alright! Bye-bye, Minnie!"

Minori quickly untied the scarf around his mouth, but was unable to say anything- the bear had left already.

"Tsk."

The pseudologist loosened the scarf around him, making sure it was around his neck. He couldn't believe the bear. He just couldn't believe what had happened.

 _But I guess it is obvious he won't answer any of my questions._ The man let out a small sigh. He eyed the MonoPad. _But still... I'm not going to carelessly play this game just because Monokuma called it 'safe'. He's not someone to trust, after all._

Minori groaned, looking around the room. He thought for a moment, then deciding it was best to leave the area. He had to check out the game, but he figured it was best to check it out with the others. Doing it alone would mean death, and Minori did not want that.

The pseudologist closed the door, heading towards the dining hall. He hoped that a few people were there. Even if it was one or two, he just had to speak with someone other than himself. He opened the doors and headed inside.

To his delight, the man found himself eyeing more than a few people.

Kaniza and Nezumi were sitting together talking, the duo trying their best to ease the other's tension. The pseudologist could then see Rin who was still a bit saddened than most, Ryoichi giving her careful glances. Minori also had to mention how the investigator seemed worried about Sheina as well, the egyptologist having lost her prideful and haughty smirk.

"Minori." Nezumi seemed to have noticed the pseudologist first, his eyes widening in a mixture of shock and relief. "Good afternoon- o-oh, wait, it's still morning, right?"

Kaniza let out a laugh, ruffling the thief's hair. She was affectionately smiling at him. "Of course it is, Nezzy!"

Minori couldn't help but smile himself. He was simply glad to see that Kaniza was still the same as ever. He was glad that she and Nezumi were happy. He was glad that Nezumi had someone who cared for him, and vice versa. Honestly, that was needed in this sort of environment.

"How are you?" The pseudologist asked, looking at the group.

Ryoichi let out a small, albeit pained, smile. "I think we're slowly getting better, Mr. Watanabe."

"Mhm. I see." Minori bit into his lips. His gaze was directed to Rin and Sheina.

"Please don't mind me." Rin noticed the man's gaze. She looked at him for a moment, then averting her eyes to the ground. "I just need a little bit of time to think for a moment."

"Ms. Hoseki..." Ryoichi clenched into his fists.

Minori's lips curved to a frown. He looked over to the egyptologist. He knew that she needed time to herself as well, but honestly he wanted to help. He wanted to help, even if it was a simple gesture of kindness. "Do you need anything, Sheina?"

The woman stared at the pseudologist, silent. It was then did a sigh escaped her lips. A sad, sad sigh. "No, subject. I'm just wondering... Wondering why the world is trying to toy with me."

Minori's eyes widened. He didn't know what to say, the woman continuing.

"If having a strange sinner place us into a killing game wasn't enough, killing my loyal subjects is another." Sheina gritted her teeth, stroking the necklace around her chest. "My loyal subjects- n-no, my friends... We never sinned, so we don't deserve death. Who deserves judgment from the Gods above? Monokuma, and yet... Yet it's not reality."

Minori was silent. Everyone was silent. No one knew what to say.

Reality was cruel, after all.

"You want the Son of Osiris to be honest?" Sheina's lips curved to a smile. A broken, agitated smile. "I knew that Amyto was unstable. I knew that she was unstable, yet I thought it was a joke. A foolish mistake. If I had told you all earlier, and nonetheless told you all Fuwari's secrets, then this wouldn't have happened."

"W-what?" Rin slowly looked to the woman. "What are you talking about?"

"They're my subjects- no, friends. They're my friends, so of course I've known of their secrets." Sheina let out a pained laugh. "The foolish me thought that Amyto was pulling a prank. She told me that she took drugs to stay happy, and I didn't believe her. And Fuwari... Fiona... I knew of her secret, and maybe if I had told all of you then..."

"What's..." Ryoichi wasn't sure if this was appropiate. He wasn't sure if he should even ask. "... her secret?"

The egyptologist eyed Ryoichi. "She cannot actually perform seances. Performing seances was her lie. She is incapable of performing seances, my loyal subjects. Her talent... Her title as an Ultimate... They were all a lie. She's not a spirit medium at all. She merely fakes her seances."

"What?" That was all the investigator could say next.

Kaniza shook her head. She slammed her hands down the table, standing up. "I don't see any reason for us to shun her then! Even if her talent was a lie, we'd still be friends with her." Her face scrunched up in pain. "She didn't have to hide that from us. Why? I-it's not like Amyto killed her because of that too, right?"

"I... I don't know."

Kaniza bit harshly into her lips. She was obviously agitated, but she forced back a counter as she felt Nezumi rubbing her back. She forfeited, now sinking back into her seat. "Sorry," she said, shaking her head. "I just... I just hate to think that any of us here are capable of killing anybody..."

"You're still thinking about that?" Ryoichi shook his head. "We can't stand to think like that anymore. I hate to think about it- but it's futile. Humans are capable of killing others. That's a fact, and Monokuma's using that to his advantage!"

The astrophotographer frowned. "Not everyone is capable of murder. Humans are not selfish."

"What I'm saying is that Monokuma's pushing us to kill!" The investigator's voice was desperate. "If we continue to do things his way, then I have no doubt he'll make us kill until one of us are left! We need to get out here! Somehow, someway!"

"C-calm down, Ryoichi." Nezumi fidgeted. He was pale. "I-I agree that Monokuma's manipulating us, but how? How are we going to escape?"

"Escape? It's futile." Sheina laughed bitterly. "I already know that we'll never escape the wrath this world has to offer. We'll all die either way, either us or our beloved. Escaping this place would mean that Monokuma would chase us, kill us. Staying here would mean death. Either way, escape or not, we're all doomed to fall under this reality's wrath."

"Can we not think about stuff like that?" Kaniza clenched her fists. "We just need to think positively! Our hard work will pay off."

Rin looked at the group for a moment, then shaking her head. Her voice was awfully silent. "I can't believe that. That's a lie."

It was silent.

Minori's heart was racing. It took minutes for the group to fall apart. It took less than an hour for tension to build up.

 _And I just wanted to talk about the game in our MonoPads... Making small talk with them backfired._

Minori shook his head. Inwardly did he let out a long sigh.

 _This is exactly what Monokuma wanted._

Minori bit into his lips. He honestly had nothing else to say, and with the tension in the room choking him, he had little to no choice but to leave.

Or, he wanted to, but he was stopped.

"You didn't eat yet, right?"

Minori looked back, finding Ryoichi eyeing the man. There was an awkward smile on his lips.

"Right..." The pseudologist could instantly tell that the investigator wanted someone to break the tension. The investigator was desperate, eyes that of puppy eyes. Minori looked over to the others. "Um, if I may ask, is it alright if I eat here now? You all seem busy, so..."

"No, not a problem at all!" Kaniza let out a wide smile. She was giggling. "It's not like we own the place, silly."

Minori laughed in return. "Of course. Sorry for thinking like that then."

The astrophotographer nodded. "Sagi steamed some salmon for us earlier. It should be in the fridge."

"Alright. I'll warm it up, thank you."

"Don't thank me, thank Sagi! Oh, and just saying, she'll definitely comment on your eye bags when she sees you."

Minori let out a goofy smile as he headed straight to the kitchen. _She didn't have to remind me of that. Sagiso will definitely nag me..._ The pseudologist blushed, but quickly shook his head. His eyes landed to the fridge from his left, and he walked over to open the door. There, low and behold, was a plate with a few slices of salmon left. Deliciously spiced, Minori couldn't help but feel his stomach grumble.

Minori grabbed ahold of the plate and laid it into the microwave, warming it up. In the meantime he took out a bowl and stuffed it with rice, then grabbing his pair of chopsticks and walking over to the microwave which began to ring. The aroma fell into his nostrils. Delicious. Minori eagerly took his meal with him back out to the dining hall.

"You look happy." Kaniza grinned widely. "Cute, Minnie."

Minori rolled his eyes, unable to stop himself from commenting a snarky comment. "What's cuter is you and Nezumi together."

"M-Minori!" Nezumi's face blushed within seconds.

The astrophotographer was amused, whistling straight at the pseudologist. "Wow, look at you. You're becoming more and more confident as the days pass by. Not only you, but Nezzy here..." Kaniza suddenly threw an arm around the thief. "I'm so happy for all of you! Everyone's becoming more and more confident! I would say it's a miracle, but considering we're stuck in this weird school... Nah."

Nezumi sighed. He couldn't help but let out a smile as the woman was laughing. "I mean, I guess you have a point."

"Right?!" Kaniza nodded her head rapidly, now squeezing the thief's cheeks.

Minori chuckled at the scene, biting into his piece of salmon. As always, it was delicious. A delicious meal that was cooked by a caring and honest person. A delicious, juicy meal. Minori couldn't help but smile, continuing to eat his food.

"Oh, right." Ryoichi drew Minori's attention. "Have you seen the new floor upstairs? There's a third floor now."

"Another new floor?" Minori frowned, gulping down his food. "Strange. Sounds like it appeared out of nowhere."

The investigator let out a smile, shrugging. "Monokuma appeared from nowhere as well, after all."

"True." The pseudologist chuckled. He bit into another piece before continuing to speak. "I'm assuming the others are investigating the third floor then?"

"Most of them are." Ryoichi nodded. "I didn't investigate the area yet, since..." His eyes darted to Rin, but he quickly shook his head. "U-um, I would think that the rest are over there though."

"Yeah, I checked the third floor a while ago too." Kaniza smiled, intervening in the conversation. "It's nothing too fancy like the second floor though. I mean, maybe a few places, but..."

Nezumi's head perked up. "Oh, you mean the stargazing room?"

The astrophotographer laughed, albeit whilst blushing. Minori could instantly tell that she had an idea in her head. "W-well, I mean, we can't exactly see the outside world, so it's just a hologram or something. But yeah, it's kind of pretty. It'd be better if we could see the actual night sky though..."

"Spoiling the surprise for Mr. Watanabe, huh?" The investigator threw the couple a sly (although amused and playful) look.

"It's fine. Sounds interesting though." Minori laughed, then thought to himself. "I'll check the floor out later then."

And with that thought in mind, Minori decided to finish his food. He took a few more minutes to finish his food, then putting the bowls in the sink. Thanking the group inside of the dining room, he left.

 _Alright, what does the third floor look like?_

Minori moved up the stairs, passing through the second floor to find a new set of stairways. Though the staircase seemed the same as the ones from the first floor, Minori couldn't help but be curious nonetheless. He walked through the staircase, and within seconds did the pseudologist find himself in an entirely new setting.

It was a floor unlike the second floor, but strangely similar to the first. It was another regular floor, another area that was befitting to that of a school.

That is, well, if not for how torn and worn the third floor looked.

The entire floor was dusty, almost filled to the brim with dirt and grime. There were tears on the walls, the doors old and rusty. There were splinters on the wooden doors and the lights were flickering, on and off, on and off. It was a pathetic view, honestly. A horrible, horrible view.

 _This is... Quite the view... Uh..._

Minori was silent in awe- awe in a negative way. He honestly wasn't sure what to say, simply silent with his mouth hanging agape. He was just unsure of what to say.

 _Well... I'll just look around this place, shall I?_

Minori chuckled silently to himself. He took out his MonoPad and turned it on, deciding to take a look of the layout of the floor.

From taking a look at his MonoPad, the pseudologist could tell that the closest room to him would be the music room. After the music room, to the left, would be the choir room. Following that would be the computer room, a room called the 'stargazing lab', and to the ends the storage and office rooms. Minori frowned. They were quite the normal sort of rooms fitting of a school (albeit the stargazing room). If not for how worn and torn the floor looked, Minori would've believed that he was in an actual school.

 _Well, then again, the second floor was school-like... Er, if not for how crazy the gym's mechanics and how extravagent the greenhouse are._

The pseudologist took in a deep breath. He shoved the MonoPad back into his pockets, then deciding to now tour the area. He walked to the left, moving to the first doorway. A worn down wooden door with a plate labeled 'Music Room'. The man observed the splinters coming forth from the door, then eyeing the cobwebs from the top corners. A sigh escaped his lips, and he creaked the door opened.

The door creaked opened, and the first thing Minori saw was Kakuma.

"Oh... Uh, hello, Kakuma."

Minori let out a small smile, but the wedding planner simply scoffed. The man had been observing a small instrument in his hands- a harmonica. Kakuma eyed the instrument for another short moment before shaking his head, finally responding to Minori's greeting. "You woke up late," he said, throwing him a frown.

The pseudologist's eyes widened. "Um, sorry?"

"Why are you apologizing? I'm not your parent, am I?" Kakuma threw him a cold look, but then sighed. He placed the harmonica in his hands to the nearby folding chair. His arms were now crossed. "Are you investigating this floor now?"

Minori nodded. He did wanted to observe the room, but for now his focus was on the man's gaze. "Yes, I did. Are you investigating the floor at the moment?"

The wedding planner nodded, raising a brow. He looked at the man for a moment, silent. That silence rose the tension in the air, but within a few seconds the man let out a sigh. He threw himself to the chair on the side, sitting down and crossing his legs. An exasperated expression escaped his face. "I don't want to admit it, but it's worrying to see you like this."

"Excuse me?"

"Haven't you noticed it?" Kakuma frowned. His eyes were focused entirely into Minori's. "Monokuma seems to be specifically interested in you. You heard him in the trial yesterday, didn't you? He's interested in you, and seeing you lie to yourself is frustrating."

"I..." Minori bit into his lips. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Seriously? You expect to believe that you're fine? Acting like you're fine?" The wedding planner clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "Just admit it. You're tired, you want to take a break. You want someone else to take over the title of 'leader'."

The pseudologist averted his gaze. He knew exactly what the man was talking about. "I'm fine, Kakuma. I can't afford to catch a break. We need to stop Monokuma, after all."

Kakuma stared at Minori for another moment, silent. His eyes seemed to be piercing straight into his soul. It was an uncomfortable moment until the wedding planner groaned, abruptly standing up from his seat. He was now in front of the man, close to his face.

"This is why I hate liars like you."

Minori could only say nothing as Kakuma left the room, the door closing shut behind him. The man kept his breath, heart strangely aching in pain.

 _What the hell was that?_

The man clenched into his fists, but he quickly shook his head.

 _Ignore it. I have more important matters to focus on._

Minori took a deep breath. In and out. In and out. In and out.

 _Alright. There._

He was fine. Now, he was focused on investigating the music room.

Minori looked around the room. Of course, the first things he noticed would be the holes and cobwebs inside of the room. The room was fairly dark, the lights atop flickering on and off, dim. It was a perfect setting for a horror story. Dim-litted lights that flickered on and off, cobwebs, holes, and creaky doors. Definitely a horrific setting.

In the center of the room would be four lines of folding chairs, halfway surrounding a pedestal. An image befitting to that of a conductor orchestrating his symphony- a synchronized, beautiful melody that would play. Minori smiled. He always had a love for the classical, after all. His eyes then moved to eye the piano at the side. An old piano with dusty keys and a broken chair. To the left farthest side would be where the instruments were stored- cellos, trombones, etc. Finally, to the right would be a small altar where medals would be.

And strangely, the prizes won by the anonymous symphony were sparkly clean and beautiful. Everything was gold, silver, and bronze- shiny and beautifully stored. There were dozens of trophies lined up on the marbel altar, medals hung above.

Minori observed the altar for another moment, eyes then widening as he noticed something in the middle of the area. A framed image. It was a framed image of the symphony itself, the conductor and his students to be seen smiling with medals around their necks.

 _Hm, who are these guys though?_

The pseudologist eyed the symphony for another moment. The conductor seemed to be an old and friendly man, his gray hair combed neatly and his eyes small. The symphony were wearing black suits and dresses, instruments in hand. Minori frowned. He couldn't recongize any of them, and strangely, it bothered him.

Still, he would have to investigate into that matter another time. He moved away from the altar and decided to walk over to the center of the room, noticing the harmonica that Kakuma had held a while ago. Minori picked it up, eyeing the instrument. It was strangely clean and pristine- almost new.

 _It's as if... Someone's been here before this floor was even opened to us._

Even if Kakuma had held the instrument beforehand, the harmonica shouldn't have looked so beautifully new and crafted. Unlike the instruments that the man had seen from the left side of the room, the harmonica was beautifully crafted. It was shining silver, and the brand- the brand was unlike the others.

 _Was... Was Monokuma here a while ago? The mastermind?_ Minori frowned. _But why? Did they buy this from the outside world? Why... why did the mastermind or Monokuma leave this here so openly? This is suspicious._

Minori bit into his lips, taking a look left and right. No one was in sight, and discreetly the pseudologist shoved the instrument into his pockets. He would have to either tell the other Ultimates later, or pry information out of Monokuma.

 _This could be a red herring, of course. I need to find more clues then._

With that in mind, the pseudologist headed outside the music room. He continued his investigation as he entered into the choir room, creaking opened the wooden door. The door finally opened fully, and Minori found himself eyeing company.

"You're finally awake." Sagiso let out a small smile as she walked over to the man. She then frowned as she observed the man. Her eyes squinted. "... I think you need to sleep more, Minori."

"I'm fine." Minori blushed, cheeks turning pink. He was still not used to the woman's attention over him, shaking his head quickly. His eyes focused to Kamui who bowed his head down in courtesy. "Hello, Kamui."

The mortician nodded. "It is nice to see you too, Minori."

Minori chuckled. "Are you investigating the floor right now?"

Kamui nodded. "Yes. I was investigating by myself until I met Sagiso along the way. We're almost done investigating the entire place though. Have you just started?"

"Mhm." The pseudologist looked to Sagiso, frowning. His voice went softer, quiet in a whisper. "Have you told everyone about the truth bullets yet?"

Sagiso let out a sigh. "Yes, I did. We are wondering whether or not to trust what the truth bullet gives us at this point. We do not even know where they come from, after all. The moment after we investigate something, a truth bullet immediately comes forth. It's... It's suspicious."

"Ah, I never thought of that." Minori's eyes widened. He was stunned, blinking for a couple of times before nodding. "It is suspicious..."

The pseudologist inwardly sighed to himself, then looking to Kamui who awkwardly threw him a baffled look. A look of genuine confusion and worry. Minori chuckled at the sight.

 _Well, it's glad to see that Kamui's doing well. It seems that people are beginning to regain their trust in him, or from what I've seen._

With that joyful thought in mind, the pseudologist decided to take a look around the choir room. Like the music room, there were rows which halfway surrounded the conductor. It was simple rows of benches- those where people would stand on. A piano was to the left of the stage, but unlike the music room the choir room was otherwise entirely spacious. There weren't anything else in sight other than a few medals hanging on a wall. It was a spacious, torn room- that was all Minori could label it as.

Minori frowned. He wondered if the room's layout was intentional or not.

"Sagiso, Kamui, have you seen the music room?"

The duo turned to the pseudologist. They looked at one another for a second before shaking their heads.

"Why are you asking?" Kamui raised a brow, disgruntled.

Minori shook his head, letting out an awkward chuckle. "It's nothing. I was just asking, please don't mind me."

Though wary, the duo paid it no mind and continued their investigation. In the meantime, Minori went to his own investigation, taking his leave. Now, he was headed for the next room- the computer room.

Two doors, both torn and riddled with cobwebs. Minori paid it no mind and opened the doors, swinging it opened.

Strangely enough, the room was entirely spacious and empty, let alone for one single computer that was sitting silently atop of a small desk. A eerie, creepy atmosphere filled the room. Only a lightbulb was to be seen lighting the room, hanging on top of the ceiling in a dim-litted manner. It was entirely empty inside of the room let alone for that computer and desk. There were no cobwebs nor were there any dirt to be seen. It was strangely, eerily, squeaky clean.

 _Is this entire floor riddled in a horror movie?_

Minori laughed bitterly to himself before walking inside.

The doors shut closed.

The pseudologist frowned. He expected for the doors to shut the moment he entered because, yes, he was in a horror setting. He sighed, his heart pounding. He had to continue, and so he walked further into the room- closer to the computer screen.

Step by step, he was now in front of the computer. His eyes were staring at the empty, blank screen.

 _Hm... Where's the 'on' button here?_

Minori observed the keyboard for a moment before noticing the buttons in the corner of the screen. He let out a nervous smile as he pressed into the button. Silence. It was silent, but then-

-static began to play, and the sounds of the hardware driving were heard.

Codes were to be seen in red and green. Zeroes and ones played and scrolled down the black screen, moving endlessly and quickly. It scrolled and scrolled for what seemed milliseconds, but, then, suddenly- it stopped.

It stopped, and the screen flashed into silence. It was now black, blank.

A few seconds passed.

The screen flashed white, and suddenly, a voice was heard within the static sounds.

"... viewing this now...? So it's ... Minori... huh?"

Minori's eyes widened. He was suddenly taken aback by his name being called. He almost stumbled on his own two feet. That static voice was speaking right at him.

"... don't worry... I... to everyone..."

He didn't understand what the voice was saying. He didn't understand anything.

"... report... here..."

And before Minori could understand what was going on, it was silent.

Static had disappeared, and it was now silent.

Minori was silent, and the entire room was silent.

 _What...?_ The pseudologist was caught off-guard, his entire face paling. _What just happened? What was that?_

Minori couldn't even answer any of his questions. He had no idea what had happened, and all he had to go on was nothing. A voice was speaking to him, and he didn't know what it was about or whom that voice belonged to. He was at a complete stalemate.

The pseudologist shook his head. He slapped himself on the face.

 _Alright, even if that just happened and I have no idea of what happened, I need to finish investigating the floor before telling everyone this._

Minori was determined of that, and he walked over to open the doors. The doors creaked opened, and shut the moment Minori stepped out of the doors. He headed his way into the next room- the so-called 'stargazing room'.

Once the man was inside, he saw nothing of interest. An entirely white room with a remote controller in the middle of the room. There were two red beanie chairs surrounding the remote, but that was all to be seen.

Minori frowned. He walked over to the middle and grabbed ahold of the remote. He eyed with interest. There were a few buttons laid out, those of red, blue, and green. There were three buttons in total, few in comparison to the buttons inside of the gymnasium.

Interested and curious, the white-haired man pressed to the red button. Immediately did the white room began to change, now being painted in a relaxing hue of pastel yellows. It was a relaxing and soft atmosphere.

It was nothing special. The pseudologist frowned, and pressed into the blue button.

The room was now strangely warmer. The climate in the room had changed, and it was now a lukewarm temperature- just enough for someone to get themselves cozy. Minori didn't know how the temperature changed so drastically, but he couldn't argue.

Finally, the pseudologist pressed into the green button.

The room began to shake, and without warning the ceiling began to transform. Minori looked up to find the ceiling disappearing, now changing into a glass ceiling. A glass ceiling which showed a beautiful night sky- a beautiful sky that was riddled in dark hues and black. A beautiful sky that was riddled with stars sparkling down his way.

Minori was stunned. He was entirely captivated by this sight. He wondered how he was able to see such a sight, his heart pounding. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung agape- the night sky was entirely beautiful. It was captivating.

 _How long has it been since I ever saw anything akin to a 'sky'?_

And that was the question that stuck into Minori's mind at this single moment. He just couldn't believe it- he had completely forgotten what a 'sky' looked like. He had forgotten about what the outside world looked like, and he had realized how much he missed the beautiful night sky.

His heart ached.

 _Shit._

Minori quickly shook his head. His heart was aching, and he did not want to be homesick at this moment. He quickly pressed into the green button, the ceiling now being covered. A sigh escaped his lips. It was beautiful, surely, it was- but he did not want to be overwhelmed with that feeling of homesickness and nostalgia. He did not want his emotions to overwhelm him.

And so he sighed, forcing himself to think about the next room.

Minori quickly left the room, moving to the next room. The wooden door with a plate titled 'Storage Room'. The man frowned, and creaked the door opened. He walked inside, then suddenly finding himself eyeing a familiar face.

It was Seiga. The stunt double was currently eyeing something with interest. His lips curved into a small smile, that of which Minori had never saw before- it was a smile riddled with nostalgia and bitterness.

"Um..." It completely took Minori aback. His voice had almost cracked because of Seiga's unusual expression. "Seiga?"

Seiga's eyes widened, the man jumping out of nowhere and throwing his hands up. Cold sweat was trickling down his forehead. "Dude! You came out of nowhere! What the hell?"

Minori noticed it instantly. It was a cover of a television series- a series that Minori knew all too well. It was the series in which Seiga and his brother starred in. "Are you alright?" The pseudologist asked, deciding not to pry into the situation too much. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Huh? What? Dude, I'm fine. Nothing can scare a hero like me." Seiga let out a boisterous laugh, albeit forced. The man then frowned, looking at Minori for a second. Hesitation riddled his face, but he quickly shook it by and spoke. "You have, like, eye bags under your eyes. Dude, have you been sleeping right?"

"Oh, you noticed them too." Minori awkwardly chuckled. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" The stunt double raised a brow, but after a moment of silence, he let out a huge groan. He scratched his head and sighed loudly. His eyes averted to the ground, hands still clenching to the DVD cover. "Um, so, like dude, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you during the trial."

Minori was stunned. He didn't expect for the stunt double to apologize. The pseudologist let out a smile, shaking his head. "It's fine. I'm not bothered by it at all. It's only natural you'd be fearful of death."

"Fearful..."

The white-haired man noticed it. He noticed that the man was bothered by that word- 'fear'. Seiga was a prideful man. Minori should've known that the stunt double refused to be held down by such a word.

Seiga shook his head. He placed the DVD cover to the wooden shelf and cracked his knuckles. "A hero can't be fearful of anything, Minori! I'm not fearful of anything at all!" The man let out another laugh. An obnoxious, loud laugh. "But enough about that. Are you here to check out the storage room?"

Minori nodded his head slowly. "Yes, I am. You were investigating the area too, I assume."

"Yup! But like, dude, there's hell of a lotta shit here. Monokuma even left this DVD of Raiden Shoumetsu!" Seiga suddenly grabbed ahold of the cover from the shelf, now waving it up and down. "I think he's a fan of me and my bastard brother, don't you think?"

"I guess." The pseudologist chuckled. "What else is in here though?"

Seiga frowned. "Um, well, a lot of other shit. Most of them are old and worn down though, so I guess that's why they aren't in the MonoLottery room. There's a lot of old clothes and ruined machines here. I think I even saw an old rubber duck here!"

"Really?" Minori raised a brow, now curious. The man observed the storage room. It was dimly litted with one lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. The room was messy and crowded, small. Shelves were surrounding the room, all sorts of items held atop. Most of the items were messily crowded near each other, some having been falling to the ground. Minori looked to the most bottom left corner, then letting out a small snort. "Ah, there's the rubber duck..."

"Oh really?" Seiga followed Minori's direction, then grinning as he noticed that specific dusty duck. "Ha! There it is."

The pseudologist smiled as he noticed the amusement escaping Seiga's face. He was glad to see the man entertained and carefree, but still- he was worried nonetheless. Not only for Seiga, but for everyone. He knew that everyone's mental states were wavering, faltering. He didn't know how long it'd take till another breaks-

-breaks down and commits murder.

Minori inwardly cursed to himself. He did not want that to happen, at all. He had to somehow avoid it. Somehow, someway.

There was nothing else to be seen inside of the room. There were torn clothes and worn toys, but that was all. There was nothing special to be seen, and so after waving to Seiga, the man left to the last room on his checklist.

It was the office room. Right next to the storage room was the office room. Opening the door, Minori headed inside.

The office room was alike to most office rooms. Although messy and riddled with cobwebs, the room was normal to another office room. There was an office desk with a rolling chair, a pen and pencil atop of the desk. There were cabinets which held files of all kinds, and then there was a wooden chair that was in front of the desk. Another normal, sadly normal, office room.

 _Hm, then again, there might be something worth looking into here._

Minori looked through the cabinets, spending a good hour inside of the room. He was looking through each and every file, but even after an hour passed, he found nothing. There were only files that detailed nothing- all blank, all white. There were no words to be written, no images to be seen. There was nothing to be seen, nothing to note.

The pseudologist sighed, cursing to himself. He should've expected such, but his heart begged for something. He wanted to escape this damn killing game so badly. He didn't want to see anyone else die, anyone else to be manipulated into killing. He wanted to be home, with his siblings, his family. He wanted to be safe with his friends.

He just wanted to live a normal life. Was that too much to ask for?

Minori wasn't sure, but since he was finished investigating the third floor, he would have to report his findings to the others. A sigh escaping his lips, the man headed downstairs into the first floor. He wondered if everyone would be inside of the dining hall.

The man headed inside of the dining hall, and he saw mostly everyone inside.

He could hear Sagiso and Kaniza preparing dinner from the kitchen. Ryoichi was trying his best to talk to Sheina and Rin. Seiga was busy conversing with Nezumi and Kamui, the trio laughing and smiling. Minori could then spot Fumio and Saori, the duo strangely engaging in small talk themselves.

 _Kakuma's not here..._

Minori bit into his lips. Honestly, he had hoped to see the wedding planner, but reality had went against him. He had hoped that Kakuma would open up more to them, but he didn't. The pseudologist sighed.

He decided to approach Fumio and Saori. The duo didn't seem bothered by his presence at all, instead them seeming to welcome him in silent acknowledgment. The pseudologist took a seat next to the duo, waving towards them. "Hello."

Fumio wrote quickly into his notepad. "Hello."

Saori nodded her head. "Have you checked the third floor yet?"

 _Huh. I'm glad that Fumio's opening up, not only to me, but to Saori as well. He's trying to change, I'm sure of it._ Minori smiled. "I did. I wanted to discuss with everyone about what I found there."

The body broker was silent, but then nodded her head for a second time. "We were all planning to do that. Kakuma didn't want to eat with us though, so we had no choice but to let him leave."

"I mean... It's his choice..." Minori sighed. He was worried for the wedding planner. "I just wished he would open up to us more..."

The sounds of scribbling were heard. The pseudologist turned his head to find Fumio showing him a few words. "You'll be able to do it."

Minori couldn't help but smile at that. Fumio had a point. If Minori was able to open up to people and if he and the others were able to help each other, then the pseudologist was sure Kakuma would be the same. The wedding planner will open up to them, and Minori was sure of it.

"Hey! We got the food ready!"

Minori's eyes widened as he heard Kaniza's voice. The astrophotographer and psychogeographer had came into the dining hall with plates on hands- meals to be seen ready to serve. The food that had been prepared was pasta and lasanga- alfredo and all sorts of dishes to be seen. Everyone's eyes widened at the meals, their mouths drooling with saliva. Everyone's stomachs were grumbling as their plate was handed to them. Seconds later did everyone dig in, straight into their food.

 _Delicious as always._ Minori was chirpy as he ate into his pasta, his stomach grumbling in delight. He was so glad to have Kaniza and Sagiso cook for them. Definitely, he was grateful towards them.

"Aren't I good, Nezzy?" Kaniza was squeezing the thief's cheeks, a teasing smile on her lips. She was not at all embarrassed about her public affection.

"Y-yeah! It's good!" Nezumi was nodding his head rapidly. He was embarrassed, cheeks a deep red hue.

"Are we going to talk about what we found?" Saori asked, eyeing the group. "I think there is a lot to discuss about what was in the third floor."

"Of course!" Seiga cracked his knuckles, a confident smile on his lips. "I found a DVD of Raiden-"

Kamui looked over to the man with a sigh. "Something that relates to our situation, Seiga."

The stunt double frowned, but then shrugged and continued to eat into his food.

Sagiso was the next to speak, clearing her throat. "I think there is a lot to discuss about what we found in the third floor. Most importantly, what was found in the computer room."

"Oh, you heard it too? That weird static voice coming from the computer?" Kaniza shuddered. "Ugh. It scares me to even think about it..."

Ryoichi hummed a thoughtful idea, "Maybe they're aliens?"

"Of course not." Kaniza rolled her eyes playfully. She then stopped, thinking for another moment. Her face paled. "There's no way it's aliens!"

Ryoichi let out an awkward smile. He had tried to joke, but apparently it didn't work. Minori stepped into the conversation. "Does anyone know what the voice was trying to tell us? I heard my name, but that was all I could decipher."

"T-the voice was speaking out to each of us, I think." Nezumi gulped, fiddling with his fingers. "I heard my name being called out too."

"Me three." Seiga blinked. "Y'know, what if it's the evildoer Monokuma himself? Or maybe it's the mastermind?!"

"I'm not sure." Sagiso tapped to her chin. She was pondering on that thought. "It is hard to decipher the meaning behind what that voice is telling us, but it seems like we could come to a consensus that the voice was speaking to the each of us. It's hard to conclude who exactly was behind that screen, if it was recorded or not..."

"True." Kamui nodded to himself. "I wonder if the static behind that voice was intentional."

"Most likely." Sagiso frowned. "However, since we cannot get anything more from that, let's speak about another thing of interest."

Saori cleared her throat as she spoke. "The picture in the music room concerns me."

Minori's eyes widened. "Right. I was wondering the same thing. Who are the people in the image?"

"Is it even that important?" Seiga scratched his head, baffled. "Maybe their the inhabitants of this school before this school was, y'know, taken over by Monokuma. I don't think it's worth looking into, Minori."

"I suppose..." The pseudologist cupped his chin. He then reached into his pockets and took out the harmonica he stole from earlier, placing it to the middle. "Then what do you think about this? The fact that this harmonica looks cleaner and newer than the rest of the instruments in that room?"

Fumio frowned. He thought, then wrote into his notepad. "Doesn't this entail that Monokuma has been moving around in the outside world?"

"Couldn't Monokuma have cleaned that though?" Kaniza tilted her head, confused. "Maybe Monokuma has a strange personal connection to that instrument out of the rest."

"I don't think so." The pseudologist shook his head. "The brand of this harmonica is relatively new in comparison to the other instruments inside of the music room. And it doesn't look like it has been used yet. It looks completely new if you compare it to the rest of the instruments."

The stunt double was bewildered. "What does that mean?"

Saori raised a brow. She grabbed ahold of the instrument, observing it keenly. "Does this mean that Monokuma has been keeping in touch with the outside world? But then why would he buy a harmonica, out of all things?"

"I'm thinking this is a red herring, but I am not sure." The pseudologist pursed his lips. He sipped into his glass of water. "You bring up a good point too. Why would Monokuma go to the outside world just to buy a harmonica? This doesn't make sense... Hm..."

Kaniza clapped her hands together. "Like I said- maybe he loves harmonicas?"

Silence. It seemed like no one knew the answer.

"Well, is that all?" Nezumi eyed the group awkwardly. "W-we still haven't found any big leads yet, huh?"

"Don't worry! We're somewhere at least!" The astrophotographer smiled widely. She threw an arm around the thief, throwing him in a tight embrace. "If we continue to look and think about it, then we'll get out of here in no time!"

"... You think?"

"Sheina!" Kaniza threw the woman a cold look, silencing her immediately. She did not want the mood to grow uneasy, at all.

 _I feel like things will get worse and worse if we continue to be stuck here._ Minori awkwardly eyed Sheina and Kaniza. He said nothing though as he bit into his food. He was uncomfortable, if not slightly.

Seiga seemed to have noticed the awkwardness as well, clearing his throat. "Um, anyways, have you guys checked the game Monokuma kept in our MonoPads?"

"Ah, right." Ryoichi frowned, not at all pleased. "Why would he keep such a thing in our devices? He's messing with us."

"He said it's not dangerous." Fumio shrugged. "I haven't played it myself though, so I can't make an accurate judgment yet."

"Me neither."

No one seemed to have touched the game at all. It was obvious they didn't trust Monokuma.

It was then did a thought escaped Kaniza's mind. She suddenly focused her attention to Fumio. "Actually, I forgot to ask you this earlier, but uh... Well, how did you convince Monokuma to change the outcome of the trial?"

Fumio's eyes widened, and the scholar was left unable to move.

Kamui noticed the uneasiness in the air, and he quickly stepped in. "Don't worry about it. You could tell us later."

Fumio stayed silent. Minori could assume that Fumio was not willing to open up that much yet.

The astrophotographer quickly shook her head, worry escaping her face. "Of course! I'm not trying to accuse you of anything. I was just curious. I thought for sure Monokuma would've killed us that time... That's all."

"Dude's a hero!" Seiga grinned widely, winking at the scholar. "Don't worry about shit, Fumio!"

Fumio was silent, and it was the same for everyone.

Silence.

Silence escaped the room once again, and now everyone was left to eating their food. There was nothing to discuss anymore, well, at the moment.

Minori finished his food, sipping into his water. He couldn't help but worry about what's to come of the future. He couldn't help but worry that things will only go downhill. He couldn't help but worry about the mental states of his friends.

He couldn't help but worry that Monokuma was messing with them at this moment.

* * *

... And that's it for this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Things are starting to get serious really quickly, and one could only wonder what would happen. Since we're basically in the middle of this story, the whole plotline and plot twists will begin to be more heavily foreshadowed.

Anyways, I hope I'll be able to update more quickly. I can only hope reading three books for summer homework (and if I have more than just that for one class I'm dead) won't stall my time to write! Anyways, I have already set up a poll on my profile, so please vote on who you want to see for this chapter's FTEs! Also, forum-wise, it's called Danganronpa: Disparity Between the Truth and Lies.

And that's all! See you next time!


	24. Chapter 3 - Part 1, Part B

Hello, and welcome to the next part of Chapter 3! This chapter as a whole will be quite a challenge for me, considering the concept of Chapter 3 in Danganronpa as a whole and how it is technically in the middle of the story, but I hope I'll be able to write this effectively and uniquely! I will try to foreshadow things while keeping the suspense on who will die and how it happens in this story. The foreshadowing to this entire story as a whole... Well, I will need to tackle it subtly.

 **ToonGuy:** "Haha, nice to see how you came to find that chapter! Yes, me changing the cover image within each chapter is important. Minori shall lie to the audience as well. Haha, well, your thoughts do seem to prove right to an extent at times, so let's see~ Everyone will need to go through some suffering throughout the story, so expect some suffering everytime~ Like always, your thoughts are interesting to read as always! I hope you will enjoy this chapter!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "Haha, of course. The last trial had impacted them the most. Yes, there are many things that are quite confusing to their revelance to the story as a whole. Aw, thanks, and hope you will continue to enjoy the story!"

 **dashunterman:** "Haha, well, Sheina will have to suffer for some time ;) But poor Sheina though!"

 **liammarklh88:** "Haha, well, I like to raise death flags for everyone~ I'm glad I seem to exceed your expectations, and I hope you will enjoy this chapter as it is the dreaded Chapter 3. Haha, glad you enjoyed that little twist on Fuwari. Haha, love your thoughts. Kaniza and Sagiso seem to be best moms at the moment, I see. Well, let's see who dies in Chapter 3, and the later ones... Lol, see you on Discord!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Yes, the third floor is what would be labeled as the ominous one. Haha, well, let's hope for more lights to appear in the cast's path. Hope you will enjoy this chapter!"

 **zephryr:** "Yes, siblings. Family's important to everyone. I understand your view on the third chapter. Unfortunately, I, too, feel the same. Hopefully I will be able to make this chapter as enjoyable as possible. Even if I end up making mistakes down the road, I hope it will prove enjoyable. Your thoughts on the harmonica is interesting, let us see if your thoughts are true! Slow-paced chapters are strangely the ones I write the best (or not lol you be the judge). Thank you!"

 **irwegwert:** "It's fine! Better late than never, right? Yes, Fuwari's secret is quite a twist and it does fit well into this story's theme. Of course, and hopefully the others will be fleshed out more. Yes, the broadcast will be something that holds importance later in the story. Haha, well, hopefully everything will be revealed in due time. Info dumps are what I hate the most, so I understand. Aw, thanks! I appreciate it."

* * *

Minori let out a sigh as he combed his hair. He had woken up earlier than the morning announcement, and, as a tribute to the contrast from yesterday, he decided to immerse himself in his looks. He knew that Sagiso would continuously nag to him about his appearance, so the man decided to make himself look as clean and neat as he usually did.

The pseudologist grinned as he washed his face. He didn't know why, but a sudden surge of confidence ran throughout his body. Whether it was because of how neat he looked now or if it was because of a gut instinct, he felt like he was ready to take on the entire world- at least Monokuma. He felt like he would be able to revolt against the headmaster, and escape with the others.

A foolish thing to think of. With about four people dead, Minori knew better than to believe in such an optimistic thought. Still, he wanted to believe. He wanted to cling onto the hope that they would escape. They would bring Monokuma to justice, and this entire story would end happily.

 _Well, even if I feel confident at the moment... What do we do from here?_

Minori sighed, adjusting the scarf around his neck. He eyed his reflection on the mirror for a moment. Though there were still bags under his eyes, they were faint. His lips weren't chapped and his complexion wasn't sickly in the slightest- he looked perfectly healthy. A relieved breath escaped his lips, and at the same time the announcement rang.

"Hey bastards! It's morning! Wake your asses up!"

The announcement ended as always, and the pseudologist frowned. He hated how he accepted the headmaster's callings- it was now a norm in his life, and he hated it. Monokuma was ruling over their entire lives, and Minori wondered what to do to deny that. Either if it was to sleep earlier or wake up late, he didn't know.

 _Maybe if we don't go to the trials or kill at all- No, that won't work. Monokuma won't let us off the hook so easily._

The pseudologist couldn't help but let out another sigh. He wished that were the case, but this is reality. This is reality, and reality is not at all sweet.

The knock of the door.

Minori frowned, eyes now focused on where the noise came from. _Who can be calling me? I didn't plan anything with anyone yet, and it's just right after the morning announcement._

The pseudologist held his breath and began his way over to the door. He slowly unlocked the door and creaked it open. His eyes widened instantly, and before he had the chance to speak he was shushed into silence.

The Ultimate had forced Minori back into the room, the door shutting instantly closed within seconds. "Minori," the Ultimate began. Minori instantly recongized the man as Kakuma. His dull eyes were staring firecely into his. "We need to talk, now."

"K-Kakuma?" The pseudologist bit into his lips. "What's wrong?"

The wedding planner frowned. He let out a sigh as he walked over to take a seat. He crossed his arms and gave Minori another cold look before speaking. "I apologize if I scared you. I just figured out something, and I thought you were the one I had to share it with."

Minori eyed the man curiously. "But why me? Couldn't you have asked Kamui or Sagiso?"

"And have people suspect me? The last thing I want is for you all to lose your supposed sense of 'unity'. As much as I hate to admit it, that sense of 'togetherness' you and the others were eager to achieve... It's needed to stop Monokuma." The wedding planner averted his gaze, almost disgusted with what he had said. He quickly shook his head. "Well, it doesn't matter. The reason why I want to talk to you is because you're the last person people would've suspected me of working with."

"W-what?" The pseudologist was bewildered. "I-"

"I know." Kakuma pursed his lips. "I know I've treated you harshly ever since I've met you and I know how unfair I'm treating you and the others, but..." The wedding planner let out a shaky breath. "... I can't help it. I just don't want to be used, and that's why I've treated you and the others like this."

Minori was shocked. He was silent as the man continued. "I want to trust in you guys, especially you. I always thought that you all would betray me the moment I take your side, but I was wrong. I'm sorry, especially to you, Minori. I won't treat you unfairly ever again. I know you aren't as malicious as I thought you were. You're different."

The pseudologist was silent. He eyed the wedding planner who was in pain, eyes looking away. Minori clenched into his fists, pursing his lips. _So that's what it was..._ The pseudologist inwardly smiled as he began to respond. "It's fine. We're all in this together, aren't we?"

Kakuma's eyes widened. He looked at the man for a moment, then shaking his head with a bitter groan. "Be mindful of yourself more, Minori. You're overworking yourself, and yet..." The man then let out a relieved sigh as his expression suddenly changed- changed into that of seriousness. "I do want to tell you of what I've found, but I want to ask you to make sure- are you fine with me telling you?"

Minori nodded. "Of course I am. I trust you."

Kakuma was silent. He averted his gaze. "Are you sure? Even if I barged in here, your mental state-"

"I'm fine." The pseudologist was frowning, crossing his arms. "Just tell me what's wrong, Kakuma."

The wedding planner held his breath. He didn't want to admit it, but he was concerned for the pseudologist's health. He's been concerned over him, and yet the man was lying to himself that he was fine. That annoyed him. That irritated him, but Kakuma had no one else to turn to. He had to put his faith in Minori. "Alright," he said, a sigh escaping his lips. "I'll be blunt then."

Minori gulped. He wondered what the man would say.

"What if I joined Monokuma's side?"

Minori felt like time stopped. He looked at the wedding planner, shocked. "W-what?" His voice cracked. "Where are you going with this?"

Kakuma frowned. He placed his fingers to his chin, rubbing it. "I believe that if I were to align myself with Monokuma, I'd be able to obtain information from him. He was the one who approached me, after all."

"He approached you?" Minori felt like his stomach was churning. "Why?"

"'Entertainment'- that would most likely be his answer." The man observed the room for a moment, then looking back at Minori. "He told me that he doesn't care if I became an ally or not, as long as I provide him entertainment... I'm supposing this is slightly akin to what happened with Fumio?"

The pseudologist recalled Fumio's short interaction with Monokuma. "It is. I don't see why he'd do that though. I'm supposing he's proposing that to you to provide him entertainment, but isn't it dangerous? You could just tell the others this and-"

"He knows that, and he knows that I won't try." Kakuma wrinkled his nose. "This will only cause everyone else to suspect that not only I could have betrayed them, but that Monokuma must've approached the others. The sense of unity you guys have will be destroyed, even more so than now."

"I-I suppose you have a point..." The pseudologist's lips curved upside down. Cold sweat was running down his forehead. "What you gain from betraying us would be the gain of information and your survival, correct?"

"I wouldn't necessary say that he'd keep me alive, but others would assume such." The wedding planner sighed. "I'm trying to say that I'll betray you all to gain information. I will use the information given to me to hurt Monokuma."

"But why tell me?" Minori's face paled. "Monokuma could hear us, and-"

"He doesn't care. This is a source of 'entertainment' for him." The wedding planner let out a grim smirk. "I will use his motive to his advantage to learn more about him, and our situation."

Minori bit into his lips. "But I'm worried about you. Monokuma could easily take advantage of you too."

"Like I didn't know that?" Kakuma shrugged. "I will have to take my chances." He pursed his lips, then continuing. "I'm telling you this because I trust that you will trust in me. I feel like I could trust you enough to know that you're smart enough to see through what I'm doing."

Minori observed Kakuma for a moment. He was silent. He knew that the man was right- he had a point. He had to admit it.

"I trust you to not tell anyone." The wedding planner's expression was stern. "Please."

Minori averted his gaze. "... I know that. I won't tell anyone."

The man nodded his head in return. It was a sign of his gratitude.

"Why are you telling me this so suddenly though?" That thought ran through the pseudologist's head. "He spoke with you today?"

"I wouldn't say today exactly, but rather last night." The man frowned, crossing his arms. "I was thinking about this last night and when I woke up I decided on telling you what I have planned. I... I wanted to make sure I was confident that I can trust you... And..." Kakuma looked to the ground. "... I wasn't sure if you'd forgive me for treating you so harshly."

 _Kakuma..._ Minori inwardly sighed. He never expected the wedding planner to act this kind towards him. It was uncanny, to say the least.

"Ahem! Well, now that that's settled with, I think it's time for my leave." Kakuma stood up from his seat. "I don't want anyone to think that we're friends now. That'll only cause people to be suspicious of us. I'll still act as I did earlier towards you, and you treat me the same as you did back then. I don't want anyone to suspect us."

"That's true..." Despite that fact, the pseudologist was a bit displeased. He honestly just wanted to treat Kakuma as a friend. To think he'd have to put on a mask in front of his friends distressed him. "Alright."

Kakuma nodded in return. He made his way over to the door, creaked it opened. It was slightly opened, Kakuma looking left and right. No one was in sight, and within seconds did the man leave the room. He easily avoided being caught.

Minori sighed. He honestly never would've expected such a twist, especially that pertaining of a 'betrayal'.

 _Just what is Monokuma thinking?_ He honestly didn't know, and it was hurting his head. _But if I continue to think about it, is it only Kakuma that Monokuma confronted about this deal? What if he asked the others?_

Minori quickly shook his head. No, he didn't want to doubt his friends.

 _But I can't stop thinking about it. It would make sense to doubt them._

The pseudologist let out another sigh. He decided to not think further about it. His stomach was grumbling, and the man was more than gleeful to eat something at the moment. He looked outside the area for a moment before heading out, thinking that the distance between him and Kakuma were far enough. He made his way over to the dining hall where he met the others, all seated and patiently awaiting their food.

"Hey Minori." Nezumi threw the pseudologist a kind smile.

Minori smiled back in return, deciding to take a seat next to the thief. "Hello, Nezumi. How are you?"

"I'm doing fine. Thank you for asking." The thief couldn't help but giggle at his own words. "It's nice to see that you look fine as well."

"He always look fine." Ryoichi threw Minori a playful smile. "You always look so dependable, Mr. Watanabe. I'm so glad we have you by our side. You're smart and observant- two vital things needed to counter Monokuma."

Rin frowned as she looked to the man. "You're still going on about that? That idea sounds hopeless. We can't find a way out of here since the beginning."

"D-don't say that, Ms. Hoseki!" Ryoichi let out an awkward laugh. He was trying his best to sound playful. "As long as we act intelligently, then we could possibly attack Monokuma. Mr. Watanabe is vital to our counterattack."

Fumio looked at the investigator for a moment, hesitant. He slowly put up his notepad. "You do know that Minori might not agree with your idea, right? He has his own plans as well."

"I mean..." Ryoichi awkwardly scratched his head. "I would think that Mr. Watanabe would not mind to hear me out at least."

Minori eyed the duo for a moment. He could see the distress in Fumio's eyes, and the desperation in Ryoichi's. The pseudologist could not help but worry. "Um..." He looked over to the investigator. "What are you planning to do?"

The investigator let out a gleeful smile. "I was planning to have us create a mechanism where we can shut down the cameras used to watch over us. It'll help us escape from Monokuma's clutches, at least in a little while. I was thinking we'd create something which would instantly shut off the electrical storage power in this building, if not in a single room. I think this would allow us to escape from Monokuma's grasps and come up with something in a little while, to put him off-guard."

"I don't think that's possible." Fumio pursed his lips. Minori's eyes widened. He never expected the scholar to be against such an idea so openly. "Even if we were to create such a mechanism, Monokuma would know. He already knows that we're creating this just from us speaking about it. He will also use this mechanism to his advantage."

"I don't think it hurts to try." Seiga looked over to the scholar with a smirk. It was a smirk that presented itself as that of a fun-craving pleasure. "I think Ryo's on to something here. We need to take the initiative, after all!"

Fumio grimaced. "But..."

Minori was unsure of what to say, looking over to the others who has yet to say anything. Rin did not seem pleased with how assertive Ryoichi was about this idea, nonetheless Kakuma as well. The wedding planner was eyeing Minori from the distance, observing his every action. Nezumi seemed hesitant, his mouth slightly open. He wanted to say something, but he decided against it. Sheina was unmoving as before, silent and frozen as a statue. Saori was silent, simply looking slightly worried for both Minori and Fumio (though she did not speak yet against Ryoichi). Kamui was silent as well, though he was pondering at the moment. Kaniza and Sagiso were inside of the kitchen preparing the food, unaware of what was going on at the moment.

"What do you think?" Ryoichi was staring at the pseudologist, curious.

"Um..." Minori was unsure of what to do. He wasn't sure if Ryoichi was right, but he wasn't sure if Fumio was right either. He could honestly see the consequences and perks of both sides, and that honestly made his head turn. He wasn't sure. "Why are you asking me though? I'm not as reliable as you said, Ryoichi."

The investigator frowned. "You've been the one who's been leading the trials and you were the ones who's been helping others such as Mr. Setsushi here." Ryoichi looked over to Kamui who was silent. "I think it's obvious that you're someone that is needed in any given plan, in any given time."

Minori was shocked. He never expected to be given so much compliments. He didn't expect for anyone to be so dependent on him. It was overwhelming. "I... uh..."

"I think you should let him think about this for a while."

Minori's eyes widened. He looked back to find Saori. The body broker was looking at Ryoichi with a stern gaze. She sighed as she cupped her chin. "I think that Minori should be able to come up with an answer if he thinks about it in a bit. It's still early in the day."

"Huh, that's true." Ryoichi nodded slowly to himself, then smiling and eyeing Minori. "Sorry about that. Please don't worry about it."

The pseudologist bit into his lips. "Sure..."

Minori let out a sigh, inwardly shaking his head. He could see Fumio eyeing him for a moment, and Minori couldn't help but notice the look of hurt on his face. The pseudologist held his breath. _I'm sorry I wasn't on your side yet. I didn't know what to say._ Minori truly was apologetic, but he couldn't help but take both arguments into consideration. Both had their perks. Both had their setbacks. Which one was better? Which one should Minori side with? Should he help Ryoichi with the mechanism, or should he take a more discreet approach with Kakuma and the others? He wasn't sure.

 _The better choice for me... Maybe if Sagiso could hear Fumio and Ryoichi, then..._

Minori sighed before he looked over to Saori, noticing her eyeing him. He gave her a small smile. "Thank you."

She nodded her head in return.

"Hey guys!"

The door to the kitchen opened, revealing Kaniza and Sagiso who held the group's meals in hand.

Seiga whistled. A curious smile was on his lips. He took in the aroma the food brought im. He licked his lips, his stomach instantly growling. "That shit smells good! What are those?"

Kaniza grinned. "Nothing special. Just chicken noodle soup and pancakes!"

"Smells good!" Ryoichi was drooling at the sight.

Sagiso and Kaniza handed the meals to each of their classmates before sitting down themselves with their own meals. Everybody was hungry, and within the moment Sagiso and Kaniza sat down did everybody began to eat. Delicious, as always. The aroma was filling the entire room, and their stomachs were pleased without stop.

"You guys are always cooking for us," the stunt double began, making conversation with the two women. "You guys are like our food heroes, haha!"

Kaniza let out a laugh. "That's nice to hear! I'm glad you think of us like that!" The astrophotographer then nudged Sagiso. "Don't you feel proud, Sagi? Hm?"

Sagiso let out a huff, though it was obvious she was pleased to hear such a thing as well. She simply stuffed her face with pancakes in order to hide her delight, her face flushed with a slight pink.

Kakuma cleared his throat, catching the others' attention. He eyed the group with a stern look.

"What's up?" Seiga asked, eyeing the man strangely.

The wedding planner frowned. "I was thinking we should talk to Kaniza and Sagiso about Ryoichi's idea, that's all. Instead of us wasting our breaths here, we should just talk about this supposed plan of Ryoichi's."

"Plan?" The psychogeographer frowned. She looked to the investigator. "What are you talking about?"

Kakuma smirked. "It's merely nothing but an idiotic and selfish idea. A mere childlike thought, sadly."

"Hey, don't be rude." Ryoichi frowned, glaring at the wedding planner. He then smiled and looked at Sagiso. "I am planning to trick Monokuma. I think that if we catch him off guard we'll have a better chance of escaping from this place."

Sagiso bit into her lips, doubtful. "What do you have in mind then?"

The investigator grinned widely, spreading his arms out wide. "I was thinking that we should make a mechanism where we could shut down the electricity in one room, in not in the entire building. I believe we could use the mechanism to take away any cameras watching us, to make Monokuma unaware of what we were doing in that short little time."

"Are..." Sagiso frowned. "Are you sure that will work?"

"Exactly what I was thinking." Kakuma sighed. "It won't work. Even Fumio knows that."

All eyes turned to Fumio. The scholar quickly averted his eyes, fiddling with his fingers. A moment passed before he decided to write. "I just don't think that it's safe. Monokuma will definitely use this to his advantage. He already can hear us too."

"You do have a point," Seiga began, scratching his head, "but, like, I think Ryo's idea is pretty damn good. We do need to take the initiative instead of just waiting for fucking murder to come."

"Murder..." Nezumi shuddered at that word, paling.

Minori inwardly nodded to himself. Although he was unsure of his own decision or standing in the argument, he knew what to say. "How about we split up into groups? Those who want to help Ryoichi will be in one group, and those who don't will be in another. We can come to an agreement much more quickly this way."

"I suppose so." Sagiso cupped her chin. She was twirling her braided locks of auburn hair. "I do believe that Monokuma will not harm Ryoichi, but I'd still advise against the idea. Though if what you said became a reality and we are able to use this supposed mechanism to our advantage, I'd be cautious. However... Well, it is your choice."

Ryoichi grinned widely, clapping his hands together. "Great!"

The psychogeographer looked over to the table, eyeing everyone present. "So who wants to help Ryoichi then?"

"I'll help." Seiga smiled at the investigator who smiled back. He pounded his fists together. "We'll come up with this mechanism in no time flat!"

Kaniza thought for a moment, then raising her hand. "I'll help as well. I don't want Seiga and Ryoichi to be the only ones working here. Who knows? We might get lucky and exploit Monokuma!"

"Kaniza, really?" Nezumi was shocked. He was shocked that the woman allied herself with Ryoichi. It was an idea that Nezumi couldn't help but worry over, but seeing Kaniza allying herself with such an insane concept so easily made him sigh. "I'll help you out then."

"Nezzy!" Kaniza threw her arms around the man, instantly flustering him.

Sagiso awkwardly scratched her head. She looked to the rest of the Ultimates. "Anyone else?"

There was no answer.

"Alright then. It is decided."

Everyone took this as final, now continuing to eat their food again. It took a good hour before everyone had finished their food, Kaniza and Sagiso now in the kitchen to wash the dishes. Nezumi had also walked into the kitchen to wash too, most importantly because of Kaniza. Everyone else had left the dining hall except for a few people, Minori observing who was left.

"Are you alright?" Minori asked, looking at Fumio who nodded his head slowly. The pseudologist couldn't help but frown. "You seemed a bit stressed out earlier. Are you worried about Ryoichi and the others?"

Fumio let out a sigh as he scribbled to his notepad. "I just think that it's a bit reckless. If Ryoichi and the others get hurt... They can also get into trouble as well. Doesn't this go against the rules? We aren't allowed to damage property here."

"I'm... I'm not sure about that." The Ultimate frowned. "But wouldn't Monokuma come out here earlier and issue them a warning?"

"You have a point." Fumio pursed his lips. He was tapping slowly to his notepad. "However, I think Ryoichi's plan will not work. I don't think Monokuma will allow for this to happen. And even if he did under the concept of 'entertainment', he will definitely manipulate this mechanism to his liking."

 _I would like to trust Ryoichi with this as I trust Kakuma with his, but Kakuma's much more smarter... I'm not sure._ Minori sighed. "That's true, but if Ryoichi's plan were to blossom into success... Well, I don't know. I'll most likely check up on that group from time to time."

Fumio nodded slowly. A moment passed before the scholar began to write into his notepad again. "Could I ask you something?"

Minori was silent. He looked at Fumio who was eyeing the ground. "Sure. What is it?"

Fumio held his breath. He was hesitant, his pencil just centimeters above the notepad. With shaky hands, the scholar began to write. "How are you able to stand up for yourself so easily? How are you able to become more assertive when in before you rarely tried to speak against others?"

The pseudologist was shocked. He looked at Fumio who refused to meet his gaze, the scholar simply silent in unease and anxiety. Minori bit into his lips, his heart pounding. Slowly, he began to speak. "I think you just need a push out of your comfort zone. That's all. For me, getting dragged around by Asami and listening to everything she said... I guess you could say she rubbed off on me."

Minori then frowned. "You could also say that stopping Monokuma and escaping from here is another reason. Seeing all our friends die simply because Monokuma wanted to entertain himself with the idea of a 'killing game'- it's ruthless. We're being killed merely for his entertainment, and seeing our classmates die one by one... I just don't want to see that happen ever again. Everyone is doing all they could do counter Monokuma, and I want to do the same."

Fumio's eyes widened as he listened to the pseudologist. He was unable to respond as he instead nodded his head. He did not know what to say.

"Fumio, you may not know it, but you're growing as well." Minori smiled as Fumio suddenly looked towards him. The scholar was finally meeting his gaze. "You didn't allow yourself to be manipulated by Monokuma and instead saved us from death. You stood up for yourself as well earlier. You're definitely changing, Fumio, even if you don't know it."

Fumio blinked a couple of times. It was then did his face blushed a pink hue did he suddenly look away from Minori. The scholar was mumbling something to himself, inaudible. He then quickly scribbled into his notepad. "Thanks."

Minori nodded. "You're welcome."

After a few more conversations (that were much more superficial and joyful, nonetheless Kaniza and the others joining for a bit afterwards) the scholar and pseudologist parted ways, a few hours having passed by since then. Minori decided to walk back to the third floor, deciding to look for any clues he may have missed. He walked into the music room where he had found the harmonica, eyes widening upon entering.

"Wow, what a surprise! I never knew you'd be here- Ha, just kidding."

There was Monokuma, staring straight at Minori. He was sitting atop of the conductor's stand, a confident posture dominating his stead.

"What do you want from me?" Minori asked, cautious as he walked into the room.

"Hey, don't be so scared! I'm not a mean ol' bear, y'know! I'm just a young bear that nobody loves!" Monokuma laughed, clapping his paws together. It was a mocking, mocking gesture. "I just wanted to make something clear with you since you're the one Kakuma told about this whole 'traitor' shit, right?"

The pseudologist frowned. "Yes, why?"

The headmaster smirked, observing Minori. "So you're the one he trusts, huh? It's funny how relationships work."

"Just get to the point." Minori crossed his arms. "What do you want to make clear with me?"

"Geez, don't be so uptight." Monokuma groaned, scratching his head. He let out a sigh before hopping down from his seat, walking over to Minori. A sly, malicious expression escaped his face. "You know I don't choose traitors out of the whim, right? I'm pretty good at guessing who'd be a great traitor and whatnot. Are you absolutely positively sure you should trust Kakuma?"

Minori pursed his lips. The bear was mocking him, and it was frustrating. "Of course I'm sure. Why do you care? If Kakuma is planning something against me, why do you care?"

"It provides me more fun if you were to know about this. Besides, you can also say that I'm your caring mother~" Monokuma clapped his hands, suddenly a blond, long-haired wig appeared atop of his head. He cleared his throat, now making a feminine pitch escape from his mouth. "My baby Minori, please do not allow yourself to be swept so easily! I want you to be much more untrusting of others."

"What?" Minori raised a brow.

Monokuma's voice suddenly became deeper. "It's fine for you to act as though you were never a liar in the first place, but that kindness of your's will only do us harm in the end."

The pseudologist was silent. He was unable to say anything as Monokuma suddenly jumped to a nearby chair.

"Alright!" Monokuma sounded as chipper as he usually did. He was saluting the thin air. "I'm going to leave now! I want to reveal the motive right now, after all!"

"New motive?" Minori's eyes widened. "Wait-"

It was too late. The headmaster had disappeared.

Minori was left in the dark, a sudden static ringing through the air.

"Ahem!"

It was Monokuma.

"So bastards, report to the auditorium! You know the drill, so get to it! Chop chop!"

Silence.

Minori couldn't help but shake his head, an audible sigh escaping his lips. _So the next motive is going to come... What is it this time? How do I prevent people from murdering one another?_

The pseudologist frowned. _Well, I can think of that when I get to the auditorium._

Minori began his way down the third floor, walking through the second floor and reaching the first. He made his way over to the auditorium where everyone was, mumbling and worried. They all knew what was about to come. Their faces of disgust and anxiety overwhelmed them.

"Another motive..." Nezumi was tightly holding his hands together.

"Who cares?" Sheina was mumbling to herself, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. This world has been tainted with sin."

Minori bit into his lips. Hearing the mumbling from the others made his heart ache. He knew they were worried. He knew they were nervous. What motive could lie in store? What could they do to prevent a murder? No one seemed to know the answer.

"I seriously wish we could punch the guts out of Monokuma." Seiga sighed, scratching his head.

Saori couldn't help but murmur to herself, "Does he even have guts?"

The murmuring came to an end as suddenly, a tune began to escape the auditorium. From the speakers were a joyful tune. A beautiful melody that caused the others to relax, at least even for a second.

"What is this?" Rin perked up at the melody. "This is..."

Kamui cupped his chin. "An orchestral piece... Judging by the tone of the music, I'd say it is from the Renaissance."

"Does that even matter?" Seiga raised a brow. "Why the hell is this music even playing?"

"To relax you shitheads."

Everyone looked up, finding Monokuma who was sneering at the group.

"Do you even need to play music for us?" Saori couldn't help but frown. "Playing music will not make us accept the inevitable."

Kakuma glared at the bear. "What's the motive?"

"Ooh, eager, aren't you!" Monokuma clapped his paws together. The music suddenly came to a halt. "That's nice! Very nice!"

"This guy gives me the creeps," Ryoichi murmured underneath his breath.

"I'm glad you guys won't try to fight back over me giving you the motive." Monokuma snickered. "Besides, the motive I have for you all today isn't as cruel as a time limit or a secret being spilled. The motive I bring to you all today is much more weaker than the other two."

"Really?" Rin did not believe that at all.

Monokuma raised his paws high to the air. "I'm not a liar!"

"Sure..." Seiga grinned wryly.

"Alright, let's just not stall any longer! Ahem, here is the motive I am giving out to you all today!" Monokuma clapped his paws together, a sudden microphone appearing out of thin air. The bear let out a breath of air. Static was heard, everyone flinching. Monokuma grinned. "Alrighty! Here it is! The motive I have for you all today is- this! Tada!"

A sudden hologram appeared behind Monokuma. The background shined a pastel blue color, the words appearing to be highlighted in a painfully blood red color.

Minori frowned. He squinted and read the words carefully, word for word. Slowly, slowly did he read. It was then did the pseudologist realized what the motive was, his eyes widening and face paling.

["If you kill someone and escape being caught in the class trial, you are able to take someone here with you to freedom. Whether it'd be an accomplice or a simple friend, you'll be able to take them with you out of this building."]

"T-this is..." Ryoichi was sweating. His lips were quivering. "Are you kidding me?"

"That's just cruel!" Kaniza threw an arm out, anger in her face. "Are you trying to mess with us? You want us to kill for that?!"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with wanting to kill to save a friend, right?" Monokuma sneered at the astrophotographer, laughing. "I mean, you won't be the sole survivor if you win the class trial! You'd be able to take somebody home with you instead of you being alone! Isn't it great? You get to save someone!"

Kakuma let out a huff. "So you're planning to use the relationships we formed to your advantage."

"Technically, if you want to word it like that." The headmaster scratched his head, a sheepish look on his face. "Relationships are a beautiful thing in this world, don't you think? The relationships formed can either lead to disaster or success. It's fun to think how far someone would go for their loved one. Whether they would do shit for a friend, a lover, or even their own damn enemy- it's definitely something I'd love to witness right here."

Kaniza gritted her teeth. "You're sick."

Monokuma laughed. "I consider that a compliment."

Minori held his breath. He was unable to say anything, instead looking at those around him. Their faces were filled in those very same emotions of rage, shock, and fear. Rage for the fact that Monokuma was messing with them. Shock for how incomprehensible the motive was. Fear for the fact that someone would kill.

Someone would kill, and that people couldn't blame them because of how precious a bond was.

Minori bit into his lips. _He's using our relationships to our advantage. Not only that, but if someone were to kill another, we won't be able to counter them so openly like the last few times because... Damn, because we know we could've done the same. It's not lthe same as the last few times. We all are not capable of sacrificing ourselves like Asami did nor are do we all fill the standards of killing because of our secrets being revealed, but right now... We all would do anything to protect our loved ones._

The pseudologist gripped his fingers, putting a fist to his heart.

 _And I know that. I know I would do anything to protect my loved ones._

Minori let out a shaky breath, now looking to the headmaster. "Monokuma, no matter what you do, we won't do it. We won't follow you to your liking."

Monokuma smirked. A snicker escaped from his voice. "You think so? Well, I always admire confident little shits like you."

"I agree with Minori!" Seiga's voice was loud as always. "You won't get away with this, you bastard!"

"You're always so confident, Seiga." Monokuma groaned. "Well, anyways, I'm going to take my leave. I have a date with life right now, so you guys be good, alright? Bye!"

Everyone began to mumble as the headmaster disappeared, their emotions suddenly overwhelming them.

"I can't believe he would give us a motive like this," Sagiso said, murmuring underneath her breath. She was cupping her chin, wondering what to do next.

Kakuma rolled his eyes, scoffing. "It's a stupid motive. Nobody would kill simply because of a concept called 'friendship'."

"I mean..." Rin hesitated for a moment. She wondered whether it was best to entertain the others with her thought. "Considering what happened before-"

"That's different!" Kaniza glared at the jeweler, instantly silencing her. The astrophotographer continued to stare at the woman before shaking her head. A groan escaped her lips. "I can't believe Monokuma's messing with us!"

"Kaniza..." Nezumi was gripping to her hand, squeezing it. He was trying his best to comfort the woman. "Um... Why don't we go to the stargazing room today?"

That seemed to calm the woman. Kaniza turned to the thief, a sigh escaping her lips. Her lips curved to a sweet, sweet smile. "Sure."

Kakuma eyed the duo for a moment, then frowning and walking away. He didn't bother to express his thoughts, merely leaving the room altogether. The door had shut closed, and no one batted an eye.

"How do we handle this?" Kamui asked, looking to Minori.

The pseudologist averted his gaze. The words 'we can't' ran through his head, but he fought the urge to say it. Instead, he gave the mortician a confident smile. "We'll be fine. We just need to think about it."

"That's right." Ryoichi pumped his fist up. "We just need to counter Monokuma before he attacks. Although the motive was out earlier than I predicted, if we're able to work before a murder occurs, then we'll be able to stop him."

"That's the spirit!" Seiga ruffled the investigator's hair. "We need to stay strong."

Sagiso nodded, crossing her arms. "We should think about what we should do next then." Her eyes directed to Sheina and Rin. "I know you two are still shaken from the last trial, but we need you two to help too. We want you two to think too on what we could do to prevent a murder from happening."

Rin scoffed, averting her gaze. "... Sure."

Sheina did not even bother to respond.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow morning." Sagiso looked at the group. "Is that fine?"

"Alright!" Seiga threw his arms to the air. "Let's do some thinking and shit then!"

With that said and done, everyone began to leave the room. Everyone had left, that is, except for Fumio and Saori. Minori eyed the duo, a curious look on his eyes. "What's up?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Fumio scribbled to his notepad, a saddened look on his face. "You don't believe that you could prevent a murder, right?"

Minori's eyes widened. "Oh, you knew what I was thinking?"

Saori nodded. "If people focused on you instead of Monokuma and themselves, they'd see the hesitation on your face throughout this entire thing."

Minori laughed awkwardly. _Well, if Sagiso saw me then she'd be tailing me forever... I'm glad she didn't see me then._ The pseudologist sighed. "When it comes to relationships, then a case becomes much more complicated. People will feel much more sympathy towards a killer who killed to save a friend than a mere killer who kills for themselves. Asami's case was a prime example in comparison to Amyto's. Besides, we don't exactly know what we ourselves are capable of."

The body broker was shocked. She cupped her chin, frowning. "I understand. So you're saying that we are all capable of killing to save someone."

Minori was hurt that he allowed his feelings to escape so easily. He honestly did not want to admit his true feelings to anyone, the man averting his gaze. "Yeah..."

"It's fine. I honestly thought the same." Fumio nodded. "I think we can still try to take measures against a killing."

The pseudologist smiled. "I know that. Thank you."

Saori and Fumio acknowledged the man with their expressions. They decided to leave first, leaving Minori to chuckle at their concern and walking out as well. He was confident that they'd be able to do something. At least something to prevent a murder from happening soon.

To prevent a murder, Minori would have to stay strong.

Kakuma was working to gain information from Monokuma. Ryoichi had made a plan to catch Monokuma off guard. The others were going to think of ways to counter that headmaster.

Everyone was working hard to prevent a murder from happening, and Minori knew he had to do the same.

The pseudologist was confident, and so he went back to his room.

* * *

And that's that! Well, for this part at least. The next few chapters will be where everything will go down, especially with everyone's favorite being included- the Free Time Events! I hope this chapter was entertaining to you, if not well!

Anyways, I will see you all next time! I might be a bit busy with summer homework, tutoring, and family gatherings... However, I will still try my best to update as quickly and efficiently as possible! Well, hope to see you next time!


	25. Chapter 3 - Part 1, Part C

Welcome to the next part to this story! We are getting closer and closer to the dreaded Chapter 3 case, and I'm both excited and horrified! It might take a few more chapters till our dreaded case appears, but nonetheless I hope you will continue to enjoy these types of chapters nonetheless.

 **ToonGuy:** "Thanks! Glad you enjoy this story so far! Major death flags for Kakuma! Well, let us hope what he is planning will do us good in the end. Haha, seeing you sound so worried and nervous makes me feel like I've done a well job setting up conflict and potential murders! Haha, well, let us hope for Kakuma's safety, and in the end for Ryoichi to do the cast good more than harm... Haha, like always, love your thoughts, and I like how you're thinking about the mastermind already. Yes, the motive will bring someone death! Mwahahaha! Anyways, hope you'll enjoy this chapter!"

 **Agrael:** "Yes, a definite strong motive. Who knows how far someone would go just to save someone? Haha, a lot of possibilities, I do like seeing you thinking more pairs out of Nezumi and Kaniza too. Monokuma will always ruin the hope filled in the Ultimates' eye, haha. Nice pun, but haha let us hope for Kakuma's chances of survival. Everything ends badly, and that's why it leads to murder! Mwahahahaha- okay, I'll stop."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Yes, another motive that's sure to cause some murder! Let's hope what you said is right, or wrong, your choice~ Yes, I like the direction I'm making Kakuma head into, and I'm glad you liked the idea too! Of course, death flags will be raised. Aw, glad you noticed Fumio and Saori's interactions! Haha, thanks! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well!"

 **PainX65:** "Yes, I really enjoy how Eggplant killed Eggplant. My personal favorite scene is when Eggplant went to Eggplant and slapped Eggplant in the eggplant. That personally was my favorite, but I'm happy that you enjoyed how the eggplants are all acting in the story!"

 **liammarklh88:** "The motive is my favorite, in all honesty~ Yes, a strong motive that will surely target those who are closest to one another. Haha, well, let's see where this heads into... If it gets Kakuma or anyone else into trouble! I look forward to the ship, but mostly let's just see what happens to Ryoichi. I'm glad you enjoy Monokuma and Minori's interactions with one another! Haha, thank you. Good luck on your story!"

 **VioElcina:** "Yo friend! Haha, well, of course, that is what everyone expects. A murder will always happen because this is Danganronpa! Fumio does make a lot of good points, but Ryoichi does to an extent as well. Haha, I'll just be here waiting then~"

 **Ziggymia123:** "Hello! It's nice to see you here! I saw your SYOC story you posted and might submit a character if I have the time~ Haha, glad you like Minori as of yet (I said yet for a reason), and it's nice to see you like the other characters as well. I'm glad you seem to worry for others aside from Nezumi and Kaniza~ Kakuma is someone to worry about after all, nonetheless the others as well. I'm seeing that a lot of people like Saori! Very interesting! It's nice to know that Saori's being liked by the people here, haha."

* * *

Minori's dream was merely that of darkness. It was nothing, just a black void. He had dreamt of nothing, and despite the welcoming peace that sleep allows someone to have, the darkness in his head only served to make him anxious.

The pseudologist sighed. He had woken up just a few minutes earlier, however he was still inside of his bed. He wondered what to make of that void, but he knew it was futile to even question it. He didn't have a dream, and that was the reason for the void.

Minori looked around the room. It was about a few minutes after Monokuma had called the morning announcement. He was sure that the others were in the dining hall, eating, but at the moment he wasn't hungry. He was just observing the room, silent. His worries were continuing to overwhelm him, and that must've been the reason for why he continued to question everything around him.

His head was hurting. Minori groaned. He forced himself up from his bed and went into the restroom. He splashed water on his face and checked himself out on the mirror. He looked fine as always. Maybe he was a little bit tired. He didn't know, but mentally, he was. He worried about Monokuma and Kakuma. He was worried over Ryoichi's group. Were they alright? Will they be able to create the bomb? Minori wasn't sure.

What might've been the one that made Minori worry most was the motive. If it wasn't the initial thoughts before that had worried and stressed him out now, it was the motive. The motive was the reason why Minori was questioning everything at the moment.

The motive was much more terrible and cruel. In comparison to the others, this motive was brutal.

Minori honestly held a strong belief that people would do anything they could to save their loved ones. From killing someone to scamming someone- anything was possible. If it concerned someone who held of great importance to another, then that person will do anything to save their loved one. It was a given. Those who loved someone will want to see that someone be safe, healthy, happy, etc.

It was a given that people hold strong bonds, and Minori knew those bonds could kill someone.

Naturally, Minori was worried about everyone because of it. As cruel as it sounded, Minori wasn't confident in that someone _wouldn't_ kill for another. Even someone quiet as Fumio or someone as harsh as Kakuma could kill. Even someone who held strong values like Seiga could kill.

Anyone could kill, and if he didn't know that before, he did now.

 _That bitch is making a fool out of us... He's making a damn fool of us._ Minori frowned, the image of Monokuma appearing in his head. _Seriously, where the hell did he even come from and why even bother to make us kill for 'entertainment'? Bastard takes goddamn pleasure in that. Why would anyone take pleasure in such an atrocious thing?_

Minori stopped for a moment. He frowned, slapping his face. He knew best to not let his hatred overwhelm him. He knew he had to keep any negative thoughts inside, locked. He didn't want anyone to see through him- to see that he was stressed out and desperate for a way out.

 _And to see that I actually do lie to them._

Minori smirked inwardly at the thought. He would never forget that he had lied to the others about his secret. He knew he wasn't as trustworthy as he made himself out to be. The Ultimates were fools in believing in him so easily, and Minori loved that. He loved how trustworthy they were towards him. That honestly made him smile even if he felt like he didn't deserve that amount of love.

He honestly loved it- they trusted him, and he honestly wish he could keep it that way forever.

Minori let out a sigh for a second time. He was now worried about Ryoichi's plan. He remembered that he and the others were to speak together, but other than that meeting everyone were to split to their groups. Minori's focus was on Ryoichi, and honestly he was worried that his plan would not work.

 _It might though. You never know. I'll have to check._

The pseudologist combed his hair and changed. He looked at himself for another time before heading out, making his way to the dining hall. He opened door and, as expected, everyone was present. Everyone seemed to be preparing their food, Kaniza and Sagiso already having gave the Ultimates their meal. Minori was just barely in time for them to get settled down to eat.

"Yo, what's up man!" Seiga looked happily at the man, energetic as ever.

Minori couldn't help but smile at him. "Hello, Seiga. It's nice to see you here."

"Here you go." The pseudologist found Sagiso moving a bowl of rice and fish towards him. She was the one who was sitting next to him. She observed him slowly for a moment, then frowning. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Minori nodded. He then eyed the group. "So, what are we going to do about the motive Monokuma gave us?"

"I'm still going to work on the mechanism with Ryo. I won't change my mind about that." Seiga grinned, pointing to Ryoichi who was happily eating into his food. "I feel like if we're able to build the bomb in a day or two, we'd get out of this shithole in no time flat."

Fumio bit into his lips. It was obvious he disagreed with that statement. "Uh..."

The stunt double eyed Fumio for a moment, then looking away and continuing, his focus on Ryoichi. "Ryoichi, you got the list of what we need, right? We'll be able to find them in the storage room, if not the MonoLottery room."

Ryoichi gulped down his food and eyed the man. "Right! I have the list right here, Mr. Kosoku." The investigator handed Seiga a piece of paper, the stunt double taking it and observing it. A hum escaped the man's lips as Ryoichi then turned to Rin. "Are you sure you don't want to help?"

"No." Rin frowned. "The plan won't work."

"Geez, don't be such a negative Nancy." Kaniza let out a playful giggle, eyeing the jeweler. "You'll just make Ryoichi feel worse for you."

Rin looked up to Kaniza. It was subtle, but Minori instantly saw some sort of dislike in the woman's eyes.

"Kaniza, I hate to be blunt," Kamui began, eyeing Rin worriedly. He knew that the woman was pissed, and honestly it was worrying. He couldn't help but hold his breath as he continued, "but that sounds almost akin to an insult."

Kaniza's eyes widened. She blinked for a moment before awkwardly smiling, scratching her head. She looked at the jeweler with a nervous gaze. "Did I offend you?"

Rin continued to glare slightly at the woman, but sighed. She shook her head and glanced away. "No."

"So, what are you guys going to do about the motive again?" Kakuma asked. He seemed to have noticed the tension as well, the wedding planner clearing his throat and eyeing Sagiso. "Do you have any idea of what you guys should do firstly, Sagiso?"

Sagiso frowned as she bit into her food. A moment passed before she gulped it down, now speaking. "I believe that we should over one another and stay as seperately from one another outside of group work as possible. We should look over one another and check if anyone is suspicious, to see if there is any suspicious behavior."

Kakuma scoffed. "So technically, you want us to babysit one another?"

"Sounds like an idea." Saori crossed her arms. "There does seem to be nothing else that can be done-"

"You could all join our team." Ryoichi grinned at the group.

Saori glared at the man, but continued nonetheless. "I don't there is much to do except to look over one another and make sure there is no suspicious behavior. There is a possibility of accomplices, as much as I hate to say it, but I will have to agree with Sagiso."

"Wow." Seiga whistled.

"So we're going to have to watch over one another..." Nezumi frowned at the idea.

"That doesn't mean we have to watch over one another 24/7 right?" Kaniza eyed the psychogeographer curiously. "It's impossible for us to watch over each other at every single second and place."

Sagiso nodded. "Of course, that is something to take into consideration. I believe that to counter that we should tell each other where we'll be going. I believe that we need to be watched over at least occassionally, but we also need to report what we are doing to others and have others agree that you were doing what you actually were doing."

The pseudologist cupped his chin, nodding at the idea. "Technically we tell people what we're going to do and where we are."

 _It's a nice idea, but it's not enough to actually stop a murder._

Minori knew that. He knew that absolutely well. He was completely sure of that.

"We'll report on what we were doing and where we are right here around dinnertime... I'd say around six o'clock." The psychogeographer seemed confident in that statement. "You must be present here around dinnertime, or we'll naturally suspect you."

"Can we make this more dramatic? Y'know, for the sake of the motive and all that shit?" Seiga eyed Sagiso. She didn't answer, leading to the stunt double to clear his throat loudly. A wide smile was on his lips as he spoke. "If anyone's late to the dinner table, even if by a few minutes, we'll force you into your room and have you locked in there for a day!"

"Woah." Kaniza was shocked. "That's actually pretty intense..."

Kamui frowned as he raised a hand. "How about if somebody's lying though?"

Sagiso crossed her arms. "That's why we're going to watch over one another and tell others what we're doing. It is our responsibility to look over one another and make sure that nothing suspicious is happening."

The investigator smiled widely. "Besides, we could tell who's lying if we ask Mr. Watanabe!"

Minori's eyes widened. He looked at Ryoichi who was smiling at him. It honestly made his heart clench. He didn't know why, but he almost felt like he was drowning in a dark abyss of darkness.

Darkness. It was a place where no one would find him.

Seiga eyed the pseudologist for a moment. He was silent as he eyed Minori blushing, then grinning a bit slyly. "Guess we can count on you then, huh?"

"W-what?" Minori was shocked. Though he knew that everyone was relying on him for a lot of things, the continuous load that has been thrown over his shoulders was beginning to overwhelm him. His head was aching, and though pained, he let out a smile. He knew he had to be the one to help people. "Yeah, sure-"

"Minori needs rest." Sagiso frowned, eyeing Ryoichi and Seiga. "I think we could all depend on one another to find a lie in someone's words, right?"

"True..." Ryoichi awkwardly scratched his head, laughing.

Seiga eyed the psychogeographer for a moment. He then let out a snort. "Of course."

Sagiso sighed, then looking at the pseudologist. A disappointed look was written over her face, and it made Minori avert his gaze. He didn't know why she threw him such a look now, but it was obvious why she was looking at him that way-

-that was he was lying, that he was continuing to lie to himself.

However, it was not only that.

It was also the fact that Sagiso had noticed that Minori wanted to feel like he was helpful- that he was the one people had to rely on. Despite how flustered he acted and despite how humble he tried to be, he wasn't.

He wanted people to rely on him.

 _Shit. I feel like shit now._

Minori held his breath. He looked over to Kakuma. The wedding planner had noticed that as well, the man glaring at him. If Kakuma had only noticed the overwhelming burdens over Minori's shoulder before, he now noticed the greed that was slowly but surely beginning to overtake Minori's head.

"So, where are you going to be setting up the mechanism?" Sagiso was looking at Ryoichi, frowning his way. "I need to know where you and the others will be working at."

Ryoichi clapped his hands together. "Oh, we'll be working on the bomb inside of my room. That's all. We'll be getting the tools from the storage room on the third floor and the rest from the MonoLottery room."

"Do you even know how to build the bomb?" Kakuma raised a brow as he eyed the man.

"We have a basic understandng," Nezumi replied, eyeing the wedding planner shyly. "We should be able to build one."

"I estimated that we'd be done in a few days." Seiga grinned widely at the group. "We'll be able to stop Monokuma with this shit! Ha!"

"Nice." Rin's voice escaped the air, though it was obviously filled with sarcasm.

"Hopefully the bomb will work." Kamui eyed the investigator. He had his arms crossed. "Are you certain everything you need is inside of this school?"

Ryoichi nodded happily. "Yes! Of course."

Kamui did not seem to believe that, simply frowning.

"You all look so worried." Seiga frowned, eyeing the group. He could tell that everyone was doubting Ryoichi's plan. "Be confident guys! We'll definitely be able to build this shit and stop Monokuma. You guys worry too much."

"I think it makes sense that we're worried," Saori murmured underneath her breath, somewhat displeased.

"Just be optimistic!" Kaniza smiled widely. She stood up confidently. "Like me! If we continue to think positive then we'll be able to stand together against Monokuma and escape from this place."

Everyone looked uneasy. Kaniza's sudden optimism proved overwhelming.

And she noticed this. The astrophotographer noticed this and frowned, then looking over to Nezumi and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Look, even in a place like this, we must be optimistic still!" The woman stared intensely at the man. "You believe the same, right Nezzy?"

The thief was obviously flustered, his cheeks blushing a deep red. "O-of course."

Kaniza eyed the thief for a moment, then throwing her arms around him. "Yay! I love you, Nezumi!"

"K-Kaniza..." Nezumi was stuttering at this point, shocked at her affectionate gesture. He was shocked. He was flustered, and he was unable to do anything once he felt something light on his lips.

It was a kiss. It was a light kiss. A peck. It was a kiss on the lips. Although quick, it was a kiss, and that nonetheless caused Nezumi to blush even redder.

"U-um...! I-I-!" Nezumi quickly hid his face from the audience, Kaniza grinning as the thief hid his face.

Kaniza looked to the group, winking at them. "See? We could still be happy here! We could still be optimistic here and fight!"

"Well, shit." Seiga grinned an awkward smile, crossing his arms. "What a way to show off girl."

"That was cute." That was all Fumio wrote in his notepad. He did seemed genuine with what he said though, his eyes brightening the moment he saw the kiss being played out.

Kakuma scoffed as he averted his gaze. He sipped into his glass of water.

Despite whatever the intentions, the kiss did cause the atmosphere surrounding the group to ease. Everyone began to eat a bit more lightly, their conversations now a bit more silly and comedic. There were smiles thrown left and right, and despite the concern over the motive and Monokuma, everyone seemed to be healthy. No one looked stressed out in the slightest bit.

Luckily, Minori was able to act akin to them. He was able to lie to himself that he was fine.

An hour passed before everyone had finished their food. Minori took his plates into the kitchen, placing it down to the sink where Kaniza and Sagiso were. The duo were washing the dishes as Minori helped bring the plates over. He did help them out afterwards, and soon enough that chore was now finished. Everyone was jubliant.

 _Hm..._ Minori looked around. Everyone was gone, off to do their chore. The pseudologist observed the area for a moment, then shrugged inwardly to himself. _I suppose I should check on Ryoichi and the others. They should be in his room, right? Yeah._

Minori recalled that he should report to the others of his actions. However, there wasn't anyone in the room. The pseudologist sighed. _Well, Ryoichi and the others would know that I was with them though, so I guess I don't really have to look for someone to report to._

And so Minori had decided to check on Ryoichi's group. He opened the dining hall and began his way into the hallways, walking over to the dormitories. The pseudologist was surprised that not many were near the area, however he did suppose that everyone else would be interested in investigating the third floor. It shouldn't be a surprise now that he thought about it.

Minori made his way over to Ryoichi's door. The door was slightly opened, the sight of Ryoichi and the others inside. Minori was about to move, however he stopped. He frowned. He looked to the side, eyes widening. "Uh, Sagiso?"

The auburn woman's eyes widened. She was right besides the door, just to the side where the group couldn't see her. Obviously, she was spying on them. "Oh." A slight blush appeared on her face. She averted her gaze and coughed. She then looked to the pseudologist. "Hello, Minori."

"Um, hello." Minori raised a brow. "Why are you out here?"

"I'm watching them." Sagiso frowned in return. "Stand over here with me. I don't want Ryoichi and the others to see us."

The pseudologist was silent. He honestly did not know what to say, but listened and walked to the side. He eyed the woman for a moment. "Uh... Pardon me if I'm being rude, but you know you could just go inside there and watch them from there, right?"

The woman frowned, eyeing the man. "I rather not. Although I did tell Kamui and a few others that I'd be watching Ryoichi's group, I did not tell those four particularly because I want them to work without being under the influence that I'm watching them. I want them to act genuine towards me."

Minori crossed his arms. "So, you're suspicious of them? Sagiso, their door is opened. I don't think they're planning anything. They're not even trying to hide anything from us."

The psychogeographer let out a sigh. "I know that's the most likely possibility, but I need to make extra certain of that. They might be holding up a disguise, and besides..." Sagiso peeked inside the room, then darted her direction back to Minori. "... I feel like it's better for me to worry over them from here. I feel like I'd be in their way if I were to nose my business into them."

"I see." Minori slouched, forfeiting. "I guess you have a point."

Sagiso nodded.

The duo were silent, unsure of what to do. Minori eyed the woman. Sagiso was simply observing the group from afar, concentration entirely focused on the group. Minori sighed. Well, he wanted to check on Ryoichi's group and ask them about their progress, but he supposed he should stand by Sagiso's side and watch from the sidelines as well.

"So..." Sagiso's voice suddenly appeared out of thin air. The white-haired man looked to the woman who was eyeing him. "You came here because you wanted to check on them as well, right?"

"I did, but after what you said I think that it's better to watch from the sidelines." Minori awkwardly smiled.

"Ah." Sagiso let out a nod. She thought for a moment before looking back at the man. "How about we talk to pass the time? I don't believe that they could hear us, so I think we could have a conversation to pass the time by."

"I thought we were going to just watch Ryoichi's group?" Minori couldn't help but playfully eye Sagiso.

The psychogeographer rolled her eyes, though it was obviously playful as well. "We can watch over them while talking. I think that's alright with you, Minori?" She then stopped, a sudden sly smile creeping on her lips. "Or do you prefer Minnie?"

"A-ah, Minori's fine with me." The pseudologist blushed. "But sure, we can talk in the meantime."

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Sagiso?**

 _ **You already said yes, idiot!**_ / No, get out of here!

* * *

 **Sagiso:** Hm... You're doing fine, right? You look healthy.

 **Minori:** I'm fine, Sagiso. You really do not have to ask. I'm more concerned about you.

 **Sagiso:** Really? But I'm fine. Hm... So, is there anything in particular that you would like to ask me?

 **Minori:** Hm... If I had to be honest, I'm interested in how you became a psychogeographer. Those who work in psychogeography explore the urban environment and express how the urban environment effects the individual's emotions and behaviors, correct?

 **Sagiso:** Huh. I'm pleased that you know that much about my talent.

 **Minori:** Ah, right. Thank you.

 **Sagiso:** So, you would like to know about how I became a psychogeographer, correct?

 **Minori:** Yes. I am quite interested in learning about you.

 **Sagiso:** Well, if I had to pinpoint when I was first invested into the concept of psychogeography, I'd had to say it was ever since I was little. It was all because of my mother. Since my mom was sick all the time, so when she wanted us to walk around a different town, I was really invested in making sure my mom would enjoy what she saw. I wanted to make my mom as jubliant as possible, after all.

 **Minori:** I see.

 **Sagiso:** In order to make the trip as satisfying to my mother as possible, I took surveys around the towns near where I was to see which town would provide the most enjoyable adventure for my mother. I also surveyed many different places and observed the people around in other to list out which places my mother would like to see. I used what I saw and routed the trip.

 **Sagiso:** Doing what I had done had led to my mother being satisfied with the trip. Seeing my mother smile... Seeing her happy made me happy, and that led me to continue surveying places and observing areas. I eventually realized that I enjoyed doing surveys and observing different routes, and that eventually led me into becoming a psychogeographer.

 **Minori:** That's really sweet. So your talent came to be all because of your mother.

 **Sagiso:** It did. I was only doing it to make my mother happy, but then I realized that I actually enjoyed this work of mine. Taking surveys and observing the environment was a way to pass the time.

 **Minori:** That's nice to know. It's nice to know that about you, Sagiso.

 **Sagiso:** I'm glad you found it interesting. I'm surprised that you're interested in learning more about me. Shouldn't you be more concerned with yourself?

 **Minori:** Of course not. I like learning about the people around me. I'm more interested in others than I am about myself.

 **Sagiso:** Really? I still think you should take care of yourself more though. You shouldn't be so concerned about others.

 **Minori:** I mean...

 **Sagiso:** I have an idea. I should help you relax. I'll teach you why psychogeography is important.

 **Minori:** Huh? Oh, uh, Sagiso, it's fine, really I-

 **Sagiso:** There will be no objections. I will show you how psychogeography can help you become more relaxed. I want you to not stress out about anything, after all.

 **Minori:** Uh...

 **Sagiso:** Alright, that settles it.

 **Minori:** _I feel like I wouldn't have a say in this whether I wanted to or not._

* * *

 **Sagiso's Profile Card: 1/1**

 **Note: Sagiso had gotten into psychogeography because of her mother. She wanted to make her sickly mother happy during a trip of their's, and so she surveyed different towns and observed places where she figured her mom would enjoy to see herself. Seeing her mom happy seemed to cause Sagiso to grow an interest in psychogeography altogether.**

* * *

Minori sighed. He honestly felt like he had little to no choice but to agree to Sagiso's 'request'. He tapped his fingers as he looked at the woman. She was looking at him for a second before turning to eye the door.

Well, she was about to spy on Ryoichi's group again, but the door fully swung opened.

Seiga was outside of the room. He looked over to the side where he found the duo in hiding. A wide grin escaped his lips, and he let out a laugh. "Are you two eavesdropping on us? Y'know you all could've just came in here and watch us there!"

"O-oh." Sagiso quickly cleared her throat, regaining her composure. "I am sorry. It seems like I'm suspicious of you and the others, right?"

"Nah, not at all!" The stunt double let out another hearty laugh. "You guys are just worried about us, huh? Don't worry. We're all good here!"

Minori couldn't help but smile, nodding. "Of course. Did you open the door because you noticed us though?"

Seiga shook his head. "Nah, I just saw you two the moment I opened the door. I was just gonna get something to add to the list of shit we need. I was also gonna get a glass of water too, since I'm tired and all that bullshit."

"Right." The pseudologist acknowledged the man's words. "How's progress?"

"It's going well." Seiga nodded at this statement. "A bit complicated to actually build, but with me by their side I know we'll get it done!"

"That's nice to hear." Minori hummed his acknowledgment.

"I'm sorry if I was a burden." Sagiso looked fiercely at the stunt double. "If my spying caused you any harm, then I'm sorry. I didn't want to bother you and the others."

"I told you it's fine!" Seiga laughed another time. "Seriously, it's cool! Drop it. You wanna go inside and watch us now?"

The psychogeographer frowned. She cupped her chin, thinking for a moment. She then shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'll go to the library to take a rest instead. Please excuse me."

Seiga and Minori were unable to say anything as the woman left, heading her way towards the library. The duo were left to their lonesome with the door opened, unsure of what to do next.

"Uh..." The stunt double let out a toothy grin. He was awkwardly scratching his head. "I guess I should get going now. I don't want to waste Ryo and the others' time any longer than needed. I'm gonna head to the MonoLottery room and see if the thing they need is in there."

"Ah, right." Minori nodded slowly. "I should leave too."

 _But where?_

Seiga looked at Minori. It was obvious the man was expecting an answer, and Minori himself was expecting one as well. "Um..." Minori darted his eyes back and forth. He wasn't sure of where to go next. "I'll be hanging around the first floor."

"You don't know where to go?" Seiga raised a brow.

"Sadly not." The pseudologist sighed. "I just know I'll be staying around this floor. Where I go depends on what happens."

The stunt double shrugged. "Makes sense. It's not like we always think of where we go everyday. Well, I'm gonna go now. Bye!"

Minori watched as Seiga left, moving down the hallways. The pseudologist sighed. He honestly did not know where to go next. He knew he could stay in his room and sleep his way to dinnertime, but he knew that was a waste of time. He should be checking on the others at least.

 _Well, I guess I could just walk around the area and see who I run into._

And so that's what Minori decided to do. He walked around the hallways for a while, looking around to check on the others. He saw Seiga heading over into the dining room after a while, and then he saw Kamui walking towards the library. Minori knew that everyone seemed to be busy at the moment, and that honestly made him feel lonely. It was as if he was the one who was being useless at the moment.

He moved in a cycle, and he moved back. He was moving aimlessly at this point.

 _How many minutes just passed? I felt like it's been almost an hour._

Minori sighed as he observed the area. He was back where he started, and so he continued back down the path. He was walking towards the dining hall before he saw the door opening, revealing Saori and Sheina who were walking outside the area.

"Oh." Saori seemed to have noticed the pseudologist, eyes widening slightly. "Hello."

Minori nodded. "Nice to meet you too, Saori, Sheina."

Sheina didn't say anything. The body broker sighed, deciding to speak instead. "What're you doing out here?"

"I was just walking aimlessly, to be honest." Minori let out an awkward chuckle. "I had nothing else to do, and I didn't feel like resting at the moment. You can call this an exercise, sort of..."

"I would say sleep is much better than to live. Eternal sleep." Sheina stared blankly at the pseudologist.

"Uh..." Minori averted his gaze, unsure of what to respond with.

"Sheina." Saori frowned, glaring at the woman. She shook her head with a sigh, crossing her arms. She looked back to the pseudologist. "What you do is your choice. I only ask because of what Sagiso said during breakfast."

"I know that. So where are you guys heading next?"

Saori sighed. "To my room. Sheina will be going to her's too."

"Oh, I see." Minori nodded. "I'll continue to walk around the area for a little longer."

Saori and Sheina nodded as they left, leaving Minori to continue wandering. Minori looked around the area for a moment. He saw the two leaving to their rooms before looking around the area, then spotting Rin who was heading towards his way.

"Hello." Minori approached the woman, a smile on his face. "Where are you going, Rin?"

Rin eyed the pseudologist for a moment, eyes dull and expression indifferent. She averted her gaze. "Is it any of your business?"

"Technically, it is considering what was said during breakfast." Minori frowned, crossing his arms. He eyed the woman with a stern expression. "And even if we hadn't proposed something like telling each other our locations without fail, I'm worried about you anyways, Rin."

"Why?" Rin squinted at the man. "First it was Ryoichi, then now it's you and Kamui... Even Sagiso..."

"It's because we care about you." Minori couldn't help himself. He was saddened at the fact that the woman seemed annoyed by that statement. "We know you're not a bad person. You killed Fuwari because she asked you to. You couldn't help it. You wanted to kill her, to relieve her of the pain."

"And how would you know what I felt that time?" Rin was glaring at the man. "You don't understand anything."

Minori bit into his lips. "Maybe I don't, but I know you're still a great person. You're not a bad person at all."

"You really believe that?" The jeweler was eyeing the man. Doubt was written all over her face. "You must be lying to me."

"I'm not." Minori frowned. "I care about you. Everyone cares about you. You don't deserve to be like this, and we know that."

"How can you even help me?" The woman clicked her tongue. She was annoyed at the man's words. "It's futile to even try. Ryoichi's plan will be in naught as well as everyone else's..."

Minori looked at the woman for a moment. He cupped his chin, pondering. A while passed before the man clapped his hands together. An idea had wrapped around his head. "Then how about this? You and I could have a conversation today."

"What?" Rin frowned. She was glaring at the man. "Why? How is that supposed to help me?"

Minori smiled. "If we were to have a conversation, you'd be able to vent away your stress. You'll be able to relax more easily if we just have a normal conversation, something that we can talk about everyday."

The jeweler seemed hesitant. She was eyeing the pseudologist for a moment before sighing, shaking her head. "Alright, fine. I'll do it."

Minori smiled inwardly to himself. _Alright, I should be able to make Rin feel better through this, even if it's only for a little bit._

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Rin?**

 _ **Aw, hell yeah!** _/ No, don't do it!

* * *

 **Rin:** So, what do you want to talk about?

 **Minori:** Hm, let's see... Well, we could talk about yourself instead. We know about your knowledge as a jeweler, but I'm curious to know a bit more about you yourself. Is it alright if we can talk about that?

 **Rin:** I suppose it's alright... What do you want to particularly ask me about?

 **Minori:** Well, I would like to know about your family, for starters.

 **Rin:** My family, huh?

 **Rin:** Well, they were the reason why I became a jeweler in the first place. My parents co-owned a company called the 'Hoseki Jewels', and I was the next one in line to run the company.

 **Minori:** I see, so it was because of your family's line of work.

 **Rin:** Mhm. I really didn't mind though. I was able to learn much about how to manage a business and how to properly inspect gemstones through my family's line of work. I was even able to learn how to price jewelry based on their quality.

 **Minori:** It sounds like a tiresome job. How do you even know how to price the gemstone fairly and accurately?

 **Rin:** You shouldn't be asking. It'll take a long time to explain it. I can only say that it depends on the quality of the stone, the amount of care put into it, etc. There are a lot of things needed to be considered.

 **Minori:** I can see that.

 **Rin:** Yes, I was known for my ability to manage the company ever since I was seven. It is also to note that I was an only child, so I was all my parents had left to throw the business onto.

 **Minori:** But you didn't mind being the one in charge.

 **Rin:** That's correct. It may be a burden to others, but I am honestly glad that my parents threw such a task upon me. I was able to become a professional at this skill.

 **Minori:** Well, I'm glad you seemed to like your job as a jeweler.

 **Rin:**... Yes.

 **Minori:** That's great! I'm glad we talked about this. You look a bit less stressed out now.

 **Rin:**... Oh, that's right. I forgot that you were trying to calm me down.

 **Minori:** Mhm. See? Do you feel a bit more relaxed now?

 **Rin:**... I... I guess you could say that.

 **Rin:** Thank you. I will now take my leave if you don't mind. I need to clear my head a bit in my room.

 **Minori:** Ah, right, of course.

* * *

 **Rin's Profile Card: 2/2**

 **Note: Rin came from a family who co-owned a company called 'Hoseki Jewels', and because Rin was an only child she was next in line to take over the company. At the age of seven she was able to manage the business well with her proficient skills.**

* * *

Minori smiled a bit as he watched the jeweler leaving to her room. He glanced at his MonoPad. It was only an hour left before six would strike, and Minori decided it was best to wait inside of the dining hall. He had nothing else to do anyways, and so he walked into the room.

Surprisingly, there seemed to be a few people inside of the room.

"You're going to wait for time to tick by too?" Fumio showed Minori his notepad.

The pseudologist nodded, taking a seat down next to the scholar. "I will. I have nothing else to do, and I do not want to be late. I fear that Seiga might actually run along with the idea of isolating someone in their room if someone were late."

The scholar looked amused at this, replying in his notepad. "I surely hope not."

"I don't think Seiga's that brash of a man." Kamui eyed the duo as he sipped into a glass of water. "He won't do that, I'm sure."

Minori shrugged, a playful expression escaping his face. "We'll only know if someone came in here late."

The trio held a short conversation for a while. A few minutes later came Kaniza and Sagiso, the duo declaring that they'll be cooking. The trio decided to help the two women out, and before the clock struck six everyone was able to finish cooking the food.

The meals were brought outside to the dining hall. Unsurprisingly, everybody seemed to be present. The meals were handed out to each person as well as the drinks. One by one were all the food and drinks passed out, and soon the meeting began to start.

"Alright," Sagiso began, taking a seat down. She was sitting next to Kaniza and Rin. "We'll be discussing about what the each of us were doing as well as have others testify that you are not lying."

Ryoichi smiled. He bit down into his piece of salad. "Well, I was working on the bomb the entire time with Mr. Kosoku, Ms. Tsukitaiyo, and Mr. Jirokichi inside of my room. They can testify for me as well."

Nezumi nodded slowly. "Yes, Ryocihi's right. We were together throughout the day. Seiga went out for a bit to get a glass of water and something else for the bomb though."

"I can testify for him." Minori looked to Sagiso. He then looked to the stunt double who chuckled in response. "He told me so around halfway into the day."

"Yeah, besides, Seiga came back within a few minutes." Kaniza giggled. "He can't do anything suspicious if it took only a couple of minutes."

Seiga placed his hands to his hips, a proud expression escaping his face. "So I'm all good to go then! Hmph!"

"What were the rest of you doing then?" Sagiso looked to everyone else.

"I was talking with Sheina inside of the dining hall. I have Minori and Sheina to testify for that." Saori looked to the duo who acknowledged her words silently. "After we talked we went back to our rooms to rest."

Sheina sighed as she averted her gaze. "I just talked to Saori the entire time before leaving to my room to wait for the time."

Kamui eyed Sagiso. "I met you at the library for a bit. I then left and talked to Rin."

Rin sighed. "Yeah, it's true. I met him along the way, and after I talked to him I bumped into Minori. The time stamp between my conversation with Kamui and Minori were an hour difference. Well, anyways, we talked before I left to my room."

The mortician let out a small smile. "After I talked to Rin I went to the dining hall where I met Fumio. Shortly after that we met Minori, then Sagiso and Kaniza."

Fumio scribbled into his notepad, nodding. "It's true. I was in the dining hall first. Before I went to the dining hall, I was resting in my room. Kakuma saw me walking to my room right after breakfast."

Kakuma raised a brow. He looked at the scholar for a moment before nodding. "I did. I was going to the third floor to investigate the place further, and I saw Fumio heading to his room before I went."

The psychogeographer nodded slowly. "Do you have someone to testify for you going to the third floor?"

The wedding planner frowned. He eyed the woman for a moment, then sighing.

Minori eyed the wedding planner curiously. He noticed the unease in Kakuma's eyes, and so the pseudologist quickly cleared his throat. "I saw him. He was heading up the stairs and I asked him where he was going. He told me he was going to investigate the third floor."

Kakuma threw Minori a look, but stayed quiet.

Sagiso was silent, but then nodded. "Alright." She crossed her arms, having put down her fork. "I was watching over Ryoichi's group after breakfast. I ended up meeting with Minori and we ended up watching over Ryoichi's group."

Seiga laughed, noticing the look of bafflement on Ryoichi's, Kaniza's, and Nezumi's faces. "You could say they were spying on us. I saw them after I went out to get what we needed."

Sagiso cleared her throat. She seemed a bit embarrassed about that fact. "Anyways, after Seiga had found Minori and I, I told them that I was heading to the library. That was where I met Kamui."

"Mhm. That's correct." Kamui hummed his acknowledgement.

Sagiso looked to Minori who nodded. "Well, firstly, I went over to Ryoichi's dorm where I met with Sagiso. We talked for a bit until Seiga came, and then I walked around the first floor for a while before running into Rin. I then talked to her before heading inside the dining room where I met with Kamui and Fumio."

Seiga cracked his knuckles. "Yup! I can testify to that!"

Rin sighed. "Me too."

Kamui and Fumio nodded their heads in approval.

Sagiso took this as fact, now pleased with what she had heard. "Alright, then it seems like nothing concerning is happening. That's good to hear."

"Nice!" The stunt double pumped his fist up. "We're definitely gonna beat Monokuma at his own damn game at this point! With the bomb and the shit we've planned, we might actually stop that bastard!"

Kaniza laughed at the man's energetic personality, throwing her fist up as well. "You tell him, Seiga!"

Everyone seemed amused at the duo's optimistic personality. They all couldn't help but smile, even Kakuma who slightly smiled before quickly biting into his food. It was a peaceful, positive atmosphere. An atmosphere definitely needed to counter someone who worked under the name of Despair. What was needed most in this room was hope. To defeat despair, you would need hope.

Hope. Unity. Togetherness.

Everything in this room was needed to counter Monokuma.

An hour passed by until everyone was finished. The dishes were cleaned and everyone had left to their lonesome. Most had left to their room while some either stayed in the dining hall to speak or left to hang out somewhere else. Minori heard that Nezumi and Kaniza were hanging out inside of the stargazing room, and Ryoichi had dragged Rin somewhere. He also heard Fumio and Saori talking to one another, and it was obvious that everyone was trying to get along.

The pseudologist smiled as he left the dining hall. He was about to walk to his room to sleep when he noticed Kakuma who had opened the door. Minori frowned as he glanced to the wedding planner's way. He was moving his hand, making a motion.

 _He wants to talk?_

The pseudologist looked left and right. No one seemed to be around the area, and so the man quickly walked over to Kakuma. He went inside the man's room and closed the door, eyeing Kakuma who took a seat down on his bed.

"What do you want?" Minori asked, curious. "Is it about Monokuma again?"

Kakuma looked at the pseudologist for a moment. He nodded. "I learned a bit more about this place and Monokuma, that's all. It's nothing big as of yet, but it does give us a lead."

Minori's eyes widened. "What are they?"

The wedding planner smirked confidently. He crossed his legs together. "Well, one thing for starters is that there are five floors in this school. Currently we have seen about three floors, and there are two more that we need to discover."

"Five floors in total?" Minori frowned. He cupped his chin, pondering. "I see. That is something to note... Hm, I do wonder why Monokuma would limit us to one floor per... er, murder."

"Other than what you would consider motivation? I'm not sure." The wedding planner pursed his lips. "However, if Monokuma told me this, there must be a reason behind it. I suppose he figures that tidbit of information would serve as entertainment to seeing my reaction."

"That might be another reason, possibly." Minori shrugged. "What else did you discover?"

The man averted his gaze. "That Monokuma has outside influence."

"So someone 'is' working with him." Minori eyed Kakuma for a moment. His eyes then widened. "Hm, but then this is a huge concern. If Monokuma does have outside influence, then if we do escape from him, he still has the means of having us be stopped."

Kakuma sighed. "Yes, that is true. However, I also want to note that Monokuma hinted that he not only has influence from the outside world, but that someone in here might be watching him from the sidelines."

"An extra person?" The pseudologist raised a brow.

The wedding planner frowned. His expression was darkened. "I'm thinking of one of us. One of us may be responsible for this entire killing game."

"What?" Minori eyed the man. He was shocked, his mouth hanging slightly agape. "I-I mean, I thought about that before, but I really don't want to believe that..."

"I know we all don't, but it's something to consider." The wedding planner kept a stern expression. "It's a possibility."

The pseudologist sighed, but nodded his head. "You're right. So that's all you wanted to tell me?"

Kakuma thought for a moment. He then nodded. "Yes, that's all. I'll tell you anything else I learned from Monokuma tomorrow."

"That's nice to hear." Minori smiled. "I'll see what we can do to counter those... possibilities."

The wedding planner was silent, but Minori could hear him humming his approval. He did not want to think of that certain possibility at all either.

"Alright, guess I'll be leaving." Minori looked at Kakuma who nodded, the pseudologist walking over to the door. He creaked it opened. "Bye."

"Mhm."

Minori opened the door and left, closing the door behind him. A sigh escaped his lips, the man inwardly shaking his head. To think that one of their own, one of their friends, was working behind Monokuma- that was a complete betrayal. It would be something that would break everybody's hearts, and Minori knew that for sure.

 _But hopefully that's not the case... Hopefully Monokuma's messing with us._

The pseudologist held his breath. Of course he wanted to believe that. Of course he wanted to believe that his friends were honest, that they weren't lying- he didn't know. He doesn't know everyone as much as they would know themselves, and it was obvious.

 _Well, only time would tell, I hope-_

"Minori?"

The pseudologist's eyes widened. He quickly looked back to find Sagiso. The woman was eyeing him, an obvious look of suspicion on her face. It was obvious why she was suspicious.

It was because Minori was speaking to someone he should've loathed. He was speaking to someone whom he never acquantanced himself with. He was speaking to someone who hated him.

"Sagiso..."

The woman bit into her lips. She observed Minori for a moment before shaking her head. She frowned, now her arms crossed. "What were you talking about with Kakuma?"

Minori averted his gaze. He honestly didn't know what to say. A perfectly valid excuse went right through his head. "It's nothing serious. I was just checking to see if he was alright."

"You weren't going to ask anyone else though." The psychogeographer pursed her lips. "What exactly were you talking about with Kakuma?"

"It's nothing." The man bit into his lips. "It's nothing to concern yourself with."

Sagiso shook her head. "It is something I need to concern myself with. You'll only raise my suspicions if you don't answer me, Minori. I need to know."

"We weren't talking about anything special." The pseudologist frowned. His heart was racing. "It's nothing to worry about."

"Then why do you look so scared when you saw me outside earlier?" Sagiso clenched into her fists. She was irritated. "Just tell me what you two were talking about, and I won't press on any further."

Minori clicked his tongue. "It's nothing. Kakuma and I were only talking in order to get along. That's all there is to it."

"That's a lie and you know it." The woman grabbed ahold of the man's shoulders. "Minori, what's wrong? Why don't you want to tell me?"

"It's nothing, seriously." Minori grabbed ahold of the woman's hands. He released her hands softly, putting them down to her sides. "Don't concern yourself with this."

"Concern myself? I have every right to concern myself with this." Sagiso bit into her lips. "I thought you hate lying. I thought you didn't want to lie."

Minori's eyes widened. "I do hate lying. I never wanted to be a pseudologist."

The psychogeographer frowned. She glared at the man. "Is that really the case? If you hate lying, why are you lying to me? Why are you even trying to hide the fact that you're lying to me?"

"That's-"

"It's hypocritical, that's what." Sagiso sighed, shaking her head. A pained look escaped her face. "Minori, you're acting like a hypocrite right now."

"Is it any of your business to nose in what I do?" Minori found his voice raising. He didn't know why, but his heart was racing. His body was hot, and Minori had lost what he was thinking. He was saying something he never wanted to say, ever. "Stop nosing yourself in my life then. If I continue to be a bother in your life, then just ignore me. You don't need to worry about me."

The psychogeographer was shocked. Her face paled. "Minori-"

"Stop. I know you're doing this in order to look like you care about me." The pseudologist glared at the woman. "You just want to look like you're being helpful in order to satisfy your own greed to look dependable. It's silly. It's obvious you're just trying to make yourself look like you're capable."

"What's with you?" Sagiso found herself glaring back at the man. Her voice was pained, almost hollow. "Why're you acting like this? It's like you believe you're not the same as me."

Minori frowned. "What?"

"You're allowing your own greed to get into your head. It's not me who's the problem, it's you." Sagiso averted her gaze. A saddened expression escaped her face. "You're trying to act like you're the dependable one, that you could save everyone. It's as if you think less of us."

Minori was silent. He didn't know what to say, simply staring at Sagiso who shook her head sadly.

"Let me guess." A pained chuckle escaped the woman's breath. "The reason why you don't want to tell me is not because Kakuma told you not to, but because you believe that you're the only one whom Kakuma can trust."

Minori bit into his lips.

"You believe that Kakuma could only trust you. You believe that if you told others about this, then you'd lose that sense of dependence that you feel like Kakuma has towards you-"

"That's not the goddamn case!"

Silence.

Minori's face paled. He quickly covered his mouth as he eyed the woman.

He realized it a bit too late. He had yelled at the woman, and she was looking at him painfully. Her face was entirely covered in those expressions of sadness, pain, fear, and most importantly- disappointment.

"Shit." Minori averted his gaze. His head was aching. "Sagiso, I-"

Sagiso instantly shut off the man, her eyes watering with tears. Her look was all it took to make Minori silent. She clenched her fists, her teeth clattering.

Footsteps.

The woman had ran into her room. The door was shut closed, echoing into the air.

Minori was left in darkness, left to wallow in his own regrets. He knew it was his fault, and he knew he wouldn't be able to forgive himself that easily. He knew that he messed up, and honestly-

-his heart told him it wasn't his fault.

"Fuck, what the hell's wrong with me?"

Minori let out a bitter laugh. He looked around the area. It was completely, completely silent. Minori was left with only himself and the darkness to speak to, to laugh at, to mock at. He was left to laugh, to laugh at his pitiable self.

Because, yes, he is pitiable.

He had never noticed it. He never noticed that he was allowing his ego to grab ahold of him, to overwhelm him. It was deadly, and it was deadly silent.

It was deadly to the point that it caused Minori to hurt someone.

The man held his breath. His heart was aching. His head was aching, and the pseudologist couldn't help but stand in place.

Tears were rolling down his eyes, and the man tried his damn hardest to hide it.

* * *

And here's the next chapter of Disparity! I got this out quicker than I expected to, most likely because I'm actually quite excited for how this entire chapter will turn out! I did a bit of planning and improvising as I wrote and wrote, and I'm actually confident in what I have planned in the future~ Not entirely confident, but confident nonetheless.

Also, as of note, this story and AoD may be reaching their cases soon. I will most likely be focusing on one case at a time (probably whichever story's cases comes first) since I do not want to accidentally mix in this case with the other, so whoever comes out first... Well, I'll be focusing on that entire trial and all first, then the other. Hope you'll all don't mind!

Anyways, the next poll may be up soon, but I'd guess it would be most likely when the next chapter rolls in. The next chapter will be close to the murder, after all~ Hope to see you all next chapter!


	26. Chapter 3 - Part 1, Part D

Hello, and welcome to the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, and I hope you'll enjoy this one~ That said, let's get to it!

 **Ziggymia123:** "Haha, of course. Minori broke down the moment he yelled at Sagiso. Aw, believe in yourself more! You'll get something right in my story, I'm sure of it! My victims and murderers seem to be obvious XD"

 **liammarklh88:** "Haha, well, I'm glad you enjoyed the layers of personality inside of Minori. I feel like a lot of protagonists these days are not that complex, especially from what I've seen in anime. Minori's still in the wrong for yelling at Sagiso though, we're not going to lie here. Poor Kaniza! Treat her better! No one deserves to yell at Sagiso, how dare you Minori! I guess you'll like Rin more for her cattiness XD Ryoichi seems to be on the nerves of everyone here! Haha, well, glad you enjoyed this chapter!"

 **ToonGuy:** "Lol, sorry XD I like writing people who swear, helps me vent out my frustrations a bit. Tensions are growing everywhere, from left to right. Sagiso is still our only mother to this day. Haha, well, nice to see your thoughts on everything that was happening in that chapter~ I'm glad you like Sagiso, and I'm glad you enjoyed Rin's as well! It gives Rin more personality now! Well, Minori and Sagiso both brought up good points. I'd feel bad for Sagiso regardless of what Minori said. Thank you!"

 **VioEli:** "Hello again to you too! Well, everyone seems to suspect Minori of something... I'm glad you enjoyed the FTEs! I really enjoyed writing them, so I'm glad you enjoyed reading them! Thanks!"

 **KiibouMon:** "Haha, nice to see you again! Well, I do enjoy some arguments and fights, so uh yeah. Nobody seems to like Ryoichi if I actually think about it! Aw, thanks!"

 **irwegwert:** "You don't even need to apologize for anything~ I'm glad you liked the motive! I really enjoy this sort of motive, so I'm glad you seem to enjoy this motive as well! Haha, well, there's always setbacks to anyone's plans. I guess everyone's just desperate at this point if you want to put it in that way. Nice metaphor! It's nice to see your perspective on Minori and Sagiso's argument. Very interesting to read. Your thoughts do bring up good points~"

 **zephryr:** "Haha, that's fine. I just like hearing from you~ Glad you seem to enjoy the dynamics between some characters, and haha with Ryoichi/Everyone! Glad you seem to enjoy Saori and Sheina's interactions so far, and I'm happy you seem to notice Seiga and Fumio's as well since their interactions were so subtle and few in the last chapters. No, your reviews are always welcomed, even if it's just a 'hi'!"

 **Shyjoker:** "WHY?!"

 **MatNErt:** "Minori is acting suspicious~"

* * *

 _Unsurprisingly, I look like shit._

Minori grinned bitterly as he eyed himself in the mirror. He knew he hadn't slept well last night, and so it was expected that he looked a bit paler than ever. His lips were chapped and his eyes were dry, and it was to note that those dark circles were, again, under his eyes.

 _I don't think Sagiso will nag about it though, considering what I've done to her…_

Minori rolled his head back, staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't care less if the lights were blinding his way. He just knew that everything was his fault, and honestly he couldn't find it in himself to apologize.

He hated it. He hated how he believed that he was right. He hated how he believed that Sagiso was wrong, that everyone was wrong.

The worst thing is that he believed that he was superior to everyone. He hated that he believed that everyone had to depend on him- that he's the only one who can help them.

 _But obviously that doesn't seem to be the case._

The pseudologist bit into his lips. He had to change that mindset of his and depend on others. He had to believe that everyone was an equal, that he could trust in others like they trusted in him.

The sounds of the bell ringing. Static.

"Upupupu! Hey bastards, it's morning, so wake your goddamn asses up!"

Minori laughed inwardly to himself. He was already awake, and hearing Monokuma pestering him made him smirk.

The pseudologist headed over to the door, opening it. He looked outside of the dormitories. Everyone was heading to the dining hall. He sighed, and he closed the door, heading to the dining hall himself.

He opened the door and walked inside. He noticed Seiga who was laughing with Ryoichi, then noticing Saori who was speaking to Sheina. The pseudologist couldn't help frown at what he was seeing.

"Yo dude- woah you look like shit!" Seiga grinned widely as he eyed the pseudologist. Minori didn't notice it before, but it seemed like the stunt double was mocking him. "You didn't sleep much or anything?"

Minori shook his head, letting out a smile. "I'm fine. I might just be a bit tired."

Seiga stared at him for a moment, but shrugged and continued to talk to Ryoichi who was bothering Rin. The stunt double was now laughing again, as usual. He was still his energetic self.

Minori felt a tug on his sleeve. The pseudologist looked back to find Fumio, awkwardly showing him his notepad. "Are you alright? Seriously, you don't look good."

"Fumio…" The man bit into his lips. He averted his gaze for a moment, but sighed and looked back at the scholar. "I might've gotten into a bit of trouble, that's all. Don't worry about it though. I don't want to worry you too much."

Fumio frowned. He looked annoyed at what the pseudologist said, scribbling in his notepad. "You do know that I can help you, right?"

The man bit into his lips. "You already look troubled enough."

The scholar shook his head. "That's besides the point. I just think you're handling everything. Isn't it overwhelming?"

Minori's eyes widened. He was about to say something, but he suddenly felt an arm around him. The pseudologist looked back, finding Seiga. The stunt double had gotten off from his seat and was now behind the man, grinning.

"Don't piss Minori off." The stunt double looked at Fumio, the scholar frowning in response. "Just because he's trying to be a hero doesn't mean you should bother him."

The scholar shook his head. "What does being a 'hero' have to do with anything?"

"Well, everything." The stunt double chuckled, his grip around Minori tightening. "Minori's been a great help thus far, so I feel like we should treat him better, y'know? He's surely taking after me! Hahaha!"

Minori couldn't help but flinch at the man's obnoxious laugh. He noticed the unease in Fumio's eyes, and the pseudologist couldn't help but worry.

Worry for the fact that Fumio seemed pissed. Worry for the fact that Seiga seemed to be intentionally throwing the scholar off.

And worry for the fact that Minori could see himself in Seiga.

"Seiga, can you not?" Minori looked at the stunt double, unsure of whether his tone was whiny or not. "I think you're stepping out of line here."

Fumio held his breath. "I don't see why you had to just show me up like that, Seiga, honestly."

"Showing you up?" Seiga frowned, suddenly releasing the pseudologist from his grip. He looked over the scholar, almost towering over him. "I'm just telling the truth! A hero like me needs to tell you all what's up!"

Fumio shuddered, seeing the man towering over him. The scholar was unable to say anything as Seiga let out a huff, shaking his head.

Seiga looked back to Minori. "Y'know, if you need to talk to anyone, I'll be your guy. You need help, call for me, alright?"

The pseudologist was shocked. He was unable to say anything but a small, "Sure."

Seiga seemed content with Minori's response, the man jumping over into Ryoichi and Rin's conversation. Minori could see the stunt double acting the same as always, however he could also see Fumio who was looking at him.

"Sorry." Minori averted his gaze. "That was my fault."

Fumio shook his head, waving his notepad. "It's fine. I'm not mad."

That was a lie.

Minori knew that Fumio was disappointed in him- disappointed in him the same way Sagiso was disappointed in him.

 _I really should've stand up for Fumio. Why didn't I?_ Minori clenched into his fists. _Is it because I thought that Seiga coming to my defense was good?_

He couldn't help but slap himself inwardly.

"Hey guys!" Kaniza slammed open the door. She was wearing her hair in a bun, an apron over her clothes. "We're baking cake!"

Rin raised a brow. "Uh, why?"

The astrophotographer thought for a moment, then shrugging. She tilted her head. "Because we felt like it? I mean… I think a cake would help calm us down from this entire killing game situation."

Rin frowned. She looked at Kaniza silently before sighing. "I guess you have a point."

Minori was baffled himself, looking at the woman. She smiled his way, the pseudologist smiling back in return. His smile ended swiftly once he saw a familiar figure walking from inside the kitchen.

 _Sagiso…_

The pseudologist averted his gaze. He did not want to meet the psychogeographer's gaze at all.

"What kind of cake is it?" Saori seemed interested, talking to Kaniza.

Kaniza's face lit up at the body broker's question. "Oh! We baked three small cakes. One is vanilla, the other is strawberry, and the last one is chocolate."

Ryoichi chuckled. "I'm sure they'll taste good."

"Glad you think so!" The woman laughed. "Sagiso and I woke up really early to cook both breakfast and these cakes!"

"Wow, you really make me wanna help you guys cook." Seiga scratched his head awkwardly, winking at the woman. "Maybe tomorrow?"

Kaniza giggled. "Help is always appreciated! Nezzy, you wanna help too?"

The thief's eyes widened. His cheeks blushed a faint pink color. "U-uh, sure. I'd love to help you, K-Kana…"

"Aw, you gave me a nickname!" Kaniza couldn't help but squeal at that, clapping her hands together. "You're so cute!"

Ryoichi frowned, now crossing his arms. "I just fear that you all will be tired if you all work together to cook breakfast for us…"

Kaniza frowned, shaking her head. "I don't think so. It'll be faster if we work together!"

The investigator thought for a moment. He then smiled and nodded his head. "Yes, I suppose so. You have a point, Ms. Tsukitaiyo."

The astrophotographer giggled. "Of course I do." Her eyes were then focused on Minori. She couldn't help but frown, noticing the look of uneasiness in his eyes. "Minnie, you alright?"

Minori looked at the woman. "I'm fine."

Kanzia frowned. She doubted that the man was fine, but said nothing as she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Oh, Sagi!"

Sagiso chuckled. "The food's all ready. Let's bring them over to the others."

Minori watched as Kaniza walked back inside of the kitchen, leaving with Sagiso. He could hear the two women placing the meals on the cart. Minutes passed before the door opened, revealing the two women who rolled the plates and glasses down to the dining table.

"Food's ready!" The astrophotographer grinned widely.

Saori grabbed ahold of her plate, nodding towards Kaniza and Sagiso's way. "Thank you."

The meals and drinks were passed throughout the table, and the two women sat down. Now, everyone had begun eating.

"Those cakes look so good!" Seiga was staring at the desserts, drooling at the sight. "Nice job, girls!"

The astrophotographer giggled in return. "Glad you're literally drooling over them."

"So, after this, we do what we did yesterday." Sagiso looked over at the crowd. Her eyes met Minori's for a moment, but she quickly looked away before a second passed. "Is that clear?"

"Yes." Ryoichi smiled, sipping into his glass of water. "Of course."

Kaniza threw the psychogeographer a thumbs-up. "I mean, we'll just be working on the bomb inside Ryo's room for most of the time."

Sagiso nodded. "Of course, I understand that. Where is everyone planning to go other than Ryoichi's group?"

Kamui raised his hand, looking carefully at the auburn-haired woman. "I will be inside of the library with Rin."

"What?" Rin's eyes widened. She looked at the mortician for a moment, then frowning. "Wait, excuse me, but I never planned anything like-"

The mortician smiled softly as he looked to Saori. "You and Sheina will be joining us, correct?"

Saori furrowed her brows, but noticing the meticulous planning behind the man's eyes she nodded. A subtle expression of amusement was on her face. "Yes, I think that's a good idea."

"Saori…" Sheina shook her head, letting out a sigh. "It's useless to try bringing my hopes up."

Saori glared at the woman, silencing her instantly. She then looked over to Rin who was silent as well, her expression hesitant and doubtful. She inwardly smiled to herself once she noticed the determination in the mortician's eyes. She felt like she and Kamui would be able to cheer up the two women- she was confident.

"Ah… I-I see…" Sagiso seemed a bit stunned by the sudden turn of events, but she cleared her throat and looked over to the rest of the crowd. "Anyone else?"

Fumio scribbled into his notepad. "I'll take a rest in my room. I want to rest for a bit."

"Mhm. I see." The woman turned to the wedding planner. "How about you, Kakuma?"

As usual, the man scoffed with a frown on his lips. "It's nothing to concern yourselves with. I'll spend a bit of time in my own room before investigating the school for another time."

"I see. Just make sure someone could back you up when you're investigating the school." Sagiso watched the man who nodded, the psychogeographer smiling a bit. She then bit into her lips, a sigh escaping her breath. She awkwardly turned to Minori. "How about you…?"

Minori's eyes widened. He averted his gaze to the ground, thinking for a moment. He honestly didn't want to answer, but he had to. Inwardly, he shook his head. He then looked to the woman, a breath escaping his lips. "I don't know."

 _Shit. I sounded pissed._

The pseudologist noticed the hurt on Sagiso's face, and so he quickly cleared his throat. "I'm not sure. I might look around the school after this."

Sagiso was frozen for a moment, but a blink kept her grounded in reality. "I-I see. Well, just remember that there needs to be someone who could testify for where we are. Other than that, we should be fine."

Seiga stuffed his food into his mouth, throwing his fists up. "Alright! With that settled, let's eat some cake!"

Kaniza grabbed ahold of the man's sleeve, sighing as she shook her head. "Nope. After breakfast, Seiga."

The stunt double frowned. "Right."

Everyone continued to eat their food, talking and conversing with one another. Once breakfast was finished everyone was excited to eat the cakes, slicing a piece for themselves. It tasted delicious in their mouths, and obviously they thanked Kaniza and Sagiso for such a wonderful plentiful of cakes. The two women had outdone themselves.

Minori bit into his piece of vanilla cake. It tasted sweet in his mouth, but not too sweet. It was perfect. The cake was spongy and moist, the right temperature. Though it may not be too sweet to others, to Minori, he happily enjoyed his dessert.

 _It's good._ As much as Minori wanted to say that thought out loud to Kaniza and Sagiso, he kept to himself. Honestly, he just didn't want to confront Sagiso, at all. _Still, it's really good. I'm glad they're nice enough to cook for us all._

It didn't take long before everything had been eaten off of the table. Everyone was filled to the brim with food, and now their plates were empty. The cakes were delicious, and breakfast was fantastic as always. Everyone was content with their food, and so within minutes of eating they left the area.

Everyone was leaving to do what they said they were doing, and Minori hoped that was the case.

The pseudologist sighed, deciding to rest for a moment. He was lying his head on the table before turning to the side, eyeing Kaniza and Sagiso.

"I'll take the plates back." The auburn-haired woman grabbed a handful of plates, waving to Kaniza who eyed her leaving the room. The psychogeographer was in a continuous cycle, grabbing the dishes and bringing them into the kitchen, and again and again. It continued for a few cycles before she was stuck over to the sink, washing the dishes.

Kaniza smiled at the sight. She grabbed ahold of the glasses, stacking them on top of one another. Sweat trickled down her forehead as she hugged the glasses tightly. She was about to walk over to the kitchen before she looked over to Minori. "Hey, can you stay here? I want to talk to you after this."

"What?" Minori frowned. He eyed the woman hesitantly before nodding. "Sure."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." Kaniza winked before walking over into the kitchen, aiding Sagiso from the sink.

Minori frowned inwardly to himself. _Did she notice something off between me and Sagiso? It would make sense, considering she is Sagiso's friend._

The pseudologist bit into his lips. Involuntarily, a click escaped his tongue. _Is it even her business to try stabilizing our relationship? She shouldn't even bother-_

The white-haired man stopped. He found himself stunned for a moment. He quickly shook his head, now slapping his cheeks in the process.

 _It's my fault for yelling at Sagiso, and it's even more my fault for thinking that I'm right. I'm just trying to justify myself and antagonize others. Damn it._

Minori took a deep breath. He had to calm himself down. He knew that if he allowed his emotions to get to the best of him he would falter- he would jeopardize the lives of others. He needed to take deep breaths and breathe, in and out, in and out.

He closed his eyes. Erasing all thoughts from his head, he slowly opened his eyes again. Was he now in a state of calmness? A state of tranquility? A state of peace?

He listened for his heartbeat.

He was. A sigh of relief escaped his breath.

 _Alright, as long as I stay calm and not antagonize others, I think I should be fine. It might take a while for me to forgive Sagiso though, nonetheless myself._

Minori's mind rolled back to Seiga and Fumio. He found himself holding his breath, eyes looking off to the ground.

 _I really should've been on Fumio's defense from the beginning. I don't get why Seiga seems to hold something against him, but it's obvious to tell from how blatantly he called him out._

 _I also need to keep in mind that I find myself relating to Seiga. I see something in mind that reminds me of myself… That's not even in a good way. Shit._

Minori sighed, resting his chin on his hands. He kicked his feet back and forth, watching the clock which ticked time by.

Seconds were ticking… Minutes were ticking… About half an hour ticked by before the sounds of the door opened.

Sagiso was the first to escape from the kitchen. Her eyes widened slightly as she noticed Minori, the man staring blankly at the wall.

Minori yawned. He rubbed his eyes before slowly looking over. "Hm?"

Sagiso jumped by Minori's sudden gaze. "Uh, Minori, I…" She glanced around from place to place, fiddling with her fingers. It was then did she shake her head rapidly, suddenly running away from the scene, opening the door to leave the dining hall.

The pseudologist frowned. _Seriously?_

The sounds of the door closed, and then opened.

"Well, guess you two really aren't talking then."

Minori looked back, finding Kaniza who skipped over towards him. She took a seat down comfortably next to the man. She observed him for a moment, then grinning. "How are you, Minnie?"

The pseudologist eyed her for a moment. He noticed the worry in the woman's gaze, and honestly he couldn't help but soften. "I'm fine, thank you for asking. How about you?"

"I'm fine!" Kaniza awkwardly chuckled, scratching her head. "I just got in a bit of trouble here and there, but other than that I'm good!"

"Really?" Minori raised a brow. "What happened?"

"It's nothing, really." The woman's smile was bitter. "I just think everyone's on edge now. We can't keep murders from happening, and seeing people dying is making us think that there's gonna be another soon. The optimism is slowly dying. It's too obvious to see that."

"I see…" Minori crossed his arms, watching Kaniza closely. "I think that's to be expected though."

"You think? You're strangely more pessimistic than I thought." Kaniza let out a soft giggle, unaware of the uneasiness in the pseudologist's face. "It's just… I see arguments and looks everywhere now. Rin and Sheina are trying to distance themselves, but Kamui and Saori are trying to help. It's nice to see people helping each other out, but… I still see the tension everywhere."

The woman sighed, cupping her hands. "I'm seeing it everywhere. Seiga's been on edge since the last trial. Rin and Sheina are broken. Everyone's becoming more emotional and they've been turning on one another, even towards me. Rin… I know she doesn't like me, huh?"

Minori was silent. He wasn't sure what to say.

"I don't understand her. I've never done anything to her, yet she continues to fight me. It… it just hurts. I want to yell at her and ask her why, but I know it'll make everything worse. If I yell at her, she'd just yell at me back. I don't even know why she hates me."

Her face scrunched up, wrinkling in pain. "And Nezumi… Seeing him trying hard to make me happy pains me. He's been hanging around me at every moment that he can. It's really sweet of him, but it's worrying. He must be stressed and worn out because of me. I hate it."

Kaniza's breath was shaky. She was twirling her locks of her. She pursed into her lips. A moment passed before she looked straight into Minori's eyes. "And it's… It's… It's also worrying to see you and Sagiso like this."

The pseudologist averted his gaze. "It's fine. Just don't worry about it."

"Why? You and Sagi act the same!" The woman frowned, hands clenched into fists. "You two always hide everything from us. You guys never open up to us. You guys just never tell us any of your problems. You always help us, but you guys never take care of yourselves!"

Minori's heart dropped. He couldn't counter the woman.

"It's fine to depend on others sometimes, y'know?" Kaniza's expression was writhed in pain. "Sagiso's not even telling me anything. She only wants me to worry about myself, and it's the same with you. Just what happened between you two?"

"It's nothing to concern yourself with." The man held his breath. "We'll figure something out soon."

"Am I just not that good of a person?"

Minori's eyes widened. He looked over to Kaniza whose face was pale, ridden with sweat.

"I'm just a bad person, huh?" Kaniza bit into her lips. She didn't even realize that her lips were bleeding, the woman having stood up from her seat. "You guys really don't depend on me to help you guys with anything… I seriously hate it."

Guilt overwhelmed his entire body. Minori's heart was clenching, his stomach churning. Though forced, he shook his head. "That's not it. It's just… something personal that we can't reveal so publicly."

"Is that a lie? Are you lying to me?" Kaniza forced a chuckle. "I can't even tell if you're lying to me or not anymore."

The pseudologist was shocked.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking to you like this." The woman quickly wiped her eyes, now smiling at the man. "I… I'm just worried about you and Sagiso, that's all."

Minori couldn't believe how quickly the woman had changed. From the sudden curve on the lips, the woman was now acting as if she wasn't in pain at all. His heart only ached further as he forced himself to respond. "You really are a good friend to Sagiso, huh? You worry so much about her."

"I mean, I think that's obvious." Kaniza chuckled. "Friends are supposed to worry about one another. It's natural to worry about one another."

The pseudologist smiled. "I suppose you're right."

The woman nodded. "Mhm! You really don't want to tell me about what happened between you and Sagi though?"

He didn't want to. He didn't want to, but he felt guilty. "To be it vaguely, I guess you can say we had an argument."

"I'm not surprised, judging from how you two were acting around each other." The woman chuckled playfully, trying to lighten the mood. "So, when are you planning to apologize to her?"

The pseudologist frowned. "I'm… I'm not sure about that."

"Oh, I see." Kaniza was bemused by this, however she continued nonetheless. "Well, I can only support you two from the sidelines, so good luck! I'm sure you'll find a way to make up with her! Maybe a kiss or two?"

"What?" Minori blushed instantly, shocked. "O-of course not. Besides, shouldn't you be with Ryoichi and the others?"

Kaniza laughed, shaking her head. "I think I'm fine entertaining you for a while. I already told Nezzy I was gonna be talking to you too."

Minori couldn't help but grin, teasing the woman. "Don't you think he'd be jealous?"

"Nah, of course not!" The astrophotographer shook her head. "My love's only reserved for him anyways."

"I see." The man crossed his arms. "I suppose you'll stay here longer to talk?"

"Yup!" Kaniza then frowned. "Well, that is, if you're fine with it."

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Kaniza?**

 _ **Yeah, be nice!**_ / No, it's fine, I rather not.

* * *

Minori smiled briefly. "I'm fine with that. We can talk for a little longer."

Kaniza clapped her hands together. "Alright! That's great!"

 **Minori:** So, what do you want to talk about, Kaniza?

 **Kaniza:** Hm, well, let's see… Oh! How about we talk about constellations? I'm sure you know like little of that.

 **Minori:** Well, to be honest, I don't, so you're correct.

 **Kaniza:** See? Just as I expected. But don't worry about it. Not many people are that interested in constellations and the like. Maybe things like the Zodiac Signs and whatnot, but not constellations in general!

 **Minori:** Yeah, though constellations are useful to guide someone if they're lost at sea. Stargazing is also a peaceful hobby I'd like to engage in.

 **Kaniza:** Yeah, it is! Well, to know how to navigate your way properly, looking at constellations is definitely a way. To me, there's about… hm, I'd say fifteen constellations which are important for one to know.

 **Minori:** Really? Fifteen?

 **Kaniza:** I'd estimate around there. I'll tell a bit though. The one most people would know would be Orion. It is one of the most prominent constellations and is located at the equator of the celestial night sky. And, well, obviously, it was named after Orion, the hunter in Greek mythology.

 **Minori:** Huh, interesting… So if I were to look for Orion, I'd be looking for a constellation which shapes a hunter-like figure, correct?

 **Kaniza:** Mhm, exactly! There's also the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor to look after. For starters, I assumed you know about the Big Dipper, right?

 **Minori:** I do.

 **Kaniza:** Well, actually, the Big Dipper is not a constellation. It is just part of a bigger constellation which is the Ursa Major! It is particularly noticeable in the northern hemisphere.

 **Kaniza:** The Ursa Minor, on the other hand, is noticeable because it contains the North Star in part of its constellation.

 **Minori:** Huh, I see. This is all interesting to note of.

 **Kaniza:** It is, isn't it? There's also the Canis Major as well! The Canis Major contains the most brightest star in existence, Sirius. I guess you can say that this constellation looks like a stick figure, Sirius at the head.

 **Minori:** Hm, I see. These are all good to know if you were to get lost at sea, nonetheless if you want to sightsee. How many constellations are out there?

 **Kaniza:** There are about eighty-eight constellations that are official. I mean, you could make up your own constellation if you want to!

 **Minori:** I rather not do that.

 **Kaniza:** Yeah, I understand that, but just imagine if you actually find a new constellation… You'd be famous!

 **Minori:** I mean, I suppose so.

 **Kaniza:** Well, I mean, if you're actually able to convince the higher ups on that supposed new constellation you found, haha.

 **Minori:** Well, one can only dream, right?

 **Kaniza:** I guess you have a point! Haha, well, this is a fun conversation, but I think my time's running dry. Ryoichi might get mad.

 **Minori:** I don't think so. He shouldn't since Nezumi told him.

 **Kaniza:** I don't want to risk that anyways. I'm gonna go now!

Minori watched the woman who stood up from her seat. She was heading out for the door before she turned around, eyeing the man. "Oh, and, uh... I really hope you'll figure things out with Sagiso."

The man was silent as the door closed. He was left alone.

* * *

 **Kaniza's Profile Card: 1/1**

 **Note:** Kaniza seems to be intelligent when it comes to astronomy. She knew much about the various different kinds of constellations, knowing that there were about eighty-eight constellations that are official and where the constellations are. She also knew of their importance.

* * *

Minori let out a sigh, scratching his head. _She really does care for Sagiso... I need to do something soon._

The man stood up. He observed the area for a moment. It was empty. He frowned, then heading over to the door and walking to the hallways. He wondered where to go, looking around the area. He knew that Kaniza had headed out to Ryoichi and the others, then he knew that the others were either in their rooms or in the library.

He was alone. No one was around, and the man was unsure of where to go next.

 _Actually..._ Minori looked down to the dormitories. _I should apologize to Fumio again._

He truly wanted to apologize to the man. He knew that the scholar had gotten himself into a mess the past couple of days and he knew best to not stress him out even further. Fumio had been scared about the killing game and he had been targeted by not even the students, but by Monokuma. Minori knew that the scholar was continuously stressed out, further and further and further until his mind can't take it anymore.

 _Hopefully Saori talks to him on a friendly basis. I don't think anyone seems to outright attack Fumio... though Seiga may be the exception._

Nonetheless himself. Minori clenched into his fists. He had to change, and he had to equate himself with the scholar. He had to see Fumio as an equal, not as someone whom Minori could consider a 'lost lamb'. He needed to change no matter how difficult it may be.

The pseudologist headed towards the scholar's door.

He knocked on the door. A second passed. A moment passed.

The door opened slightly, only enough for Minori to see Fumio's head sticking out.

The scholar's eyes widened upon noticing the man. He took out his notepad and began to scribble. "What are you doing here, Minori? Do you need something?"

Minori nodded, averting his gaze. "I just wanted to tell you that I was sorry for earlier. I really should've been to your defense the moment Seiga taunted you. I'm sorry, Fumio."

Fumio frowned. He looked at the man before scribbling. "You really should've, but it's fine. I honestly don't mind it."

"If you ever need help, please come talk to me." Minori let out a small smile. "I really appreciate you trying to help me though, and I want you to know that you could talk to me too."

The scholar averted his gaze. "I'll keep that in mind."

The pseudologist nodded. "So, what're you doing right now? Did I wake you up or anything?"

Fumio shook his head. He opened the door further, allowing the man inside. "I was trying to take a rest, but I couldn't. I really didn't mind that you knocked on the door. I do appreciate you apologizing to me."

"I see..." Minori took a seat down, watching the scholar who sighed. "I really do feel bad though. I really haven't been treating you and the others fairly nowadays..."

"No kidding." Fumio kicked his legs, feet moving up and down. "You know you could talk to me, right? I don't mind if you just want to talk to me or whatnot. After you and Saori helped me, I really do want to help you guys too. I feel like I owe you two a favor."

Minori smiled as he read the words on the notepad. "You're too nice, Fumio. Everyone these days just want to help one another out. In my case, I just feel like I want them to depend on me."

"That could change." Fumio shyly smiled. "I mean, you're already telling me what's wrong with you."

"Oh, am I? I didn't notice." The pseudologist stared at the scholar. The man was smiling at him, and Minori couldn't help but smile back. "I guess I really don't want to stress you out further. I don't want us to drag on such a melancholic topic though... So... Do you just want to talk to pass the time?"

Fumio shrugged. "Depends on you."

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Fumio?**

 _ **Do it, you bitch!**_ / No, don't do it!

* * *

Minori nodded, a friendly smile on his face. He honestly found himself relaxing in Fumio's presence. "Of course. I was the one who offered it in the first place."

Fumio smiled back at him, albeit sort of goofy.

 **Minori:** I really do not know much about you, unfortunately. I want to know you more.

 **Fumio:** Really? What's there to know about me? I'm surprised you're interested in me.

 **Minori:** You make it sound like I'm in love with you... Uh, so, I'm curious about how you became a scholar.

 **Fumio:** Oh, I see. Uh, I rather not talk about that if that's okay with you. I'm sorry...

 **Minori:** Oh, no, it's fine! I'm just interested in learning more about you. It's fine if you're not willing to talk about your talent.

 **Fumio:** I'm glad you think so. What do you want to ask me?

 **Minori:** Hm, how about... How about we talk about your hobbies? What do you like to do?

 **Fumio:** My hobbies... Well, uh, for starters...

 **Fumio:**... I guess, to be frank, one of my hobbies would be to study.

 **Minori:** That's not surprising. Is there anything else?

 **Fumio:** Well, uh... I guess you could say I also enjoy solving puzzles and fairy tales.

 **Minori:** Ooh, that's interesting. You seem to enjoy activities which allow you to escape into another world, huh?

 **Fumio:** I suppose so. I... I do sketching too, though it's not as good as others. They're rather childish.

 **Minori:** That's nice to hear. It's nice to learn these things about you. I know you more as a person now.

 **Fumio:** Ah, yeah...

 **Fumio:** I'm surprised you really want to learn more about me though.

 **Minori:** Of course I do. I like learning a lot about people.

 **Fumio:** Oh, yeah...

 **Fumio:** Uh, thank you for listening and talking to me.

 **Minori:** Of course. I was the one who wanted to talk to you anyways. Thank you.

 **Fumio:** Ah, yeah... Of course...

* * *

 **Fumio's Profile Card: 1/1**

 **Note:** Fumio has a plentiful of hobbies. He prefers to sketch and solve puzzles. He also likes to read fairy tales and study. He doesn't seem to be willing to talk about how he became a scholar, though it may be because he's just shy.

* * *

Fumio awkwardly scribbled into his notepad, showing it to the pseudologist. "I think I want to take a rest now. I feel a bit sleepy."

Minori eyed the man. "Did you sleep well last night?"

The scholar shook his head. "Not really. I was worrying about everyone. I tend to toss and turn a bit when I sleep too."

"Oh, I see." The pseudologist stood up from his seat. "I suppose I should leave you then. I don't want to waste your time, after all."

Fumio nodded, watching Minori who waved to him. The white-haired Ultimate left the room, closing the door slowly behind him. A sigh escaped his lips. He wondered what he should do now.

Minori observed the area, then noticing Kakuma who walked outside of his room. The pseudologist waved to the wedding planner, Kakuma stopping in place once he noticed him. Minori headed over to his side. "Hello, Kakuma. Did anything happen recently?"

Kakuma looked around the area for a moment, then shaking his head. "Nothing in particular other than what we discussed yesterday. I will be talking to Monokuma tonight as well, after dinner."

"I see." The pseudologist nodded slowly. "You haven't told anyone yet, right?"

"I don't want to tell anyone except you. You're the last person they'd suspect me of aligning myself with." Kakuma scoffed as he averted his gaze. He then frowned as he looked over to Minori. "Why are we discussing it out here in the open anyways? Did you want to ask me something else?"

"Right..." Minori scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, while we're on the topic of this whole killing game, what do you think of the motive Monokuma threw out at us?"

"It makes sense for him to throw us such a motive like that." Kakuma leaned over to the wall, sighing. "It's a simple, but effective motive. It shames me to think that humanity could be thrown into disarray with such a simple motive like that. It's disgusting."

Minori sighed. "Yeah, but it's in our human nature to care for others."

"Nonetheless to kill." Kakuma wryly smirked at the pseudologist, then rolling his eyes. "Minori, I don't think Sagiso's plan will work successfully. Even if we were to keep an eye on each other, there may be alibis and suspects lying about."

Minori frowned. "Shouldn't you have told Sagiso this then?"

"And ruin this so-called unity between you guys?" The wedding planner sighed. "Do you really not notice the suspense lying thin between everyone here? I rather think about our next move instead and go from there."

"The only plan we have is on you being a traitor." Minori held his breath, uneasy. "There's nothing else that can be done. Sagiso's plan is all we can do left other than what Ryoichi is doing. I do not know what else we could do."

"Well..." Kakuma frowned. "For one thing, separate the people who actually care about one another? I think that separating those who are extremely close to one another would help."

"What?" Minori was shocked. "But if we separate them it's like we're controlling over them-"

"So what?" The wedding planner sighed. "If Nezumi and Kaniza have a problem, then ignore it. I think it's a smart move to separate the people who are close to one another. They may be planning to kill for one another. Who knows? Even if you are not allowed to tell someone that you are committing murder, subtly acknowledging the fact that you'd kill for your loved one is not out of the picture."

"Are you suggesting that they would kill?" Minori bit into his lips. He was hesitant, averting his gaze. "But even if we did that, I'd think that the people who are close to one another aren't only capable of murder, but capable of helping one another alleviate themselves from stress. They help each other out too."

"I mean, you do have a point there." The wedding planner scoffed, crossing his arms. "But for such an absurd and stupid motive as that, I would think that- Oh."

Minori raised a brow. "What's wrong?"

He felt a tug on his sleeve. Minori looked back, now finding Fumio who was eyeing the duo. There were a few words on his notepad, reading, "I think we should just follow what Sagiso tells us to do."

"I didn't notice you there." The pseudologist was shocked. "Did you hear us discussing about the motive?"

The scholar nodded his head silently.

Kakuma scoffed, suddenly throwing Minori a disgusted look. "So, as I said, what Sagiso is telling us to do is completely absurd."

The pseudologist frowned. He was confused for a moment, but he realized what the man was doing. Minori scoffed in response. "That's not true. Sagiso is doing everything she could, and-"

"I can't believe a liar like you. I'm leaving."

 _Well, there he goes._ Minori inwardly laughed, eyeing Kakuma who left him and Fumio in their silence. The pseudologist sighed, shaking his head. He looked over to Fumio. "I thought you were going to rest?"

Fumio awkwardly eyed the man, but then he quickly looked back. "I wanted to eat something first."

"Ah, I see." The man couldn't help but doubt that. "I'm sorry if we seemed to worry you."

The scholar shook his head. "It's fine. I'll be going now."

"Yeah..."

Minori eyed the scholar who left towards the dining hall. A moment passed before the pseudologist sighed. He adjusted his scarf a bit, loosening it. He looked around the area. Now, everyone was gone from sight.

 _I strangely feel tired now. I should take a rest._

Minori walked over to his room, closing the door behind him. He threw himself to his bed and yawned, rubbing his eyes. He was staring up at the ceiling, waiting for time to pass by. It was about a few hours before he would be reporting to the dining hall to talk with everyone else.

The man frowned, his mind suddenly rolling back to Sagiso.

 _Yeah, I know. I need to apologize to her._

Minori sighed. Even if he wanted to, his mind told him otherwise. He wanted to apologize to the woman, but he hesitated. He couldn't apologize to her at the moment. At least, not now.

Soon, but not now.

Minori's mind rolled to Kaniza.

 _Shit. I really don't want to see her worry over us though. She already seems to be anxious about everything._

The pseudologist turned to the side, biting into his lips. Honestly, laying down in bed seemed to make him anxious all over again.

 _I really should come to Fumio's defense too if anyone were to ever attack him. It might be Seiga..._

 _Then again, I don't know. I don't know what to do. I don't even know what to think anymore. The only thing we're trying to do is avoid a third murder... and to make ourselves as optimistic and hopeful as possible._

Well, he continued to think and think, and soon he found himself falling into a short rest.

Hours passed.

Darkness slowly faded, and soon light came into view.

Eyes opened, and Minori soon found himself back into existence.

Minori yawned, stretching his body. He groggily looked over to the time. It was about a few minutes before the meeting. The pseudologist stood up, rubbing his eyes. He quickly left the room and headed towards the dining hall.

The door opened, Minori walking inside to find everyone present. Sagiso and Kaniza were already passing down the food.

"Hey, Minnie!" Kaniza smiled widely towards Minori's way.

The pseudologist nodded back in acknowledgment, taking a seat down. He grabbed ahold of the meal being passed down the table, grabbing his own. It seemed that the two women had cooked teriyaki salmon for the group.

"Looks good as always." Seiga chuckled as he took a bit off his plate. "Delicious."

Sagiso smiled slightly as she took her seat, eyeing the stunt double. "You always like to compliment our cooking."

"Of course I do! Everyone deserves to be praised for their hard work!" Seiga cracked his knuckles together, laughing. "Those who work all day and all night deserve my praise."

Fumio threw a look at the stunt double, but said nothing.

Saori was looking over to Sheina. "Do you need anything?"

Sheina shook her head. "I'm fine."

Sagiso clapped her hands together. "While we are eating, I want us to talk about what we have done today."

"That's fine with me," Kamui answered, nodding towards the psychogeographer.

"So, let us discuss about what we were doing today." Sagiso looked to Kaniza. "I suppose you were with Ryoichi, Seiga, and Nezumi again today, is that right?"

Kaniza nodded. "Of course! I want to help Ryo and the others as much as I can."

The thief smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, we were together the entire time today."

Ryoichi raised his hands suddenly. "We're almost done with the bomb. We'll most likely be done around tomorrow."

"Really?" Sagiso seemed shocked by this.

Kamui began to speak. "I was inside of the library with Saori, Rin, and Sheina. We spent most of our time together there."

Rin sighed, averting her gaze. She knew that she had to testify for him, judging by the look of Sagiso. "Yeah, he's right... I was dragged to go with him and the others."

Saori and Sheina nodded as well.

"I see." Sagiso smiled. She looked over to Fumio. "I supposed you were inside of your room the entire time?"

Fumio scribbled into his notepad. "Mhm. I talked with Minori inside of my room for a while though. I then saw him talking to Kakuma afterwards."

Minori noticed the subtle unease in Sagiso's eyes, but she slowly nodded her head anyways. She turned her attention to the wedding planner. "So, you were talking to Minori, right?"

"I was." Kakuma scoffed, gulping down his food. "I was resting in my room before going outside to investigate the third floor again. That was where I bumped into Minori. We only talked for a bit though. I think Minori went back to his room."

The pseudologist nodded. "I did. I just took a rest before coming back here."

"Ah, I see..." Sagiso quickly coughed, clearing her throat. "For me, I was merely watching over Ryoichi's group for a while before going back into my room to rest. I went here early to cook dinner with Kaniza."

The astrophotographer threw a thumbs-up, winking. "And she's absolutely right!"

"Well, I suppose that is all we need to hear from one another." Sagiso nodded her head. She was confident in what she was saying. "Alright, we can resume eating then."

And like always, everyone dug into their food. It was delicious as always, and everyone thanked the two women for their generosity. People were talking left and right, and all in all it was quite the optimistic atmosphere.

Maybe a false sense of security and hope, but it was still hopeful nonetheless.

... It was hopeful. It was falsely hopeful, and Minori knew that false hope would end soon.

* * *

And that's the end of this part! The next part will most likely be where the murder takes place (unless I'm lying I don't know), so be prepared for that~ There is a lot of dialogue, I know that, and I know a lot of you guys just want to skip ahead to the murder XD Don't worry, I assure you the murder will come soon. It is inevitable, after all.

Also, I have a poll for who you guys think the victim is~ Good luck on voting. Let's see what you guys will vote~


	27. Chapter 3 - Part 1, Part E

Well, here we are! The next chapter to this story~ Anyways, I'm sorry that this chapter took a while to upload. I was a bit busy working on schoolwork... and other things. Well, anyways hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

 **ToonGuy:** "Haha, of course. Well, I guess we are now forming the Fumio Protection Squad. Hopefully this squad keeps up the pace on their little escapades and save Fumio from harm. Oh gosh, don't just suddenly raise Saori's death flags DX Huh, I wonder what case we're on. Definitely not the third one. Oh, and now Kaniza gets one. Will everyone get their own someday? Well, I'm glad you seem to enjoy the group dynamic. Ack, I'm sorry for stressing you out DX Well, let us see what happens..."

 **Ziggymia123:** "You see the good side of things, and I like that! Well, let's see what happens. Oh, and also, good luck to your story!"

 **PoisonBanana:** "Lol, nice to see you here. I'm seeing that everyone likes Fumio now instead of Seiga. Conflicts are my favorite thing to write, even if horrible XD Let's see what happens with this whole plan... Nonetheless, let's see how the murder case will turn out. Haha, you really don't need to throw yourself over the moon with whether you reviewed or not."

 **liammarklh88:** "Glad you enjoyed it~ Jesus, you really went out on Seiga right there XD I'm glad you like Fumio now. Well, it looks like you like Kaniza's development, so I guess I'm fine. That nickname was so cute~ Minori's attitude changes are fun, and poor Kakuma. Oh gosh, well, let's see if another one bites the dust~"

 **mayurie:** "Oh my gosh, I love you. I'm happy you enjoyed the tension between the group, and yeah let's see with that whole bomb plan thing... I'm guessing we're all throwing Fumio as our little best buddy, huh? Haha, you're right XD I'm glad you enjoyed the conflict between the different characters! Well, glad you seem to enjoy Minori's development. Let's see what happens in the future~ This little group has a thing with getting shit wrong. Yeah, well, let's see who dies. No, don't remind me! I'm almost done with those FTEs aaaah- *shot*"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "That does make sense, yet unfortunately Kakuma doesn't seem to take that. It's good that his plan didn't actually come into fruition. I'm glad you liked the tension here! Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter then!"

 **KISL:** "I wouldn't say that your review was late, nonetheless anyone else's. I'm already fine with people just noticing my story and enjoying it. Honestly, I can't really say much about your thoughts on the sudden development because it is for something in the future and was intentional. I do agree though. I could've foreshadowed/showed that better, and I appreciate you mentioning that! I really enjoy reading your reviews because they're always helpful to me ^^. Yeah, Kakuma and Minori's conflict do seem underwhelming. Hopefully I could handle conflicts better in the future... True, I have been keeping Kamui out of Minori's life. I'll try to work on that better. Ah, yeah, those are all valid points! Thank you! They'll definitely be taken into consideration in the future~"

* * *

Minori leaned against the wall, eyeing Kakuma who was staring keenly at him. The pseudologist couldn't help but purse his lips, unsure of what to say.

"So…" He observed the wedding planner. The man was continuing to stare into his soul. "What do you want?"

Kakuma sighed, scratching his head. He walked back and forth around the room, a hasty pace in his step. "I'll be meeting with Monokuma today. He says that he wants to tell me something important, more so than what we discussed yesterday."

Minori raised a brow. "Really? What can he be referring to?"

"I'm not sure." The wedding planner pursed his lips. He stopped in the middle of the room. His attention was now diverted to the ground. "I can only assume that Monokuma wants to discuss with me about either about his true motive, or… possibly about the outside world."

"Outside world, hm?" The pseudologist cupped his chin, pondering on those words. "I see. There may be a possibility that Monokuma is working with not only the possible mastermind here, but someone from the outside world."

"I mean, he must have connections if he's able to keep us locked in here for this long." Kakuma wryly smirked at the man, but then frowned after a second passed. It was obvious that the wedding planner looked concerned about the situation. "He must be working under an organization. If not, whoever he is particularly working for must be influenceable to keep us undercover in this school."

Minori nodded his head. "That makes sense. I'm still curious about whether the mastermind of this whole charade is truly among us."

"It would make sense, and, well, to be honest…" Kakuma hesitated for a moment before sighing, continuing forth. "... that would mean that finding the mastermind and capturing them will be an easier task for us."

Minori raised a brow. He did see the point Kakuma was getting to, and he admitted that the man was right. Still, he couldn't help but worry about the idea. If a mastermind was truly among him and the others, then that would mean that a dear friend had merely feigned a friendly act. It would mean that a dear classmate had lied about their want to end the killing game.

It made Minori shiver to his core.

"Okay, so you'll be meeting with Monokuma later then." Minori adjusted his scarf, loosening it around his neck. He was cracking his knuckles. "You want to talk to me about it later then? I suppose you arranged a time and place?"

"You make it sound like I want to date you." Kakuma threw the pseudologist a sly smirk, but then nodded his head. "Yes. I want us to meet inside the music room around midnight. I do not want to risk people hearing us, after all. I know that some people stay up late to eat a snack and I know that not everyone is asleep around the nighttime announcement, so I can only predict that midnight would be a doable time for us to meet."

"Hm, I see…" Minori thought for a moment, thinking to himself. His fingers were tapping each other, a rhythmic fashion. He looked up at the wedding planner and smiled. "I suppose midnight would work."

Kakuma nodded. "Alright, so that's settled."

Static was heard. Obviously, that familiar voice echoed throughout the school.

"Bastards, it's time to wake your goddamn asses up!"

And, like always, the static disappeared, and the Ultimates were left to their demise.

Kakuma let out a small chuckle. "And there goes the morning announcement. Guess I'll be heading out now, Minori. I don't want anyone to see us together."

Minori smiled, waving to the wedding planner who opened the door. "Bye. See you at the dining hall."

The door was shut closed.

The pseudologist waited for a moment, tapping his foot. He glanced around the room, his eyes now directing toward the laundry basket. His clothing's replicas were stuffed inside the small basket.

"Shit, I should really wash them huh…"

Minori sighed, scratching his head.

 _Well, I guess I should head to the dining hall now._

The pseudologist rubbed his hands together. To think about what food would await him at the table made his stomach grumble. His heart was beating fast. He was excited to see what was in store.

Minori walked over to the door, opening it. He took a step halfway through the door, then stopped. A sudden realization shot through his head.

 _Didn't Seiga, Ryoichi, and Nezumi say that they were going to help Kaniza and Sagiso?_

The pseudologist recalled back to yesterday. Yes, he was right.

 _Hm, interesting. I wonder what they made then._

Minori inwardly smiled to himself. He brought his left foot forward, his hand bringing the door slowly to a close. A slight noise, and now the door was closed.

His door was closed, and someone else's opened.

Minori turned his head to the right. He found Rin, the woman stretching her arms out. A yawn escaped her lips. She then frowned slightly to herself, eyeing her baggy vest. She readjusted the piece of clothing around her, then the sleeves from her white shirt.

The pseudologist eyed the woman in silence, continuing to observe her movements.

Though it was subtle, Minori could tell that woman had changed.

She seemed to be in a slightly better mood, her actions more upbeat and free. The bags under her eyes were still apparent, but they were less detailed than before. And, most importantly, the dullness in the woman's eyes seemed to have disappeared.

Minori inwardly smiled to himself, nodding. He was unaware that the jeweler had noticed him, her eyebrows burrowing as she noticed his intense stare.

"Uh, do you need anything?" Rin asked, making her way over to the pseudologist. She had her head tilted to the side. "You were staring at me for a while there, I assume."

"O-oh." Minori blushed slightly at her words. He didn't expect the jeweler to have noticed it. He awkwardly averted his gaze. "I guess… Well, I guess you could say that I was worried about your health."

"My health?" Rin eyed the man for a moment. Her mouth then opened slightly, realizing what the Ultimate was referring to. She crossed her arms. "I suppose you could say that, considering you and the others kept pestering me and Sheina…"

The pseudologist chuckled, a bitter smile on his face. The sudden urge to apologize to the jeweler popped up in his head, but he forced it away. "Wouldn't you say that they all helped you and Sheina though?"

"You think? Every single one of you guys are so nosy…" A moment passed before the woman then averted her gaze to the floor. She was fiddling with her fingers, her breath shaky. Her tone was softer as she hesitantly continued, "... I guess that's a good thing though."

Minori's eyes widened.

Rin looked at Minori for a moment, then flustered. Her cheeks seemed to blush a faint pink hue, noticing instantly that the pseudologist had heard her.

"E-excuse me."

Rin quickly left the vicinity, moving towards the dining hall.

Minori pursed his lips. His stomach churned in unease.

 _Being nosy is good, huh?_

The pseudologist thought back to when he first met the rest of the Ultimates. His mind recalled back to how he acted around others, and how the others acted towards him.

Minori clenched into his fists. Those thoughts ran through his head like a film. They were tormenting him, tugging at his heartstrings.

They were tormenting him with the fact that he was a goddamn idiot.

 _Fuck. I really need to keep myself under control. What's wrong with me?_

Minori grabbed at his chest.

 _I seriously need to get my act together. I'm not helping anyone like this now._

Minori took a deep breath, breathing in and out. A moment passed, and the man clenched into his fists.

The pseudologist headed over to the dining hall. He opened the door and made his way inside, finding most of the other Ultimates present.

Nezumi and Seiga were preparing the table, plates and utensils in their arms. Ryoichi, Kaniza, and Sagiso were talking from the kitchen, their voices speaking in the background. Other than them were Rin and Kakuma, the duo already seated on their spots.

The others were nowhere to be seen, well, yet, at least.

"Oh, Minori." Nezumi looked over to the man, a small smile on his face. "Good morning."

Minori smiled back, waving. "Good morning to you too. How are you doing?"

The thief's face brightened at the question. He placed the plates on the table. "I'm fine. Thank you for asking."

Seiga eyed the duo for a moment, frowning. He was silently cracking his fingers, having already set down the utensils on each seat. He seemed bemused with something, though Minori wasn't sure exactly what.

"Uh…" Minori couldn't help but stare at the stunt double. "Are you alright, Seiga?"

Seiga was silent. He looked blankly at the pseudologist.

Minori averted his gaze. He felt uncomfortable with the man's strange stare. He gestured Nezumi over. "Did something happen?"

Nezumi shook his head. He took a glimpse at the stunt double before looking back to Minori. "I don't know. He wouldn't talk to me about it. I-I just know he's mad at something, but I'm not sure what."

Minori frowned. He sighed and decided to walk closer to the man. His blank, indifferent stare was eerie. He waved his hands over the stunt double's face. "Seiga? Are you here?"

A moment passed. An awkward silence rang through the room.

"Seiga?"

Minori didn't know what to do. He could feel Nezumi's stare piercing him. He noticed Rin and Kakuma eyeing the scene, baffled. He even saw the door opening, Kamui having just walked into the room and giving him a questionable look.

 _Uh… Guess I'll just back away-_

"Oh shit. Minori?"

Minori's eyes widened. Seiga had noticed him, the stunt double baffled by how close the pseudologist was to him.

The pseudologist took a step back. "Um, hello."

"Oh." Seiga blinked a couple of times, but quickly threw on a smile. He threw an arm around the man. "What's up?"

Minori felt uneasy in the man's grasp. "Uh, I was just wondering if you were okay. Are you alright?"

Seiga boastfully laughed. "Of course I am! Why wouldn't you think so, Minori?"

"I mean…" The pseudologist awkwardly smiled. "You looked like you were thinking deeply about something. I'm just worried about you."

"I told you, I'm fine." The man's grip around Minori loosened. He was now staring at the pseudologist. "Do you feel like you need to worry about a hero like me?"

Minori raised a brow. The man's stare was intense, and the pseudologist couldn't help but worry. He awkwardly grabbed at his scarf, loosening it slightly. "Seiga… No, seriously, are you alright?"

"I said I was fine." The stunt double's voice raised. "Sheesh, don't worry. Heroes don't need people to worry about them."

Kamui frowned, watching the scene from a distance. "Cut it off."

"But…" Minori averted his gaze. "Seiga…"

The stunt double was shocked. His expression was written, overwhelmed in disgust. "You're always-"

Seiga stopped. He heard the door opening, revealing Fumio, Sheina, and Saori. The trio had just opened the door, and now their expressions were riddled in bafflement.

"What's happening?" Fumio had raised his notepad into the air. His expression was completely riddled in unease.

Seiga frowned. "Look, this doesn't involve you-"

The door to the kitchen opened. Kaniza had eagerly walked outside the door, rolling the newly cooked dishes into the room.

"Food's ready!" Kaniza smiled widely at the group. No response. The woman tilted her head. "Uh… did something happen?"

The stunt double bit into his lips. He sighed, shaking his head. He had given up immediately, falling right down to his seat. "Nevermind."

Minori frowned. He had escaped a bullet.

"What happened?"

The pseudologist looked over to the side, Saori eyeing him worriedly. He knew that the woman was curious, but he shook his head. He was signaling her to not pry.

The woman wasn't convinced, but stayed silent regardless of her disdain.

The group settled themselves into their seats, and the pseudologist sighed. He slowly walked over to his seat, moving himself comfortably next to Fumio.

He noticed that the stunt double was avoiding his gaze, and Minori couldn't help but be relieved about it.

Ryoichi walked outside the door as well, holding a silver platter in his hands. There were chocolate muffins scattered evenly over the platter. He placed the tray down in the middle of the table. "Here you go! Freshly baked to your liking."

Nezumi smiled, slowly grabbing ahold of a muffin. He settled the muffin down at the edge of his plate. "Thank you."

"No problem, Mr. Jirokichi." Ryoichi then began to pass the muffins to the Ultimates. "Here, you all could take one."

Minori took ahold of his muffin. He then saw Kaniza settling down the rest of the meals, Sagiso taking the last of the dishes before closing the kitchen door behind her.

There were waffles, pancakes, omelettes, muffins, and a warm pot of chicken noodle soup.

"Thank you," Sheina murmured underneath her breath, a look of noticeable shock on her face.

Minori smiled. He couldn't help but notice that the egyptologist looked healthier now, her eyes having lost their dullness.

Everyone took ahold of their food and began to eat. It was the same daily routine. Sagiso would talk about everyone's status and whereabouts, and afterwards everyone continued their food.

Saori and Kamui will be hanging out with Sheina and Rin inside of the library. Fumio will be inside of his room as well as Kakuma. Ryoichi's group will be together in his room. Sagiso would be walking around the school to check on her classmates. Minori didn't know where he would go, and so he ended up telling the others that he'd be investigating the school, akin to the psychogeographer.

Obviously, it was the same routine. Everyone followed the curriculum perfectly.

"Oh, right." Ryoichi perked his head up. A proud smile escaped his face. "We finally finished the bomb. We have it in our room, and we're now planning how we are going to use the bomb and thwart Monokuma's plans carefully."

Seiga didn't respond. If anything, he looked frustrated with the investigator.

"That's nice to know," Kamui replied, nodding his head. "Hopefully your plan will work and we'll be able to escape from here… or at least learn something about Monokuma and his motive."

Saori agreed with a hum. "Hopefully it works."

"I still don't think it'll work," Sheina murmured, picking at her food. She didn't take the time to eye anyone, almost as if she was speaking to herself. "If it does though…"

Rin gulped down her sip of water. "It'll be a miracle if it works."

"Yeah, that's the spirit, Ms. Hoseki!" Ryoichi clapped his hands together, eyeing the jeweler. He didn't realize that the woman was being sarcastic. His eyes were sparkling in joy. "It'll definitely happen. Aliens are real after all, and that just means anything can happen. This plan will definitely succeed."

Rin scoffed, averting her gaze. "If you actually plan it though."

Minori awkwardly smiled at the scene. He was about to comment before he felt someone tugging at his sleeve. He looked over to Fumio. "Hm? What's wrong?"

Fumio scribbled silently into his notepad, then showing it to the pseudologist shyly. "Do you really think Ryoichi's plan will work?"

The white-haired man nervously chuckled, hesitant. He looked at Ryoichi for a moment before speaking, softly so that only Fumio could hear him. "Well… We'll have to trust in him. Hopefully it will work."

Fumio seemed bemused. He frowned.

"Are you lying?"

Minori's eyes widened. "Uh, no."

The scholar continued to stare at him.

"Okay, fine." The pseudologist figured he couldn't lie to the scholar. His initial expression completely gave off the fact that he was going to lie regardless about his stance. "I do have my doubts that the plan will work. Realistically it won't work well in terms of stopping Monokuma, but in a positive light the bomb may help Ryoichi's group in learning something about our situation."

Fumio pursed his lips, then slowly scribbling down his response. "I would think that if the bomb was used, it could be classified as vandalism."

"I do believe that Ryoichi and the others took that into consideration." Minori bit into his waffle. He gulped it down before continuing. "And no matter how vile Monokuma is, I doubt he'd waste our lives from us breaking a simple rule. He already broke one once because of you."

"I mean… True…" Fumio tapped his pencil to his chin. "I'm still surprised he allowed us to live and not Amyto."

"Well, a teddy bear is always in need of their little child, or else they're left in the back of the shelves." Minori sarcastically peppered those words with a happy tone of voice. He smirked as he noticed the scholar's amused look. "What Monokuma wants from us is entertainment, or so he proclaims. I know there's something more to this though…"

"Fumio? Minori? Are you two alright?"

The duo whipped their heads over, directing themselves to Kamui. The mortician was eyeing them worriedly.

"O-oh, we're fine." Minori feigned a friendly smile. "Don't worry, Kamui."

Kamui raised a brow, but slowly nodded his head. "I suppose. You two looked like you were anxious about something. You two are truly fine though, correct?"

"It's nice of you to worry about us." Fumio sipped into his glass. "Thank you."

The mortician awkwardly smiled as he continued to cut into his pancakes. He took a piece with his fork and chewed.

Minori and Fumio slowly went back to eating. Attention having been brought over to them, they silently ate in hopes of diverting the others' attention to something else.

Second passed, and it worked.

Everyone was now focused on their food and the different topics being thrown to the air. They were light conversations which were made in an attempt to loosen the tension in the air. Topics ranging from complimenting the chefs' dishes to mere talk about hobbies and whatnot- they were simple conversations that were made in an attempt to force back those uneasy thoughts about murder.

Minori honestly hadn't thought much about these conversations until now. He had found himself observing everyone, inspecting them closely and silently.

First of all, the most evident thing that the pseudologist noticed was how Fumio and Saori were slowly engaging themselves into the group's conversations. The duo who were usually silent and straightforward in their words were talking much more. They were invested in what was being talked about. Fumio's eyes lit up in an almost childlike excitement fashion, meanwhile Saori found herself nodding and thinking over what everyone were saying. The duo were evidently engaged, even more so than before.

The same could be said for Kakuma as well. Though subtle, Minori noticed that the wedding planner was looking often at the group than not. He obviously looked like he wanted to speak during different times, but at each time he would force himself to back down. He wanted to befriend everyone and place himself in the group, but he couldn't. Minori couldn't help but feel bad for the man.

Minori looked over to Kamui. The mortician, one who used to be an outcast, was fully accepted into the group. He looked happier than before, his tone of voice becoming key to his happiness. His tone was much more perky and joyful. Though he had still carried himself with his usual formal speech, his words were carried with a more relaxed composure.

Ryoichi and his group were excitable. Though Seiga was obviously not in the best mood, he collaborated in the group discussion. Ryoichi was happy replying and commenting on various things, his usual smile plastered to his face. Nezumi and Kaniza were still the same as ever, the thief blushing whenever Kaniza placed her hands on his. However, Kaniza would blush as well, Nezumi at times deciding to take the initiative and kiss her. Technically, that entire group looked pretty much the same as ever.

Rin and Sheina were also changing, and Minori noticed that much more as he watched them speak. The duo who used to look so broken and fragile were talking much more than before. Their pessimism was still apparent, however there was light in their eyes. Kamui and Saori's attempts to help them seemed to be working.

And, although hesitant, the pseudologist observed Sagiso as well. She still seemed to ignore him out of fear, and Minori couldn't help but feel worse than ever. She was afraid to confront him, and seeing that she never once looked at him in judgment made Minori's stomach churn. The woman was trying her best to portray herself as a strong leaderlike figure, and it was evident in how she carried her posture. Sagiso had a calm and composed look on her face, and she did her best to not lose it.

 _Everyone still seems to be trying their best…_

Minori sipped into his glass of water, having finished his food after a few minutes had passed. About two hours had been spent inside of the dining hall, and now everyone had finished their meals and were planning to leave.

Kaniza and Sagiso were now inside of kitchen, washing the dishes. Nezumi had stayed behind to help his girlfriend, and the rest were gone, aside from Minori.

The pseudologist had taken the time to relax himself. Though he would usually flock over to people, he found himself enjoying the silence around him. He found himself relaxing under this silence.

He looked around the area for a moment. He heard Nezumi and the two women talking from the kitchen, Sagiso commenting on the other two's relationship.

"Yeah, I know right? Nezzy calls me Kana now!"

He then heard Nezumi flustering about, then hearing Kaniza ogling.

Inwardly, Minori smiled.

He stood up from his seat.

 _It'll take a long time before I meet with Kakuma… Guess I'll just walk around the school for a bit. I should exercise once in a while._

Minori stretched his arms out, a small yawn escaping his lips. He rubbed his eyes and headed over towards the kitchen door.

He creaked opened the door, staring at the trio.

Their attention was focused on him.

"I'm going to walk around the school for a while."

Minori silently eyed the trio.

Kaniza winked happily at the man, Nezumi and Sagiso nodding their heads.

Noticing their acknowledgment, the pseudologist closed the door. There, he headed out the dining hall.

Minori walked around the hallway, content. He heard Ryoichi's group from the dormitories, and the pseudologist had thought about talking to them. He decided against it after a while- he didn't want to bother them, after all.

He had thought the same about Kamui's group. He wanted to go into the library to read a book and greet the others, but he didn't. He felt like he would only intrude.

Minori walked up to the second floor. His eyes found themselves looking to the gymnasium.

The doors were covered with yellow police tape, blocking the pathway in an 'X'. They were slightly burnt, rusty and smoky-colored.

Minori shuddered.

It was obvious reminder of what Amyto had done to Fuwari.

 _Hm… Now that I actually decided to stop and look at the door, I wonder if I can open it._

Minori held his breath. His heart was beating, slightly at a faster pace. Cold sweat began to trickle down his forehead.

He hesitantly reached his hands over to the door. His fingers moved down against the solid. Burnt and rusty.

Minori frowned. He counted to himself.

One, two, and three.

He forced the doors opened. The yellow tape hung in front of his face, taped to the walls and unable to be ripped.

Minori looked through the tape, eyeing the gymnasium ahead of him.

It was the same as how Monokuma left it. The gymnasium looked quite the same as it was before, however there were certain things that were left in place.

A beautiful room, but a room that held evidence to a murder. The jacuzzis were still laid out around the gym, and the air was humid.

The room looked somewhat beautiful, but it was a mess.

 _Jesus Christ… He actually left it like this…_

Minori bit into his lips. He closed the doors and sighed, shaking his head. He took a moment to think to himself.

 _Maybe I shouldn't have checked after all. Seeing just the crime scene makes me shiver._

 _Fuwari… She must've been so scared… And Amyto…_

Minori threw his head back, leaning against the wall. His expression was blank. He stared at the ceiling for a short moment.

 _Okay, let's not think about that anymore._

He forced to composed himself, then resumed back to his walk.

Minori made his way over to the third floor, walking up the stairs. The atmosphere of the floor was much more uneasy and tense in comparison to the previous floor. The lighting was darker and the temperature was strangely chilly.

The pseudologist tightened the scarf around his neck. He looked over to the music room.

 _That's where Kakuma and Monokuma usually meet up, right?_

Minori slowly made his way over to the door. He turned the doorknob, and the door was opened, creaking. He headed inside.

The room was the same. The arrangement of the chairs and the eeriness of the room was the same. The medals and awards to the side were the same.

Everything looked the same.

Minori closed the door behind him. His eyes looked over to the side. He was staring at the cabinets.

There was an opened violin case. He saw a rather rusty violin.

 _I wish I could play the violin._

The pseudologist chuckled to himself. The man was scanning through each of the cabinets silently. The wish to be able to play an instrument continued to hurt him. He regretted not being able to play an instrument, and just by eyeing the cabinets made his heart drop.

"Hey there."

Minori jumped. He whipped back to find himself staring at Monokuma, the bear having whispered into the room. Minori frowned, taking a step back. "W-what do you want?"

Monokuma laughed, amused at the pseudologist's disgust. "Just checking up on you, my favorite little toy. Can't a headmaster check on his little students?"

"You called me a toy, so I really doubt that you care about me." Minori crossed his arms. He was looking down at the bear. "What do you want?"

Monokuma shrugged. "Nothing really. I just mistook your presence for my other favorite person. That's all."

"Right…" Minori instantly doubted the headmaster.

The bear grinned. The pseudologist's hesitant tone seemed to please him. "Well, now that you're here, I guess we should have a little chat, huh?"

Minori shook his head. "I rather not entertain you."

"Aww, don't be like that!" Monokuma giggled. "I mean, it's obvious that Kakuma's our 'traitor', to both of us. And nonetheless, I know that you have a lot of questions you want to ask me and I have to you."

The pseudologist raised a brow, baffled. "What do you want to ask me anyways?"

"Oh, where do I start, where do I start!" The bear was laughing. He was clapping his paws together and jumping, feigning excitement. "Hm… Well, how about this one first then, my dear Minori- have you noticed anything different about this situation?"

"This situation?" Minori eyed Monokuma. The bear was waiting for an answer, expectant. He frowned. He thought for a moment, then shaking his head. "No, I don't. The only things I would consider different would be the idea that there are different truth bullets for each person and the motives you give out after each murder. I know these things are all intentional though, even you asking Kakuma to be a traitor."

Monokuma stared at Minori. He was silent. A few seconds later, he was grinning, chuckling. "I see, I see! That's good to know. Everything is running smoothly then."

The pseudologist was uneasy with the bear's response. "Excuse me?"

"Next question!" The bear suddenly pointed at the man. "I actually should've asked you this earlier because I'm doing a survey, but what do you think of the motive so far? On a scale of 'fucking boring' to 'aw hell yeah', how would you rate the intensity of this motive so far?"

"What?" The pseudologist bit into his lips, nose wrinkling. "Why are you asking me anyways? Why should I tell you what I think, let alone the others?"

The headmaster groaned, rolling his head back. "Obviously, because I care! I need to evaluate your opinions for the future. When a murder happens, then I need to come up with another motive. I don't want to make the next motive be boring, y'know?"

"It truly is just entertainment to you." The man clicked his tongue. "Who are you working with? Who's working under you?"

"Why should I tell you?" Monokuma frowned, looking intensely at Minori. "Besides, I might just be spewing out bullshit to Kakuma. You know that, right?"

The pseudologist shook his head. "I doubt you were lying. Besides, it doesn't make sense for the police to not find us or be in search if you were the only one working. I also cannot believe that you're capable of finding all of us and capturing us here, given your… appearance."

"Is that a compliment? Aww, thanks Minnie!" Monokuma moved his hips to and fro, feigning a high schooler crushing over someone. His cheeks were red, and his paws were to his mouth. "Upupupu, Minori, you are just the cutest! I feel like a high schooler all over again thanks to your compliment!"

Minori was disgusted, unable to hold back a grimace.

Monokuma stopped in place. He was now looking back at the pseudologist, a sudden look of indifference on his face. "So, what do you think? Is the motive despair-inducing?"

"What? Uh…" Minori wasn't sure of what to say. He averted his gaze to the ground. "I… I mean, everything is if it holds malice."

"I guess that means the motive was a success." The bear giggled, pleased by Minori's answer. "Nice to know that. Everyone else thinks the same."

"W-why do you even care?" The pseudologist clenched into his fists, uneasy. "You're just here to have us play your dirty little game."

"Here to make it enjoyable." The bear gloated. "C'mon Minori, isn't it fun?"

"No, it isn't." Minori found himself frustrated, his voice becoming louder. "How is any of this fun?"

"Aww, are you getting mad, Minnie?" Monokuma grinned, taunting the Ultimate. "Don't worry! Within time, you and the others will learn to accept this little killing game as reality! Upupupupu!"

"You-"

"Stop pestering him, Monokuma."

Monokuma stopped in his tracks. He looked over to the door, then grinning.

Minori was shocked. "S-Sagiso?"

The woman was staring intensely at the duo. She walked over towards them, crossing her arms. "Monokuma, don't bother him. What do you gain from pestering him, or even any of us?"

The bear eyed Sagiso for a moment. He then sighed, scratching the back of his ear. "Okay then. Whatever. Geez, teenagers these days."

With those words, the bear left the room. The door closed, and he was now gone.

Minori and Sagiso were left alone.

The pseudologist eyed the woman. He noticed the uneasiness in her eyes, then biting into his lips. "Uh…"

He wanted to apologize to Sagiso. He had wanted to apologize to the woman, but he couldn't. That desire had left the moment she came into the room.

"I eavesdropped near the end of your conversation. I know." Sagiso ignored the man's gaze. Her tone was shaky. "What… What were you talking about with Monokuma?"

Minori frowned. He hesitated. "... He just asked me about the motive. He wanted to know if the motive was 'despair-inducing'."

"What?" Sagiso glanced at the man. "Why?"

"I don't know. He just wanted my input too."

The woman was silent for a moment. It was then did she frown, slowly looking up at Minori. "Are you… Are you lying to me?"

Minori was taken aback. "What?"

"I…" Sagiso bit into her lips. "I don't know anything about you. Why were you talking with Monokuma? Why are you hiding things from me? It's… I'm sorry, but that's suspicious Minori."

The pseudologist shook his head. "I can't tell you anything because it risks your life."

"No, that's wrong." Sagiso was saddened. "We're in a killing game. All of our lives are at risk…"

She then stopped. A moment passed before she continued, her words slowly registering to Minori.

"... Though it might not be to you."

The pseudologist couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"It's… It's suspicious."

 _I need to stop this._

"Sagiso, wait," he interjected, his tone breathless. His stomach was churning. "I truly don't want to risk your life, and that's why I don't want to tell you anything. I never wanted to make you cry. I never meant to hurt your feelings, and I never meant what I said to you. I…"

Minori found himself at a loss for words. The look on Sagiso's face told him everything.

"I'm sorry, but I only came here to stop Monokuma from causing trouble." Sagiso turned the doorknob. She was halfway out the door. "I've already seen everything I needed to see. Sorry."

The door was closed.

Minori was left in shock. He was left in complete shock and disbelief.

 _She's suspicious of me. She doesn't trust me._

Minori bit into his lips. He looked over to the spot where Monokuma was standing. He couldn't help but wonder if Monokuma had plotted this.

 _Shit._

The pseudologist's chances of winning back Sagiso's friendship was becoming less and less likely. The woman was now suspicious of him. She was now unwilling to believe in what he says.

 _I guess I got what I deserved. Shit, how do I apologize to her now?_

Minori sighed deeply. He thought silently to himself. Nothing came to mind, and he was left at a stalemate.

 _Shit, I can't come with anything. I'll think about it later. I should clear my head instead._

Minori slowly made his way over to the door. His posture was slightly sluggish, but he couldn't care less. He turned the doorknob and opened the door, heading back outside.

The pseudologist decided to walk back down the stairs, going straight back into the second floor.

He was about to move to the first floor when he looked to the side, eyeing the cafe. He noticed Saori and the others who were inside, talking. They were eating pastries and drinking.

 _Hm… Guess I'll check on them._

Minori walked over and opened the door. He grabbed the group's attention instantly.

"Hello, Minori." Kamui looked pleased at the man's arrival. "Are you here for something in particular?"

The man shook his head. "I just wanted to check up on you guys."

"You really are everywhere," Rin murmured underneath her breath. She was biting into her slice of red velvet cake.

"I wouldn't consider that a bad thing though," Kamui said, smiling at the pseudologist. He sipped into his cup of hot chocolate. "Do you want to join us?"

Minori smiled, awkwardly scratching his head. "I'm just here to check on you guys. I don't want to impose on you all too much."

"I don't really mind," Sheina said, eyeing the man. She seemed intrigued by his behavior. "Everyone's been trying to talk to me and Rin anyways."

Saori blew into her cup. "We don't want to see you two look so beaten up, that's why."

"I know…" Sheina's cheeks blushed a faint hue. She quickly took a bite out of her Danish pastry, her focus now entirely on her food.

The body broker raised a brow, questioning the egyptologist's strange actions. She then shrugged it off and continued, eyeing Minori. "You were looking around the school, right?"

Minori nodded. "I was, thank you for asking. I was just taking a walk. I don't really exercise much, so… Well, yes."

"Exercise is important," Kamui said, contributing into the discussion. "It is also a way to relieve yourself of stress."

Rin sighed. "Stress because of this killing game."

"Ah, right." Minori awkwardly smiled. "I'm assuming you moved from the library to here?"

The mortician hummed in acknowledgement. "That's correct. We wanted to eat something, and so we headed here. We've came here just a few minutes ago, if you must know."

"I see." The white-haired Ultimate nodded his head. "That's nice to know. You guys are doing fine though, I assume?"

The jeweler gulped down her slice of cake. "I mean, it looks like we are."

"We're fine," Saori said.

Sheina used both of her hands to signal the pseudologist, both in a thumbs-up motion. "Mhm."

"It's nice of you to check on us." Kamui smiled shyly. "We're fine. How about you?"

Minori smiled, averting his gaze. He didn't expect the sudden question. "A-ah, I'm fine."

The group was pleased.

"Well, anyways, I'll be heading out now."

The group waved to Minori, the man having left the room.

A sigh escaped his lips.

 _Well, I'll just head back down._

Minori walked over to the stairs and headed down. He looked around the hallways. There was no one in sight, or at least in his proximity.

He headed down the hallways, making his way over to the dormitories.

 _Huh? Isn't that…_

As the man was walking, he saw two figures.

"Seiga? Fumio?"

Seiga and Fumio were next to each other, both of their faces expressing distress. Fumio was near the wall as well as Seiga.

They looked over to the pseudologist.

Fumio's eyes lit up instantly upon seeing him. Seiga, on the other hand, simply shook his head and left, heading back over to Ryoichi's door.

"Huh? S-Seiga!"

The man had suddenly left, having opened and closed the door within seconds.

"What…"

 _What the hell? What's wrong with him?_

Minori frowned. He eyed the door to Ryoichi's room. It was shut closed. He sighed, then looking over to Fumio and walking close to him. "Hey, are you alright?"

Fumio seemed to be shaking, but nodded his head. He scribbled into his notepad and showed it to the man's face. "I'm fine. I just talked with him, that's all."

"Really?" Minori crossed his arms. "About what? It looked like you two were arguing."

Fumio hesitated. He eyed his feet, silent. A moment passed before he continued scribbling. "I was going to get a snack when Seiga went outside Ryoichi's room. He then saw me and then confronted me. He wanted to ask me something."

Minori raised a brow. "Really? Ask you what?"

The scholar sighed. "He wanted to know my thoughts on Ryoichi's plan. I didn't exactly know why, but I told him that I thought that Ryoichi's plan won't be successful. He ended up disagreeing with me though."

The pseudologist was shocked. "Then why would he even ask you if he's just unwilling to accept your opinion?"

Fumio shook his head. "I don't know, but if I had to make a guess… He himself is concerned that the plan will fail. I believe that he snapped because he didn't want me to make him feel even more worried."

"I mean… That makes sense." Minori slowly nodded his head. "I would think that Seiga would've told Ryoichi though."

"It's mere speculation." Fumio shrugged. "I'm not sure."

Minori cupped his chin. He pondered on any possible theories, but in the end his head was blank. He didn't know.

"What are you doing now?" The scholar asked, trying to steer the discussion into a different topic.

"Oh!" The pseudologist awkwardly scratched his head. "Well, I was planning to go back to my room, but after I saw you and Seiga… I don't feel like resting will help relieve my stress. It's almost time for us to meet up, right?"

Fumio nodded. "We have about an hour left. Are you planning to wait in the dining hall then? I think Sagiso and Kaniza left to go there already."

"Oh, really?"

Minori's heart began to race.

 _Should I even be near her presence? It's worse since Kaniza wants us to make up too and that Sagiso's suspicious of me…_

Fumio eyed the pseudologist for a short moment, then scribbling. "Let's go there."

"W-what?" Minori's eyes widened. "Really?"

A subtle, playful grin escaped the man's face. "You look like you don't want to go, so this obviously means that we should go. It kind of scares me to see how obvious you are these days about your feelings."

The pseudologist frowned. "Am I that obvious?"

"Yes." Fumio chuckled. "It's like you're being obvious on purpose."

"O-oh…" Minori deadpanned. "I see. Well, you're not taking no for an answer, are you?"

The scholar threw an innocent smile.

The man rolled his eyes. He wanted to counter against the scholar's suggestion, but he didn't. Instead, he sighed, forfeiting. "Okay, you win. Let's go."

Fumio nodded. The duo headed over to the dining hall.

They heard the voices of the two women. They were inside of the kitchen, the door fully opened for them to witness. Kaniza was busy chopping vegetables, Sagiso on the other hand was seasoning the ribs laid out on the silver platter.

The duo walked into the room.

Kaniza was the first to notice them, her eyes widening. She threw a wide, friendly smile. "Hey! Nice to see you two here! Are you that hungry or something already?"

Minori shook his head. He found himself looking to the side. "We just wanted to be here early, that's all."

"Really?" The astrophotographer giggled once she saw the two men nodding. She looked over to Sagiso, the woman silently working on the seasoning. "This two really are diligent, huh?"

"Mhm."

That was all Sagiso said. She didn't sneak a peek, instead finishing the seasoning. She moved the plate to the side, then opening a cabinet. She took out a pot and began to fill it with water. She never once looked back at Minori, nor at anyone else.

The pseudologist inwardly sighed to himself. _She's ignoring me. I wonder if it's because she's mad or afraid…_

Fumio frowned at the scene. He snuck a glance at Minori. It was obvious the scholar wanted him to speak.

 _What do you even want me to say to her? She'll just believe that I'm lying._

Minori sighed. He knew this was to be expected. He never expected anything more than what he was seeing now.

The woman was suspicious of him, and Minori didn't know how to sugarcoat that fact.

"Sagi?" Kaniza was worriedly eyeing the psychogeographer. She had turned to look at the woman, neglecting the half-cut vegetable she had on the wooden cutting board. "Hello?"

Sagiso turned off the faucet. She grabbed ahold of the pot, her hands gripped tightly around the edges. The water has been halfway filled up, and it was obviously heavy. It was obvious to tell from just seeing it. The auburn-haired woman was struggling to pick the pot from the sink, her legs shaky and her face contorted in unease.

She brought the pot to her chest, forcing herself to move towards the stove. She took one shaky step, and then another.

And then it happened.

Water splashed over the floor. A loud sound echoed throughout the room.

"Sagiso!"

Kaniza came rushing over to the woman. Sagiso was on the ground, her clothes wet. Her body was shaking, and her expression was pained.

"Are you okay?" The astrophotographer grabbed ahold of her friend's shoulders. "I told you to tell me if you need help! Geez… We need to get you changed. Can you stand?"

Sagiso nodded her head slowly. She tried to move herself up, but slipped. She fell back to her bosom.

Kaniza's eyes widened. "You are hurt! Did you twist your ankle?"

Sagiso nodded.

"Sagi…" Kaniza looked over at the sliced vegetables, then to the seasoned meat. She thought to herself, then looking back to Sagiso. She frowned. She was worried, obvious distress in her face. Her eyes whipped to Minori. "Can you help Sagiso to her room? Fumio, please help me cook dinner."

Fumio scribbled into his notepad, almost hurriedly. "Sure."

"Uh…"

Minori was unsure of what to do. He knew that Sagiso didn't want to be near him, but at the same time he was worried for the woman.

He eventually nodded, running forth to Sagiso.

"You can lash at me all you want later," he murmured, grabbing ahold of the woman. He threw the woman over his back. He looked over to Fumio and Kaniza. "I'll take her to the infirmary first."

Kaniza nodded, worry directed at the psychogeographer. "Okay."

Minori slowly walked Sagiso outside of the kitchen. He closed the door behind them, then continuing down the hallways. He moved to the infirmary and settled Sagiso down, placing her on the exam table.

The pseudologist sighed, wiping sweat from his forehead. He made his way over to the shelves, opening various ones till he found what he was looking for.

 _Let's see… I need to ice her bruise first, and then… I have to compress it…_

Minori opened and closed the shelves for a few seconds. He opened the farthest one to the side. There was a few ice packs and hot packs. The pseudologist grabbed ahold of an instant ice pack, then walking over to Sagiso.

"Here," he said, a bit awkwardly, "I'll tie it around the bruise."

Sagiso eyed him for a moment, watching him take ahold of a bandage roll and tying it around the ice pack. The ice pack was tied around her ankle securely.

"Thank you."

The pseudologist's eyes widened. The woman looked a bit flustered. "Uh, you're welcome…"

It was silent. Sagiso was eyeing her twisted ankle, Minori on the other hand eyeing the room. It was silent between the duo.

An awkward, awkward silence.

"So…" Minori couldn't help but break the silence. He hated it, after all. "If I had to assume, you tried to ignore me and ended up tripping?"

Sagiso averted her gaze. "... I guess you could say that. I didn't want to see you after I saw you with Monokuma."

The pseudologist bitterly smiled. "I see. I'm sorry. You think I'm suspicious now, don't you?"

"Of course I do." The auburn-haired woman pursed her lips. "How could I trust you after… after all of that? I just… I just don't know how to act around you now. I don't even know if you're genuine anymore."

Minori forced himself to look indifferent. His heart had dropped, but he knew it wasn't her fault. It was his.

Another moment passed.

"Are…" The pseudologist eyed Sagiso. "Are you cold? Do you need a towel or jacket?"

The woman shook her head, however after a moment she sighed. She nodded instead. "Maybe. It could help… I'll change clothes after numbing my bruise."

"Mhm." Minori looked around the room, trying to find a few towels laying about. He walked over to open the cabinets and shelves, but there was nothing to be found. He sighed. Though embarrassed, he unbuttoned his jacket, then throwing it over the woman's back. "You could use this for a while. I have more in my room anyways."

Sagiso's eyes widened. Her cheeks blushed red. She eyed Minori, noticing that he was now wearing only a white shirt. "A-are you sure? You could take me to my place so I could change if there's nothing here."

Minori shook his head. "Take all the time you need to numb your bruise. It'll hurt later if you don't take care of it properly."

The woman eyed him suspiciously.

Minori frowned. "I'm not planning anything. Please, believe me. I would never murder you. Besides, even if I was planning to murder someone, I would do it much more discreetly."

Sagiso continued to eye him intensely, but loosened her composure. She adjusted the coat over her back. "... Okay then."

A few more minutes passed by in silence.

"You think we'll be late to dinner?"

Minori smiled awkwardly. "Maybe. Don't worry about it though. Kaniza and Fumio will tell the others."

Sagiso nodded to herself, however her expression was that of dislike. "... We should hurry up soon though."

"I know." The pseudologist sighed. "Is your bruise numb yet? Do you think you can change now?"

The woman frowned. She tugged at the coat. "I… I think I could go change now."

"Alright." Minori moved over to the woman, his back in front of her face. "Here."

Sagiso eyed the sight for a moment. Her cheeks were a pink color. She hesitated. A few seconds passed before she quickly shook her head. She moved over to the man's back, Minori easily picking her up.

Minori headed outside of the infirmary, bringing Sagiso down the hallways. He was walking down when he saw Kakuma, the wedding planner eyeing him strangely.

"Uh…"

The pseudologist frowned. "She injured herself."

"Ah, I see." Kakuma raised a brow. He was obviously baffled by the sight, but shrugged and continued forth to the dining hall.

Minori sighed, shaking his head. He walked over to Sagiso's door, then kneeling down to let the woman unlock it.

A click. The door was unlocked, and it opened.

Minori brought the woman into her room. He placed her down to her bed, then eyeing her. "You'll be fine, right? I'll… I guess I'll wait outside. Is that fine?"

Sagiso nodded. "It's fine. Can you get me my clothes though? It's in the closet."

"Mhm. Alright." Minori walked over to the closet and opened it. He grabbed the woman's clothes, then handing it to her. "I'll wait outside now. Call me if you're done, Sagiso."

Sagiso silently acknowledged the man's words. Minori walked over back outside, then closing the door behind him. He didn't closed it fully though. He knew that the woman cannot walk, and so he figured that she'd try calling out to him instead.

The door was only a centimeter away from closing though.

Minori was leaning against the wall, tapping his foot. He looked down to his scarf, then frowning.

 _Wearing a scarf and shirt together seriously does not go well._

The pseudologist sighed. He would have to grab his coat later.

Minutes passed.

Minutes continued to pass.

"Uh, Minori?"

Minori snapped back into reality. He cleared his throat, speaking loudly enough for Sagiso to hear. "Are you done?"

"Yeah… I am."

The pseudologist creaked the door opened. There, he saw Sagiso sitting on the bed, having changed her clothes. Her ruined clothing was in the hamper, then Minori's coat to the side.

 _I'm glad she was able to change._

Minori grabbed ahold of his coat, throwing it on. He looked over to the woman's ankle. "Is your bruise still numb?"

Sagiso hummed. "It is. We should head over to Kaniza and the others now. We're late."

"Really?" Minori reached into his pocket, taking out his MonoPad. It was about ten minutes after the supposed meeting time. "Ah, shit."

Sagiso awkwardly nodded.

Minori cautiously threw the woman over his back, taking her towards the dining hall. He opened the door, and, as he expected, everyone was staring at them.

"Well, this is awkward," Sagiso murmured.

Minori couldn't help but agree.

"Uh…" Ryoichi awkwardly smiled at the duo. He could tell that the duo were embarrassed. "There weren't crutches at the infirmary?"

Minori frowned. "No… There wasn't. I don't think so."

"Sorry we were late," Sagiso said, sincerely apologetic. "We won't make the same mistake next time."

"Don't worry about it!" Kaniza smiled at the psychogeographer. "Injuries happen, and we can't blame you for it. I'm just glad Minnie helped you out!"

"Cute," Rin muttered in the background.

Minori and Sagiso synchronically blushed.

"Anyways, don't worry about that." Kaniza chuckled. "Let's sit down and eat."

Minori nodded, walking over next to Fumio. He carefully sat Sagiso down next to the scholar, and soon he began to eat his food.

Despite being injured and having to endure being seen in such an embarrassing manner, Sagiso took the initiative to ask the others about their testimonies.

It was the same as always. Despite the injury and such, everyone didn't seem to mind. They were all listening and doing as Sagiso told them. Kamui's group had hung out together as well as Ryoichi's. Fumio and Kakuma were spending their time inside of their rooms for, well, most of the time. Sagiso and Minori were the ones who walked around the school for most of the day.

It was the same routine, over and over again.

After discussing, they were chatting. During their chatting, they were eating.

This was routine.

Hours passed. Dinner was now finished, and the nighttime announcement had came around the time everyone began leaving.

Ryoichi had mentioned excitably to the group that the plan would be enacted tomorrow. Seiga had left to sleep as well as most of the others. Kaniza had stayed behind to clean the dishes, having also to beg Sagiso to not do any work. It took time, but eventually the auburn-haired woman gave up. Sagiso instead opted to wait at the table for her.

Minori sighed. He wondered whether he should wait alongside the psychogeographer, but decided against it. He knew that the woman was still suspicious of him, and it was obvious she was uncomfortable around him.

 _I should take a break. I'm supposed to meet Kakuma around midnight anyways._

The pseudologist went out of the door, going back into his room. He brushed his teeth and unwrapped the scarf around his neck, tossing it to the side. He then unbuttoned his coat before falling to his bed, arms spread out.

 _So soft. I feel like I'm in paradise now._

Minori stared up at the ceiling. His mind was now at a blank.

He wanted nothing more than to sleep, and so he allowed himself to drift off.

The light that he was staring at eventually faded into darkness, and he heard nothing.

Hours passed.

A few hours had passed since then, and Minori slowly found himself back into reality. He had taken a rest, his mind clear and his body energized.

Minori grabbed ahold of his MonoPad, slowly opening it and bringing it to his face.

It was about a few minutes before midnight.

 _Perfect timing._

Minori chuckled to himself. He sat up from his bed, first buttoning back his coat together. He then grabbed ahold of his scarf and wrapped it around his neck. He walked to the door and opened it.

It was dead silent.

No one was to be seen.

Minori slowly closed the door behind him. Although he was sure that nobody was around the area, he wanted to be cautious. He took a slow step forward. A quiet, quiet pace.

He made his way sneakily down the hallway, then moving up the stairs. He waited. It was silent. He looked to the left and right. He couldn't hear anything.

He continued, walking through the second floor and tiptoeing slowly. He was cautious, and sneaky.

He had walked up the stairs to reach the third floor, only to frown at a strange sight. He was just about one step away from actually touching the third floor.

The door to the music room was opened.

One could say that the door was opened because of Kakuma, but that wasn't the case. Minori knew that Kakuma was a cautious person. He knew that despite the late hour, Kakuma would be cautious. He was not one to halfheartedly plan, and to leave a door open meant death in his eyes. Kakuma did not want to spotted, after all, he was a supposed 'traitor'.

Minori frowned. He didn't know why, but his heart was beginning to race.

He shivered as he took that step up the third floor. A sudden tug. It was as if he had entered into a dark abyss- a dark abyss in which he could never escape from.

Minori walked slowly towards the music room.

That was his grave mistake-

-because, there, inside in the middle of the room, was Kakuma's body.

Minori froze in place. He suddenly found himself unable to breathe. His eyes were completely captivated upon the sight of Kakuma's dead, lifeless body.

His dead, poor body.

A poor body which had been messed with as if it meant nothing of value.

His face was contorted in that of shock and fear- his bloodshot eyes explaining everything there is to know about murder, his nose wrinkled in disgust, and his lips curved to that of a desperate cry. His hands were gripping tightly at his neck, Minori noticing that something was tied around it. Someone had choked Kakuma, and he had tried to fight the perpetrator off. His fingers which were gripping tightly over the noose and his legs which were angled and slightly apart- his life had been forced away from him. Not only that, but his clothes were somewhat torn. He had fought until he could no longer breathe.

Kakuma Arakaki was dead. The Ultimate Wedding Planner was dead.

Minori's ears began to buzz. A horrible, horrible ringing sound rang through his ears. His hands were over his mouth. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't even scream. He was left staring wide-eyed at the wedding planner, shocked and unable to move.

 _Why? Why is Kakuma dead?_

Minori's entire body was pale. He was as pale as a sheet.

 _No one was supposed to know that he was in here… Was someone stalking him? Why? Why is he dead? Why-_

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Minori froze. His thoughts came to a sudden halt, and were instead replaced with a flood of new ones.

 _A scream? Why? It sounded close… T-the stargazing room?_

Minori looked down the hallways. He bit into his lips. His heart was beating fast, his mind racing.

 _Shit, what the hell's happening!_

The pseudologist forced himself out of his trance, bolting down to the direction of the scream. He threw himself against the door, slamming it opened.

"Are you okay-"

Minori almost stumbled back, a involuntary gasp having left his breath.

His heart immediately dropped. His stomach felt empty. Everything that Minori wanted to feel at this very moment- it was gone.

It was gone, and all that Minori felt instead was disgusted confusion.

 _W-what the hell is this?_

In front of the pseudologist was tragedy. A horrendous tragedy that could only emit disgust from the man.

It was horrible, just horrible.

A beautiful couple whose romance ended abruptly in tragedy.

Sobs were escaping the room.

Messy, disgusting sobs escaped the room.

Minori was in horror.

There, in front of his very eyes, was Kaniza Tsukitaiyo, sobbing and in a blubbering mess. She was shaking and stuttering, obviously wanting to speak but lacking the will to do so. She was hyperventilating, her breaths short and shallow. She was repeating her stutters in a mantra, her sobs that of a baby's.

She was repeating over and over what she said in a mantra. It was a mantra of sobs and stutters.

A tragic, eerie mantra.

"I-I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

She continued to rock back and forth, but her actions were limited. She was tied down to a red beanie chair, chained and unable to move.

Disgusting. It was absolutely disgusting.

It was even more disgusting when the pseudologist realized that the woman had been stripped down to her bra and underwear.

It was humiliating, and it was downright disgusting.

"Nezzy… O-oh my god…"

Minori jumped at those words.

He couldn't.

He couldn't even begin to describe Nezumi. He couldn't even begin to look at him, to even think about him.

He couldn't even describe the man inside of the room without grieving. His entire body was ridden in guilt and disgust.

Yes, that was right. Nezumi Jirokichi was dead.

The thief was besides the woman, having a red beanie chair to his own. He had been stripped and tied down as well, however the only difference being that Nezumi was not breathing. He was dead, his eyes shut closed and his head sinking into the cushion. His arms and legs were stiff, the limbs having been tied together and knotted tightly. His lips were bleeding, a cut right through his middle lower lip.

Was it a kiss of death? Was it a kiss before death?

Minori didn't know, but it made him shudder.

There was blood that could be seen everywhere. There was small puddles of blood everywhere on the floor.

Not only blood, but a mess. There were wrappers, clothes, and rubble on the ground. They were scattered about and in a mess.

Crumbs were tainted in blood. Wrappers were everywhere in the middle of the room. Their clothes had been thrown aside, and what was worse was that there were pieces of broken instrument lying in the middle of the room.

A violin. There was a smashed violin in the middle of the room.

Horrible. It was just horrible.

It was almost like a horrible horror flick.

No, it was completely like a horrible flick that relied heavily on blood and violence.

But, instead, this time, it was real.

It was real, and Minori knew it.

Not only was Kakuma dead, but now Nezumi was as well.

Static.

His ears were ringing.

 _Shit…_

Minori bit harshly into his lips. He could hear Kaniza sobbing, and he could then hear the faint sounds of footsteps.

 _What the hell is this? Why…?_

Voices. There were voices from behind him, and there were people running into the room.

 _Why the hell did this happened?_

What made everything worse was that there was a night sky. A bright, bright night sky where the stars were glowing beautifully. Beautiful hues of blue and blacks that were blending in with a shade of purple. They all perfectly blended and mixed together to create a mystical night sky. The stars were glowing brightly, scattered about.

A magical, magical night sky.

It was supposed to be a romantic night, but instead that starry night sky had mocked them.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - Part 1 END**

 **Dead Man Walking**

 **Survivors: 10**

* * *

 **Would you like to save?**

 **[YES] | NO**

* * *

... And here was the end of the chapter! I actually took a while to come with how I want the deaths to play out, nonetheless the case, but in end the investigation and trial will be complicated regardless...

Anyways, I'll leave you all off with this chapter for a while. I will be focusing on Act of Despair's case first, so after that I will turn to this one. To estimate it, I would say that AoD's case will take me around a month and a half. I am not going to overestimate myself and say that it will take weeks. I do have other things to attend to such as a formal gathering I have to attend this week, my summer work, and many more. I still need to learn how to drive as well, oops.

So, anyways, hope you guys will be patient and uh... well, remember this chapter for a while. I really was unsure of whether I should throw out this chapter now and then to AoD's case or not, but well, here we are! Haha, I just hope you won't be impatient when we actually get to this story's case! See you next time!


	28. Chapter 3 - Part 2, Part A

Here we are, finally, at Disparity's third investigation! Sorry it took a while to get this out, but I was focusing on my other story's case for a bit~ I don't want my brain to switch from AoD's case to this one, after all. Well, at least this is here! I was only to finish this today because I was listening to some Ace Attorney and Danganronpa music. I'm surprised that playing music works in my favor haha. Now, let's go! Let's play some investigation music and get this whole thing started!

 **Ziggymia123:** "Yes, everyone is particularly sad about Kakuma's! The poor boy didn't even get to make any friends, so that really strikes people as saddening. Ah, too many questions. Hopefully they'll be answered at this chapter... or the trial, or never if I'm stupid. Haha, yes, real life does tend to mess with us a lot. Good luck with your story as well!"

 **ToonGuy:** "A very, very bad idea XD Nice to see you speculating on who the mastermind is~ Very, very interesting thoughts. Interesting to see you speculating who the mastermind is~ Glad you liked Kakuma, and aaah he's dead. Now I feel bad. We shall form the Kaniza Protection Squad! Gosh, I really am breaking hearts here. Makes me feel bad..."

 **PoisonBanana:** "At least you're not eternally screaming about it... Right? The sick bastard must pay for their crime! Ah, the curse of Chapter 3... Makes me scared I'll mess this up big time DX"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Jesus, I forgot everyone was screaming in Discord XD Thanks for reminding me of how I mindfucked you all. Death flags are everywhere! Hopefully, this case will be solved and we'll all live happily ever after... Or not. Aww, thanks!"

 **Agrael:** "I'm glad you like the bizarre murders here~ Well, hopefully this case will excite you. Gosh, everyone seems to ship Minori and Sagiso here. XD Let's see what happens with those two though."

 **liammarklh88:** "Pfft, well it is Chapter 3, but then again we do have the luxury of extending how many dies or keeping it to the usual one victim, one killer. Poor Kakuma just wanted a friend. Haha, yes, of course the morale of the group is dwindling. We can't have fun without some good ol' drama. Sagiso and Minori are more alike than people would think~ Seiga seems to be our antagonistic character now, I see. Nice thoughts on the characters so far! We need some good ol' gender balance here! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter~"

 **KISL:** "Gosh, I'm just happy people seem to like it. I would've expected people to go crazy over this XD Yeah, poor Kakuma. He never even made a friend at the end. Well, hopefully I'll be able to make the trial interesting. Ah, yes, of course. Hopefully I'll be able to showcase this relationship/problem in a well-meaning manner. Hopefully everything will come into a clear picture when this is all solved in the trial. Interesting thoughts! I do wonder if any of those are true or not. Aw, and thanks! I'm glad I was able to build up to this part. Good luck with your story as well!"

 **VioEli:** "Yes, you are one of my besties. Everyone needs some suffering! Everyone either seemed to think Kakuma was either living longer because of that, or to die because of that. Of course, the investigation is where everyone is supposed to speculate and all that. Right, the bomb is something to take note of. Of course, we need some drama in the trial as well. Hopefully I can manage to make the trial interesting. Byes~"

 **KiibouMon:** "Pfft, alright. Kaniza is definitely traumatized from this. Interesting thoughts! Well, let's see if you're right. Haha, okay~"

 **zephryr:** "Yay, I always love trivia from you. Kakuma's name meaning is certainly obvious~ Ooh, and that tidbit about Nezumi's was interesting! I never knew about that, so props to our Weg for taking the time to research on thieves and all. Aaah, so many thoughts, well, let's see~ Interesting information. Well, I really can't say much about them without denying or admitting it, so let's just see if you're right in either the investigation or during the trial! Well, hope you enjoy this chapter~"

 **Shyjoker:** "Pfft, seriously?! XD Oh my~"

* * *

Somehow, almost as if in a flash, he had recalled something. A few words. It was a few words which should've meant nothing, but yet it meant everything.

" _You can't do anything, can you?"_

Why did Minori remember this? Why was he remembering this?

It was because of the scene in front of him. It was because of the disgusting reality in front of him, mocking him to his very core.

"Nezzy's dead… He's dead…"

Kaniza was sobbing. Her entire face was riddled with tears and snot. She couldn't breathe. Her eyes were red, her body was slouched. She was completely and utterly broken.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Minori heard Seiga screaming from the distance.

"K-Kakuma's dead!"

Rin had her hands over her mouth. Her face was as pale as a ghost.

"What's happening?!"

"K-Kakuma…"

Saori looked shaken by this, but suddenly her head whipped over to Minori. She stared at the man in bewilderment, but froze. Her eyes widened upon seeing his petrified face. She instantly knew what happened.

"T-there's been another murder!"

"What?!"

Kamui was the first to run, charging straight inside the room. His entire expression was pale in horror upon the sight, his body shuddering. He couldn't even begin to look at Minori nor Kaniza properly, eyes fixated on Nezumi. "W-what is this…?"

"Move!"

Minori was unable to do anything as he felt Seiga shoving him aside. The pseudologist let off a short grunt as Seiga stood in front of him.

The stunt double stopped in place.

"You're kidding, right…?"

Seiga's face was contorted, twisted. His lips were curved to a smile, but it was forced and pained. The wrinkles on his face told Minori everything.

"What the fuck? Just what the fuck, man?"

Minori averted his gaze. He felt a breeze passing through him.

"Kaniza!"

Minori looked ahead of his sight.

There, he found Saori who rushed over to Kaniza's side, untying the woman's knots. The astrophotographer fell instantly with a thud.

"Nezzy… Nezzy…"

The body broker frowned. She was shaking her repeatedly, desperately whispering sweet comforts into her ears. Sweet, sweet nothings. It went into her ear and out another- Kaniza was not listening. She was continuing to speak in a mantra and her tears never ending. Something had broke inside of the poor woman.

"Minori!" Seiga roughly grabbed ahold of the pseudologist's shoulders. His entire face was white. "What the fuck happened?! Kakuma… And then fucking Nezumi?!"

"I-I don't know…" Minori gritted into his teeth. "They're… I don't know…"

"This is horrible." Sheina was shaking her head, gloomy. "This is just too cruel. Please may their souls rest in the afterlife, Father…"

"O-oh my god…" Ryoichi was a mess, snot and tears covering his face. The man almost vomited in addition to that. "Why? How…?"

Fumio went pale. His entire body was shaking. Even if he wasn't speaking, it was obvious he was horrified at the sight. He almost went as pale as a ghost, trembling.

"I can't believe it. No, it's not possible." Kamui gritted into his teeth. His expression was overwritten with self-hatred and guilt. "Not only is Kakuma dead, but we let Nezumi die too… and Kaniza's…"

"Please, calm down, Kaniza." Saori continued to shake the woman, desperation in her face. The usual subtlety had disappeared from her entire body. It was obvious that she was worried for the raven. "You'll be fine, Kaniza. You'll be fine."

Rin looked disgusted, eyes widening as she noticed Nezumi and Kaniza's state of beings. "Horrible…"

Minori held his breath. He didn't notice that Seiga had released his grip, the man instead focused on the horror running through his mind. Kakuma's look of desperation, and Nezumi's beaten state- it was horrible. Just horrendous.

 _I knew something like this would happen considering the motive, but… damn, I wanted to be proven wrong…_

The pseudologist clenched into his fists. He closed his eyes, lips quivering.

 _Just what the hell does Monokuma get from doing this shit? Is this really entertainment to his eyes?_

Minori's eyes widened. He quickly looked around the room. Worry overwhelmed his entire face. "Hey, where's Sagiso? Did anyone see her?"

"Sagiso?" Kamui frowned. He thought for a moment, then suddenly his mouth hung agape. "We left her at the dormitories!"

Ryoichi gasped. "I-I forgot she injured herself! We should get her-"

"No need to do that!"

Before anyone had the chance to respond or react, Monokuma had appeared out of thin air. He saluted the group of Ultimates, standing right in the middle of the room.

"Monokuma." Seiga cracked his knuckles. His eyes were glowing with fury, his voice growly. "You fucking asshole!"

Kamui glared at the headmaster. "Please get out of here. Now."

"Wow, rude." The bear frowned. "I'm here to tell you all about shit, and this is what you guys do to me? You treat me like shit! I call child abuse!"

"Like you're innocent?" Rin crossed her arms. She was furious at the bear, but she managed to keep a calm demeanor over herself. "What do you want?"

Saori pursed her lips, meanwhile rubbing Kaniza's back. "Please do make it blunt and clear. I find it a bit difficult to compose myself near your presence."

Monokuma's mouth hung agape. He looked slowly at the Ultimates, head turning around and around. Everyone was glaring at him, disgusted and beyond patient. They were pissed. "Seriously, everyone?"

"If you're going to taunt us, don't." Minori crossed his arms. "Taunting us for Nezumi and Kakuma's deaths will get you nowhere. Now, where's Sagiso?"

"Shit dude, you're becoming more and more pissy." Monokuma sighed. He was scratching his head, humming. "Well, whatever. Anyways, let's get that part out of the way first. I'm going to be escorting Sagiso over here in a second."

"Should we even trust him?" Ryoichi murmured to himself, worried.

Kaniza continued to sob in the background.

The mortician forced himself to still his gaze. He didn't want to amuse Monokuma with how unsteady his emotions were walking on the tightrope. "Alright, and what else do you want to tell us? Is that all you want to tell us?"

Monokuma clapped his hands together, a cackle escaping his mouth. "Puhuhuhu! Other than your care for Sagi girl, I really want to make shit a bit more exciting."

Worry escaped the room. Whatever Monokuma says didn't ring well to the Ultimates, and it never will.

"So, I never told you guys this before in the last trial, but you guys all seemed to get different truth bullets, am I wrong?"

Everyone was silent. No one uttered a word.

"I suppose that's a yes." Monokuma smiled. "Yeah, most of you guys were lacking in truth bullets, but I was nice enough in the last trial to help give you all the actual truth bullets during the trial. Some of you guys may have even gotten red herrings or extra bullets. Well… I'm not gonna do that in this one, but I'll make it even better."

Minori's heart jumped. _What does he mean by that?_

Monokuma began to spin around excitedly. He was acting like a small child. A small, energetic child. "My bastards! You will all have to pay extra close attention to the case now! Work much more harder for me!"

A giggle escaped his mouth. He continued to spin. "You guys can't depend on one another so easily now! The truth bullets aren't gonna be handed to you little lazy fucks anymore like bread on a platter! Now, you guys will have to look for your own truth bullets instead. I won't help you guys out this time. It's either you get it in the investigation or not."

Kamui frowned. "I see. I suppose this means that whatever we have is what we're going to have. You won't provide us with anything else. We have to depend on others to find everything instead as a group."

Monokuma groaned, rolling his eyes back. "No, you buffoon! Sure, you could all work together in the trial to fit the pieces of evidence together, but… What's more is that you guys will not know who's right and who's wrong! You guys will just duke it out and be unable to use your evidence to this whole case's advantage!"

Sheina raised an eyebrow, taken aback. "T-that doesn't make sense…"

Fumio hesitantly scribbled on his notepad. "It's either we support each other and share our information in the case, or keep it to ourselves. I'm guessing the killer may have their own evidence that could easily lead to people pointing fingers at them, but it's a truth bullet that can only be known and obtained from them?"

"That…" Kamui cupped his chin, pondering. He pursed his lips. "That does make sense. Not everyone's the same here… Not everyone will just help us figure out who the killer is."

"This truly is a game to you." Saori was bemused, eyes glaring at the bear. The woman was still rubbing Kaniza's back. "You want to mess with this trial and investigation's system now?"

"I guess?" Monokuma shrugged. He didn't care much at all. "Well, if you guys look like you know what's gonna happen, that's fine with me! I'm gonna fetch Sagiso now, so just sit tight and play 'who's the next victim'! Or 'who's the murderer'... I don't give a shit. Bye!"

Monokuma disappeared within seconds.

Seiga released a deep breath, anger in his eyes. "What a bitch."

Minori frowned. It was disgusting how Monokuma was messing with them. He hated how the bear was in power- they can't do anything. They were helpless. They were mere lab rats to the headmaster's eyes.

The pseudologist slowly glanced over to the astrophotographer. She never once smiled or spoke normally since he found her. She was utterly broken, eyes dull and expression full of despair. "Kaniza…"

"It'll be alright, Kaniza. You'll be fine."

Saori's words never once reached her.

"This is just horrible," Ryoichi said, eyeing Nezumi's corpse. His face was turning a sickly color. "I-I feel like throwing up…"

Rin's eyes widened. A realization ran through her head. "Oh. Right." She turned to the group. "We should give Kaniza clothes. She's…" The jeweler blushed, averting her gaze. "... naked."

"R-right." Kamui's cheeks blushed a faint pink. He looked around the room before eyeing the bundle of clothes to the side. "Uh, should I…?"

Saori shook her head. "Don't taint the crime scene. I'll go with Kaniza to fetch her an extra pair of clothes. Can somebody lend her a jacket?"

"Yeah, I gotcha." Seiga threw the woman a thumbs-up, already unzipping his pink jacket. He took it off. He then walked over to Kaniza and handed Saori the jacket. The man watched as the body broker wrapped it around the raven, then slowly bringing her to her feet.

Saori slowly moved the woman to the entrance. She looked back. "I'll go help Kaniza. We'll be back soon."

Ryoichi smiled sadly. "Take your time, Ms. Arai."

Everyone worriedly watched the duo who left the room, silent.

"This is truly heartbreaking," Sheina said, displeased with what she's witnessing. "Reality truly is cruel…"

"Hey bitches, I'm back!"

"Monokuma…"

Minori looked at Monokuma who was now at the door, Sagiso to be seen with crutches. The woman was pale, her eyes teary. She was shaking her head sadly as she walked into the room, Monokuma following behind her.

"I saw Kaniza and Saori out," the woman began, her tone saddened, "Kakuma and Nezumi are dead…"

"Yeah."

No one else knew what to say.

"Well, I got Sagiso up here perfectly healthy- except for her injury though, oops." Monokuma meekly chuckled, feigning embarrassment. "Sagiso's here now, so I guess you guys can go to your investigation already! Hop to it! I'm excited!"

Everyone didn't bother to speak as Monokuma ran away, Sagiso still silent in dread.

"I guess…" Kamui held his breath. "I guess we need to investigate now, correct?"

"I'm worried about Kaniza," Seiga admitted, scratching his head. He was tugging at his shirt, sweating with stress. "The poor girl suffered through this bullshit. Who the hell would kill Nezumi? Why did he die? And why did Kakuma die? This doesn't make any fucking sense."

"I don't… I don't even know." Ryoichi averted his gaze, melancholy. "Let's… Let's just figure out who killed Mr. Arakaki and Mr. Jirokichi."

Minori couldn't agree more.

* * *

 **INVESTIGATION TIME!**

The pseudologist took a moment to stare at the stargazing room, eyeing the crime scene. From Nezumi's dead body, the messiness of the room- everything seemed to appear in a blur. He just couldn't believe it.

 _Kakuma… Nezumi…_

Minori bit into his lips. He could hear murmurs about. Kamui had walked over to eye Nezumi's dead body. A few people had left to the music room.

 _Who should I look at first?_ Minori's stomach was churning. _Those two deaths might be unrelated to each other… I don't know._

The man sighed.

 _Why am I thinking about it like this? Kakuma and Nezumi were my friends… If anything, I should be grieving and insulting Monokuma right now._

Then again, he didn't know for sure. He didn't know if there were two killers or one. He didn't know if Nezumi's case was easier to solve than Kakuma's.

Honestly, he just had to see it for himself.

 _Alright, since I'm here… I should take a look at Nezumi's case first._

Minori grabbed ahold of his MonoPad, turning it on. He went straight into the Truth Bullets section, finding himself eyeing two different case files. A frown escaped his lips as he thought for a moment.

 _Hm… I'll check Nezumi's first, then Kakuma's later._

Minori tapped onto the first truth bullet. He was now eyeing Nezumi's file, reading it slowly, word for word.

* * *

 **Case File #004 (Nezumi's)**

 **Summary: Nezumi had died inside of the stargazing room from trauma, the back of his head having been smashed in with a violin.**

* * *

Minori found himself stunned. He took another look at the case file, and then another. No, what was on the screen was real. It was real, and there was nothing hidden behind it. No hidden meaning, no special mechanic, nothing- it looked exactly as how he read it.

 _This must be wrong. I cannot believe that this is real._

The pseudologist perked his head up. He looked around the room, scanning each person slowly for their facial expressions.

"Hm?"

Minori looked to the side, eyeing Fumio who had tugged on his sleeve. The scholar had his notepad out in the open, the pseudologist reading it carefully. "Have you seen the Case Files? Your reaction tells me so…"

The pseudologist sighed, crossing his arms. "I read Nezumi's. There was no time of death. The summary behind his death is lacking. It's worrying."

"I agree." Fumio nodded. "It is not only Nezumi's case file though, but Kakuma's as well."

Minori's eyes instantly widened. He was in utter disbelief.

"Wait." The pseudologist held his breath. "So, Monokuma is hiding their time of deaths from us. It is intentional?"

Fumio averted his gaze, eyes to the ground. "I believe so…"

"That can't possibly be the case…" Minori awkwardly smiled. It was a nervous smile that was quivering in fear. He slowly tapped onto Kakuma's case file, and to his utter horror- Fumio was right.

* * *

 **Case File #003 (Kakuma's)**

 **Summary: Kakuma had died inside of the music room by being choked to death. There are non-vital bruises over his body.**

* * *

 _What the fuck? Is that really it? That can't be possible…_

Again did the pseudologist tried to make sense of this situation, and yet again it was proven that he was in reality.

What he read was what he saw.

"That's unfair." Minori shook his head, face slightly flushed from its healthy color. Cold sweat was trickling down his head. Involuntarily, his hands gripped at his scarf, his MonoPad loosely hanging in his grip. "He expects us to figure out who died first too…"

Fumio slowly scribbled into his notepad. "It would make sense considering the burden he placed over us this time, nonetheless his need for entertainment."

Minori frowned. He slowly composed himself, crossing his arms and eyeing the crime scene. He saw Kamui who was observing the body, taking mental notes in his head. Sagiso still seemed saddened by this entire situation, and nobody could blame her. Ryoichi as well as inside of the room, unsure of what to do. Everyone else were either outside to eye Kakuma's body, or relieve themselves of the sight.

The pseudologist inwardly sighed to himself. He had to keep himself together. Even if Monokuma was trying to mess with not only them, but with the evidence now purposefully- he still had to compose himself.

He wanted to make Nezumi and Kakuma's souls rest peacefully in heaven. He did not want them to moan for vengeance. He did not want to leave this case unsolved.

And Kaniza. Minori felt sympathy for the woman. Her own loved had died, and she was in the crossfire of this whole situation.

It was heartbreaking.

This wasn't about getting people to depend on him for help any longer- Minori knew that. This was about bringing the dead to peace, and bringing an end to Monokuma.

Even if Minori was selfish, it doesn't matter. He can be selfish in a good way. There was nothing wrong in wanting to help people.

"Fumio," Minori began, turning to the scholar, "What do you think about the investigation? Monokuma's handling this case differently."

The scholar's eyes widened. It was in an instant did the man realize what the pseudologist meant by his words. He nodded his head. "You want to work independently then?"

"I think that's the better option," he admitted. "If we will each have our own truth bullets that are solely our's and are based on what we infer from people around us, then I think we should work alone. We'll be able to gather more information this way."

Fumio fiddled with his fingers. "... So you trust me to help you?"

Minori smiled. "Yes, of course I do. You're a trustworthy friend, Fumio. You were the one who saved us all last trial, remember?"

The scholar hid his face. A subtle smile escaped his lips, but he quickly hid it as he brought his notepad over. "Thank you," the words read, "I'll try my best."

Minori chuckled, watching the scholar who began to leave to his business. The pseudologist couldn't help but sigh afterwards.

 _Well… thanks to Fumio, I now learned that I need to take care of who dies first more stubbornly. Monokuma is definitely planning something with the lack of detail here in the files._

Minori observed the stargazing room, now wondering where to start. His eyes slowly travelled to Nezumi's body.

His poor, poor naked body.

The Ultimate's cheeks blushed a little at the sight, but guilt soon overwhelmed him. To see Nezumi dead was such a nightmare.

 _First thing first is to check his body._

Minori, despite blushing at the sight of Nezumi's body, slowly headed over to the man. He went close to where Kamui was, instantly gaining the mortician's attention.

"Oh, hello Minori." Kamui gave a friendly smile at the man, though it shattered the moment he looked back at Nezumi. "This is horrible…"

"Yeah, it is."

It was only a few words, but it weighed heavily down on the atmosphere. A moment passed. Minori sighed, now taking a more careful look at the thief.

 _First of all, let's check the injury that caused his death…_

The pseudologist held his breath as he began looking for Nezumi's injury. His eyes scanned over to the red beanie chair, Minori then frowning as he noticed the darker splotches of red behind the thief's head.

It was obvious that the killer wanted to mock the man.

Minori hesitated, but after a moment of contemplation gently grabbed ahold of Nezumi's side and pushed his body lightly over. There, the pseudologist could now see the trauma that caused his death.

 _Oh god…_

Nezumi's locks of dark blue hair were tainted in an ugly shade of red. Crimson mixed in with blue to create a dark, nasty color- it was painted well into the open wound that made Minori gag. That wound which was opened slightly in a mixture of purples, reds, and blues- it was a wound that contained traces of tissue, dead hair locks, and pieces of sharp wood. Dust had covered up the wound as well, a tint of gray to be seen.

The pseudologist stared blankly at the wound for a moment, but quickly whipped back to reality a moment later. He gently moved Nezumi to his original position, making sure the thief's body wouldn't be scraped against the ropes around the man.

 _The ropes…_

Minori found himself now curious about the ropes.

To be frank, the ropes around Nezumi's- nonetheless Kaniza's- bodies were not at all regular ropes. In fact, the ones that had tied the duo to their chairs were different, not something you would find being used to tie somebody up.

Minori stroked his fingers against the rope. _These are… cowhairs? And strings?_

The pseudologist's eyes widened. He was right. Taking another look at the ropes, he figured out that the ropes were merely a numerous amount of cowhairs being tied around the chairs, reinforced with strings that Minori recognized were from a violin. They were certainly tied tightly together. It was almost impossible for Minori to break through.

 _These came from the music room… Hairs from a bow and strings from the violin…_

* * *

 **Cowhairs (UNDONE)**

 **Summary: Cowhairs acted as and a means of restriction. They were used to tie Nezumi and Kaniza alongside the violin strings to the beanie chairs.**

* * *

Minori's eyes perked up at the truth bullet.

 _Ah… So Monokuma's nice enough to allow me the luxury of knowing that this specific piece of evidence could be elaborated on._

The pseudologist would smile at that, but he didn't. Instead, he continued to eye the thief, focused solely on his case.

 _I only checked over the ropes and his head… hm, is there anything else to look over?_

Minori frowned. His eyes slowly observed Nezumi from top to bottom. He found himself staring at the thief's face.

Instantly did the pseudologist curse to himself.

 _Damn. He looks so scared… He's scared, yet… I feel like there's some fire in those cold dead eyes._

Those brown eyes of the thief were dead and lifeless, yet from a single look alone could Minori read everything about his last moments. Despite the fear in those eyes, there was a small hint of fierceness in his eyes. The man had most likely tried to retaliate before taking his last breath.

Minori bit into his lips.

Tragic. It was truly tragic.

 _Now that I think about it… To face death is a nightmare, and the looks on the poor victims' faces are a telltale sign of that. I couldn't see that fear in Fiona because of… how she died, but…_

The pseudologist let out a shaky breath of air.

 _It was obvious now, in front of my face._

Minori's head spun through Haruko and Asami. It spun over to Amyto, and then now to Kakuma and Nezumi. It gripped at his heart tightly.

The pseudologist quickly shook his head, gently closing Nezumi's eyes. He wanted to let him rest as peacefully as possible, after all. It was courtesy to do such a thing.

 _Alright, let's continue observing him…_

Minori scanned Nezumi's face for a moment. Other than the horror that escaped the thief's eyes, the man directed his attention to the bleeding lips.

Nezumi's lower lip had been cut, right in the middle. It was a particularly deep cut, blood continuing to seep through and trickling down to his chin.

* * *

 **Nezumi's Lips**

 **Summary: Nezumi's lips have been slightly cut, blood having trickled from his lips.**

* * *

The Ultimate would conclude that the thief had bit himself before nearing death, however he had noticed something much more acute.

 _There's something yellow near his lips…?_

Minori raised a brow, questioning the crusts of yellow around and on the thief's lips.

Hesitation overrode his face.

… _Sorry, Nezumi._

Minori brought a careful hand over, fingers sliding gently against Nezumi's skin. There, he let the pieces of small crust attach to his finger. He pulled back, now eyeing the pieces closely. A moment passed with the man pondering. Another moment.

 _Oh, wait._ Minori's head rolled back to the music room, and soon he found the answer. _Is this resin? Why is it near his mouth? Isn't consuming resin poisonous?_

* * *

 **Resin (UNDONE)**

 **Summary: Resin is present on Nezumi's lips.**

* * *

Minori frowned, eyeing the MonoPad. He was baffled at what he read.

 _There's more to it? Doesn't that imply…_

The pseudologist's heart suddenly jumped, overwhelmed with worry. He could only hope that it wasn't true.

Minori cupped his chin, taking another look at the thief. He supposed that there wasn't anything else to look at from the thief's body. No pieces of evidence that he could see, that is.

 _Hm…_ The pseudologist turned around, finding Kamui. The mortician seemed to stay in place, possibly to watch over the corpse. The Ultimate instantly remembered something.

"Oh, right." Minori cleared his throat, gaining the man's attention. "Kamui, may I ask you about your alibi? I assumed that everyone were sleeping other than a select few, but… Well, you know…"

Kamui's eyes widened. "Ah, yes." A smile escaped his lips, the mortician having crossed his arms. "Then, would I have the honor of asking you afterwards, Minori?"

Minori smiled back. "Yes, of course."

The mortician chuckled, but frowned and now began to speak. "Honestly, I doubt that our alibis would prove worthwhile. I was asleep inside of my room until the body discovery announcement occurred, so to prove that I was sleeping is impossible. You could only trust me on this."

Minori nodded. "Yes, I know that. I know that most of us would be sleeping. I was only able to come across Kakuma and Nezumi's bodies because to check on the duo. They always implied to us that they were inside of the stargazing room."

"Well, yes." Kamui cupped his chin, now pondering. "That is true. Nezumi or Kaniza always told the other about their meeting in front of us…"

The pseudologist smiled awkwardly, scratching his head. "I know my alibi makes me sound suspicious."

"It does, but that doesn't mean I'll just pin you down as the culprit." Kamui pursed his lips. "There is a possibility that there are two killers."

"Hm… Maybe."

The mortician's face flushed as he quickly waved his hands around. "Ah, but please excuse me if I was being rude! I just believe that we cannot eliminate any possibility at this moment, so please understand."

Minori couldn't help but chuckle, amused. "Please don't worry about that. To think about anything is a needed skill for the trial. We're most likely going to have to base off things from our own conclusions, or so Monokuma implied…"

"Yes." Kamui frowned, eyes moving to his own MonoPad. "Hopefully, we could reach a conclusion peacefully over the truth bullets we individually gather."

The white-haired Ultimate nodded. "Hopefully, but I have no doubt that the killer will not feel the same way."

"Of course, that is understandable. The killer does not want to get caught, nonetheless…" Kamui shivered. "... executed."

Minori averted his gaze, silent.

If anything, the executions were much more worse than the actual killings done by the Ultimates themselves. Monokuma really pushed the limit of what goes in a 'killing game'.

The pseudologist quickly cleared his throat, regaining his composure and thoughts. "Well, nonetheless, thank you for taking the time to speak to me."

Kamui threw out another friendly smile. "Of course. The same can be said to you as well."

Minori smiled back, then turning away after a long second. His mind was now focused back to Nezumi's case. He decided to fixate his attention to the mess around the room- most specifically, the mess of not only broken violin and bows, but wrappers and crumbs.

 _Hm…_ The pseudologist walked over to the middle of the room, eyeing the smashed wood and wrappers. His focus was on the splatters of blood, mixed in well with the broken and torn violin. The bows were snapped in half, wrappers and crumbs peppering the wood. Minori grabbed ahold of the broken violin, observing it carefully.

The strings were missing from the violin, as expected. There were splinters everywhere to be seen, and Minori made extra sure that his fingers weren't about to become a victim to one.

Minori stopped. He noticed the part where Nezumi had been hit- there was a big block of blood right in the back of the instrument. The pseudologist couldn't help but grimace, quickly having put down the instrument. _Ugh. This was the weapon of choice, huh?_

His eyes looked down to the snapped bows. As expected, the cowhairs seemed to have been forcibly torn from their owner.

Minori then looked over to the wrappers and crumbs. Though it wasn't of anything to note as suspicious, he did notice that the snacks did came from the kitchen and were a variety of assortments- granola bars, chocolate bars, cereal bars, chips… Everything seemed to be found here.

* * *

 **Mess**

 **Summary: The stargazing room was a mess. The smashed violin and bows were to be seen, but not only that, but also an array of wrappers and crumbs.**

* * *

With that specific truth bullet settled, Minori's attention turned to the corner of the room. There he found the couple's clothing, and strangely, a numerous amount of music sheets.

Minori kneeled down. He grabbed one of the music sheets gently, bringing it to his face. The title of the sheet music was written in cursive, beautifully printed and inked in black.

 _Hm… 'Danse Macabre', huh? Camille Saint-Saens composed this piece…_

Minori couldn't help but register the piece in his head. He had heard this specific piece plenty of times from his mother.

A sweet, sweet tune that played at the beginning. To crescendo into such a dramatic tone had sent shivers down the man's spine. Even hearing one single instrument play the piece, even from an amateur like his mother, had sent chills down his spine.

The beauty of such a piece had entranced him. It was a sweet, tragic song of death.

 _It makes me wonder if the killer set this specific piece of music here on purpose… If it even was the killer._

Minori grabbed another piece of music. This time the title completely shocked him.

' _In the Mood for Love'. This is Shigeru Umebayashi's piece… My parents always watched the movie, especially because this song was in it. This song was truly a favorite of theirs…_

Minori couldn't help but wonder if the killer had chosen these pieces on purpose. Were they here to mock Nezumi and Kaniza's bittersweet love? Were they here merely because of the couple's love for music, or was it all coincidental?

He didn't know.

* * *

 **Music Sheets**

 **Summary: There were music sheets mixed in with Nezumi and Kaniza's clothing. There may or may not be a purpose behind why they're present, nonetheless the pieces chosen.**

* * *

Minori sighed, putting the sheet music besides him. _Anyways… I should check Kaniza and Nezumi's clothing for anything suspicious._

The pseudologist began sorting through the duo's clothing, checking for anything suspicious.

It didn't take long for him to notice something of great importance though.

Minori was currently holding a piece of Nezumi's clothing, or more specifically- the thief's cloak.

Though the cloak was tattered and unappealing to the eye, what made it worse was the blood that had soaked the middle of the clothing. A big stain on the poor man's clothing- it would never disappear anytime soon.

Minori realized that the blood was still wet. His fingers were even stained with blood. It smelt of iron.

 _Hm… I wonder if it's anywhere else on his clothes though._

The pseudologist quickly looked through the thief's clothes. He did noticed a few small droplets of blood in the inside of Nezumi's dress shirt, but other than that there was nothing. Nothing particularly suspicious.

* * *

 **Clothes**

 **Summary: Nezumi and Kaniza's clothes are lying over the floor. The inside of Nezumi's shirt seemed to be slightly stained with blood, though his cloak is entirely soaked.**

* * *

Minori glanced over Kaniza's clothes, then frowning. There wasn't anything suspicious on her clothes. No stains, no blood. Her clothes were perfectly cleaned and wrinkled.

The pseudologist sighed, folding back the clothes and standing up. He looked around, then instantly recognizing Sheina walking towards him.

"Oh," he began, seeing her gaze upon him. "Do you want to ask me about my testimony by any chance?"

The bronze-skinned woman nodded, albeit a bit nervously. "I want to help as much as I can in this trial… I wasn't helpful at all during the last two, and I need to repent for my sins."

Minori smiled. "You seem better."

Sheina averted her gaze. "I had to take some time to relieve myself of this… disgraceful scene. Kakuma and Nezumi did not deserve this."

"It's fine to catch a breather." The pseudologist chuckled. "I know you'll be able to help us, Sheina."

The egyptologist smiled, though it lost her usual haughtiness and instead was a gentle one. "Yes. I want to help Kamui, Saori, and Rin. I know those three are in want of my assistance, and as the Son of Osiris I can't let this pitiful state of mine stop them from believing in me. Even if this world was cruel, that doesn't mean I can't try to stop it. I have the power to do such as the Pharaoh, after all."

Minori chukled. _That's the Sheina I remember._ He cleared his throat, now crossing his arms. "If you do not mind, may I ask you about your alibi as well?"

"Yes, of course."

The pseudologist's smile widened. "Thank you. Well, if anything, my supposed testimony makes me look suspicious… I decided to check on Nezumi and Kaniza to see if they were alright, and that's when I saw Kakuma's body… then Nezumi's and Kaniza's state…"

"Yes." Sheina gave the man a look of pity. It was obvious she was suspecting him. Still, she began speaking nonetheless, stroking the necklace around her body. "Well, as for me… I suppose mine is suspicious as well. I was sleeping, unfortunately, so I do not have anybody to testify for me."

"That's alright. Thank you for your testimony, Sheina."

The egyptologist nodded back. "Yes, and you as well."

Minori watched the woman leave the room, possibly to look over Kakuma's case. _Right… Ryoichi and Sagiso are still here. I might as well ask them about their alibis._

The pseudologist then bit into his lips, mind suddenly focused on Sagiso. He couldn't help but worry that she would shove him off.

 _Well, this is an investigation. Let bygones be bygones. It was my fault to begin with, so I have no right wishing for her forgiveness. She has every right to suspect me._

Minori observed the room. He saw Ryoichi who was speaking to Kamui, the duo engaged. The pseudologist frowned, eyes directing themselves to Sagiso. She was currently eyeing the cowhairs from Kaniza's side.

… _Here goes nothing._

The pseudologist headed his way over to the psychogeographer. He begged that his posture was strong and confident, but it wasn't- it lacked those two feelings. Instead, it was obvious that he was hesitant and worried about her response. It was obvious that he feared her suspicion on him.

"Sagiso," he began, calling out her name. He noticed that the woman froze in response, still in movement. He was looking at the back of her head. "I need to ask you for your testimony. Is that alright with you?"

Sagiso's breath halted. He could see the hesitation illuminating from her movements. She did not want to speak to him.

He sighed. He forced himself to move around, making his way in front of her. Bending down to meet her gaze, his tone was suddenly stern, but gentle. "I know you suspect me of working for Monokuma, but what if you are jumping to conclusions? I know I deserve your suspicion and hate, but acting such a way in an investigation will get us nowhere closer to solving this case."

Sagiso frowned. She looked up at the pseudologist, eyes staring straight into his. Seconds later, she quickly averted her gaze, embarrassed.

"I know that," she began, a bit fearful in her tone, "I just don't know what to do with you anymore…"

"And that makes sense," Minori replied, forcing a smile. "We're in an investigation right now where we need to hold equal suspicion and trust for everyone here though. We'll eventually tell the others about our theories anyways."

Sagiso's expression saddened. She slowly got up to her feet, shaky with her crutches. She looked up at Minori, the man having stood up as well. "You'll explain yourself later, won't you?"

Minori's smile became bitter. His thoughts rolled around Kakuma, and it was inevitable that the wedding planner's role as a traitor would be exposed. "At the trial. Everyone will need to hear it."

"... I trust that." Sagiso smiled back, albeit a small one. "I'll trust you then. If you can prove yourself innocent to me in this case and solve this crime, then we can trust each other again. I want to trust you. I don't want to lose my trust in you."

"I guess we have this settled?"

The psychogeographer nodded. "Yes… So, you want to know if I have an alibi, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct." Minori crossed his arms. "I don't exactly have an alibi though, given the fact that I was the one who found Kakuma and Nezumi's bodies first."

Sagiso couldn't help but giggle. "At least you're honest about that."

"I don't have any reason to hide it. Besides, I already told Kamui and Sheina this. Everyone saw me here anyways." The pseudologist tapped his foot on the ground, idle. "I wanted to check on Nezumi and Kaniza, and that was why I went upstairs here."

"Ah, I see." Sagiso pondered for a moment, then continuing. "I was asleep the entire time in my case. Then again…"

"I know, I know." Minori chuckled. "Your injury would've prevented you from going upstairs, right? That's why Monokuma had to bring you here."

Sagiso's eyes widened. She was dumbfounded for a moment before coughing, her cheeks a faint pink.

 _I guess she hates the thought of Monokuma helping her…_ Minori inwardly laughed at this. "It's alright. I know you cannot be the one to kill Kakuma or Nezumi."

"... You trust me so easily." Sagiso was even more embarrassed.

"I mean… To be fair, I was the cause of you injuring yourself." The man scratched his head. "I stressed you out to the point of you injuring your ankle. We already know your injury is a hindrance to you in both daily life and in murder situations, correct?"

Sagiso nodded. "Yes, but it is good to question my lack of alibi."

"I know that." Minori sighed. His eyes glanced around the room, particularly to Kamui and Ryoichi. The duo seemed to have completed their conversation. He turned back to the psychogeographer. "Well, nonetheless, thank you for sharing your testimony with me."

The auburn-haired woman smiled, and now Minori turned his back towards her.

 _Ryoichi is done talking to Kamui. I'll talk to him now._

The pseudologist walked over to Ryoichi. "Hello," he began, greeting the investigator.

"Hello, Mr. Watanabe." Ryoichi smiled at the man, friendly. "Did you want to me a question by any chance?"

Minori nodded. "That's correct. Kamui asked you about your alibi as well?"

"Yes, that's right!" Ryoichi chuckled. "I want to help everyone as much as possible here. Poor Mr. Arakaki and Mr. Jirokichi… I want to bring their case into the light, so I'm going to do my best!"

"Of course. We need to in order to bring their souls to rest." The pseudologist then crossed his arms. His body felt tired, and so he casually leaned against the wall. "Um… So, I would like to ask you about your testimony on this case."

Ryoichi grinned. "Yes! Though… Well, in all honesty though, I was sleeping. Sorry."

"Of course, that is fine. I suspected as much." Minori pondered for a moment. A few more questions rang inside of his head. "Ah, is it alright if I ask you a few more questions?"

The investigator tilted his head, curious.

The white-haired Ultimate awkwardly smiled, noticing the investigator's light brown eyes almost staring into his. "I… I was wondering about your progress with the bomb. What happened to it?"

"Oh! That!" Ryoichi's eyes widened. He blinked for a couple times before throwing his hands behind his back, an awkward laugh escaping his lips. "I-I actually do not know what happened to it."

"What?" Minori was obviously doubtful, eyebrows furrowed. "Why? You think someone stole it?"

Ryoichi shrugged. "I am not sure myself, to be honest. I kept it inside of my room, however before I slept I noticed that it was gone. You should ask Mr. Kosoku about it or Ms. Tsukitaiyo, but… I think they're not in the best of moods right now."

Minori knew that. He had gotten vivid images of the duo's state of beings. Seiga was close to Nezumi, and Kaniza was Nezumi's lover.

"The bomb is supposed to shut down the electricity in the school, correct?" Minori eyed the man who nodded his head. He frowned, unable to see the lack of sincerity in Ryoichi's movement. "... I see. I supposed you couldn't have ran any tests on it though."

Ryoichi pursed his lips. "Mr. Kosoku said that the bomb should've worked though. I don't doubt him since he's had to work with dynamite and such."

… _Yeah, since Seiga's a stunt double. He has to go through so many dangerous things in his line of work._

"I'll have to ask him then later. Maybe Kaniza too, that is, if she's feeling well." Despite those words, Minori sighed. He was having a discreet feeling that Seiga would turn hostile towards him.

"Is that all you wanted to ask me, Mr. Watanabe?"

Minori frowned. He cupped his chin, thinking to himself. There was nothing that struck him as urgent, so he shook his head. "No, that is all. Thank you for answering my questions."

"Of course!" The man smiled happily. "I'm happy to be of assistance to you, Mr. Watanabe."

* * *

 **Unknown Bomb**

 **Summary: As Ryoichi said, there wasn't a bomb to be seen inside of his room. There is nothing that linked to the bomb's use or whereabouts too.**

* * *

Minori chuckled, waving to Ryoichi who continued to his own investigation. Now to himself, the man took a look around the room, gathering his thoughts.

 _I'll have to ask Seiga and Kaniza about the bomb… Now, is there anything else needed to be investigated inside here?_

Minori first looked at the people inside of the room. The same people. He then observed the room for a minute. Yes, there seemed to be nothing else needed to be investigated.

 _Hopefully._

Though a bit worried that he was missing something, he went outside of the stargazing room. There, he looked around, finding most of the others either around him or crowding inside of the music room.

Minori walked over to the music room, heading inside. He was instantly face to face with Kakuma's body, and honestly seeing the wedding planner's state made him queasy. He was not only queasy because of the fact that the poor man was dead, but because of the guilt overwhelming his body.

 _He never even had the chance to befriend anyone here… He kept that act of arrogance right to the end, and it's my fault._

The pseudologist held his breath.

 _Why did he die though? Did someone see Kakuma walking upstairs? Did Nezumi die first and the killer accidentally stumbled onto him? What happened…?_

"You're done investigating Nezumi's case?"

Minori's eyes widened, suddenly thrown out of his mind. Someone had roughly grabbed ahold of his shoulder, and he looked back to find Seiga. "O-oh. Yes, I think so."

Seiga frowned. He stared intensely at the pseudologist for a moment, then sighed. He released his grip on the man. "This shit's crazy, y'know? You're gonna help solve the case, right?"

Minori raised a brow. "I… I always help solve the cases. Why would you think that I wouldn't solve this one? They're my friends."

"Yeah, I know." The stunt double took a step back, observing Minori. It was then did he suddenly point at him. "I'll definitely solve the case first though. You can count on that."

"What?" Minori was baffled. "S-Seiga, this isn't a game. We have to help others in order to solve this case."

"I know that." The man heaved a sigh, then throwing Minori a smile (although it seemed more mocking than anything else). "Well! Like everyone else, you want to ask about my alibi or some shit, right?"

"Uh… Right." Minori quickly regained composure, nodding. He crossed his arms. "I want to ask you about your alibi and about the bomb you helped made with Ryoichi's group if that's fine."

"I knew you would ask that." Seiga rolled his eyes, then tapping his foot a second later. "I was asleep the entire time until that shitty announcement came. Hm, and about the bomb…"

The pseudologist frowned. He noticed the unease in the stunt double's eyes.

"... Well, fuck, I don't know." Seiga cracked his fists, idle. "Ryo told me that the bomb's missing or some shit. I couldn't find it, but then again, I really didn't look much yet."

Minori awkwardly smiled. "Do you know what happened to it, by any chance?"

"Nope!" Seiga laughed to himself. "Fuck if I know. Why don't you ask Ryo or Kaniza? Maybe someone stole it for all I know."

"Yeah…" Minori nodded, slowly backing off from Seiga. "Thank you."

The stunt double didn't answer back, instead having left the room.

 _Hm, well, with that out of the way… Kakuma…_

Minori bent down, observing the wedding planner's body. Though it wasn't as brutally wounded or as revolting as Nezumi's, the desperation in Kakuma's usually dull eyes made him shudder. The poor man had tried to fight for victory, yet he was instead thrown into the crowd as loser.

Guilt and sympathy overwhelming his head, he decided to gently close Kakuma's eyes.

The man sighed. He looked up and down the body. The first thing that he noticed would be the rope around Kakuma's neck.

Minori instantly frowned, disgust in his face.

 _The rope… They're all cowhairs._

The same things that were used to tie Nezumi and Kaniza. Disgusting. It was truly disgusting to Minori.

* * *

 **Cowhairs**

 **Summary: Cowhairs acted as and a means of restriction. They were used to tie Nezumi and Kaniza alongside the violin strings to the beanie chairs. They were also used as a weapon, having been used to choke Kakuma.**

* * *

An unlikely weapon, yet a weapon nonetheless.

If they weren't used as a weapon of orchestral tune, then as a weapon of death.

Although a cowhair itself would be easy to rip and tear apart, held together and tied tightly, these were definitely dangerous. Minori bit into his lips.

The pseudologist's eyes were then fixated on Kakuma's clothing. As expected, they were ripped. They were tattered, his skin to be seen on the open areas and strings now visible.

* * *

 **Torn Clothes**

 **Summary: Kakuma's clothes are slightly torn.**

* * *

Minori couldn't help but purse his lips, slowly bringing himself back to his feet. _That's all that seemed to be found from his body… Hm…_

The pseudologist looked around the room. He noticed the opened violin case that he saw earlier. He wondered if that was a clue that he could've have spotted, fortelling Nezumi and Kakuma's futures. He didn't know. He honestly didn't know.

 _Maybe if Kakuma and I didn't plan to meet up here at this time, then…_

He felt his MonoPad buzzing. He almost jumped in fright, eyes abruptly turned to the screen.

* * *

 **Meetup**

 **Summary: Kakuma and Minori had planned to meet up around midnight to discuss about the killing game's situation.**

* * *

Minori read through the piece of evidence, then instinctively grinning to himself. He already knew this was a truth bullet that only he could gather.

 _How should I explain this meetup to the others though? I promised Sagiso to tell them the truth, but… How do I go about this without making myself look villainous, nonetheless having Kakuma's actions be questioned?_

It was a tragedy. Kakuma's actions were most likely going to be questioned, and nobody but Minori would realize that Kakuma was a good person all-in-all. It was truly tragic.

… _I'll shed light to his purpose at least. I know I will._

"Minori?"

Minori quickly turned off the MonoPad, bringing it down. There, he found Rin who was staring at him. "Yes?"

Rin was eyeing him for a moment. She seemed to be suspicious of his behavior, but set it aside as she instead crossed her arms. "I think we should talk about our alibis."

"Right…" The pseudologist smiled. "Of course."

The jeweler nodded. "Can I ask you for your's first? I was the one who asked you first after all."

"I know, I know." Minori heaved a breath of air, amused by the woman's bluntness. "You saw that I was the one who saw their bodies first, right?"

Rin scoffed. "That's right. What were you doing up so late?"

"Honestly, this will only make me for suspicious, but…" The pseudologist groaned, forfeiting. "I wanted to check on Nezumi and Kaniza. I just wanted to see how those two were doing, but then I only ended up stumbling onto not only them, but Kakuma's body."

The jeweler's composure loosened at this, her expression saddened. "True…" A moment passed before she quickly cleared her throat. "Ah, right. Anyways, you want to hear about my theory, correct?"

Minori smiled. "If that is alright with you, Rin."

"Of course it is." The woman sighed. "Sadly, I don't think mine is very… hm, well, it does not stand up well. I was asleep."

"Like the rest." The pseudologist chuckled. "That's fine. It is understandable that most of us would be asleep hours after the nighttime announcement."

Rin averted her gaze. "Right… It seems to me that the only people who weren't asleep were you, Kakuma, Nezumi, and Kaniza."

"It seems that way…" Minori awkwardly scratched his head. "I assure you I'm not guilty though. I'll prove that to you in the trial."

"... Hopefully, given that you wanted to unite us all together before." Rin crossed her arms, face turned away. A moment passed. "... Will Kaniza be alright?"

Minori's eyes widened, his lips then curving to a small smile. "Saori's taking care of her. Hopefully she'll be alright. It's heartbreaking to see her like that…"

Rin nodded, silent.

The pseudologist eyed the woman for a second, observing her facial expressions. He instantly knew what the jeweler was thinking. "Your hostility towards her shouldn't deter you from worrying about her. It's only natural for us to disagree, and for us to care about one another."

"... I need to apologize to her. You should've just said that instead."

"O-oh! I mean…"

Minori was cut abruptly, noticing the playfulness in Rin's expression. She had messed with him, her smile telling everything.

"Don't worry about me," she said, tone steady and confident. "I know better than to sulk around now. I want to help solve this case too."

"Of course."

And with that settled, the duo went back to their individual investigations.

Minori took another look at Kakuma's body. Making sure he hadn't missed anything important, he decided to take a look around the entirety of the music room.

 _Still looks the same, hm…_

There seemed to be nothing uncanny about the room. The room looked the same as before. The walls were the same gritty color. The lights are still dim, unable to become more brighter than the starry nights. The arrangement of the chairs still looked the same, if not similar.

Minori frowned. He continued to look around the room before noticing something on the ground- more specifically, near the door.

 _What's this?_

The Ultimate walked over to the door, kneeling down. Near the door frame, right at the very edge, were a block of wood and a roll of string. He grabbed ahold of the two objects, carefully examining them. There wasn't any blood of them nor were there anything suspicious about the objects, though its placement in such a room was suspicious for sure.

For what purpose, Minori wasn't sure. He would have to discuss this with the others.

* * *

 **String and Block of Wood**

 **Summary: There is a roll of string and a block of wood besides the music room door.**

* * *

Placing the objects back down, the pseudologist settled himself back up. That seemed to be the only thing that was out of place in this room. There was nothing else that caught hold of his attention.

 _Hm…_ His eyes were fixated on the two objects. He was tapping his foot on the ground, in wonder. _Those two objects might've been in the storage room. I should check that out first before checking on Kaniza._

He walked outside of the room, moving over towards the storage room. Opening the door, the man found himself face to face with Fumio again. It seemed like the scholar had the same idea in his head.

"Hello," the pseudologist greeted, Fumio nodding in response. "Are you here after seeing the block of wood and ball of string?"

Fumio made a noise of acknowledgment, scribbling into his notepad while at the same time checking around the small, enclosed space. "I figured the killer found them here. You're thinking of the same thing too, right?"

"That's right. There might be clues in here, though…" Minori took a moment to eye the mess in the room. "... Well, despite the room's messiness, there might be something we can find."

"Hopefully." Fumio then stopped. He used his pencil to tap his chin, a moment passing before he scribbled back into his notepad. "Right. I forgot to ask you about your alibi. From what I've seen, it seemed like you were the one who found Kakuma and Nezumi."

"Right." Minori awkwardly smiled. He hated how his stomach churned in response to those words. "I wanted to check on Nezumi and Kaniza, that's all."

Fumio frowned, however he nodded after a temporarily second of pondering. "Alright. Equivalent exchange, you want to know my alibi, correct?"

"It certainly helps in this case, though I would think you were sleeping?"

"Uh… Yeah, that's right." Fumio sighed. "I was asleep until this happened."

"I figured. Everyone else except for a select few were asleep." The pseudologist pursed his lips. "Certainly doesn't help in solving this case, but it is good to know at least."

The scholar was silent, back to searching the room. His eyes focused from one object to another. A few minutes passed before he stopped. A second later, he reached a hand inside of the left corner of the room.

The man had grabbed ahold of a handkerchief.

Minori raised a brow, taking a second to eye the piece of cloth. "It's damp."

Fumio nodded slowly, taking his time to investigate it. "It is… I think someone soaked it in water judging from how it looks, but… Uh, there is a faint smell."

"Really?" The pseudologist gestured over to the handkerchief, Fumio noticing the signal and handing him the item. Minori brought it close to his face, then wafting the smell into his nostrils. A frown. "Hm… I can't really distinguish it, but it smells a bit like alcohol…?"

Fumio took back the cloth, taking the time to waft the smell into his nose as well. Unable to locate the smell confidently, he wrote down his thoughts. "Possibly, I'm not too sure myself."

"Hm… We'll have to ask the others about it later then." Minori smiled softly, eyeing Fumio who kept the handkerchief to himself. "Hopefully Kamui or Saori can distinguish it. They seem to be more knowledgeable than us concerning a lot of things."

"Saori's comforting Kaniza. I'm not sure if she'll have the time to thoroughly investigate…" Fumio then pursed his lips. "Hopefully she'll come up with a few theories though."

* * *

 **Handkerchief**

 **Summary: There is a handkerchief inside of the storage room that was wet with water, however there is also a strong smell emitting from it.**

* * *

Minori frowned. "Right… Speaking of that, I need to check on those two." The pseudologist creaked open the door. "I'll see you in a bit."

Fumio softly smiled before heading back into his investigation. Minori closed the door as he headed outside, focus now turned to Kaniza and Saori.

 _Let's see… Those two should be in Kaniza's dorm room, I think._

Minori thought for a moment, taking the time to go over what he needed to check on.

 _Kaniza is definitely going to be the focus during the trial, given the fact that she was… well, with Nezumi. Saori most likely asked Kaniza about everything though, so I should ask her instead since Kaniza's not stable right now._

The pseudologist raised a brow, mind rolling over to the bomb that was apparently missing… and Kakuma's case.

 _The bomb's missing. If Ryoichi and Seiga aren't lying, then the bomb was most likely stolen. I don't think Kaniza used it either… I wonder if Monokuma stole it, but then again I doubt he'd try to mess with this killing game too much._

 _Kakuma… I suppose I'm the main suspect for his case. I know people will suspect me once I tell them that we were supposed to meet and that Kakuma's a 'traitor'... but hm…_

Minori sighed. His head was hurting again.

 _I'll worry about that when the trial comes. I need to help the others as best as I could._

The pseudologist quickly headed down towards the dormitory. Eyes focused straight on Kaniza's room, and he walked over to knock on the door.

The door softly creaked open. Saori peeked her head out, eyeing Minori. "Yes?"

"Hello," the man greeted. "How's Kaniza? Do you think it's alright if I ask her questions, or is she not in the best state right now?"

"Hm…" Saori fully opened the door. She thought for a moment, head turning over to the astrophotographer. The woman frowned and looked back to Minori. "I talked to her for a bit, so you can information from me. You should come inside though since I might not be able to remember everything."

Minori crossed his arms, hesitant. "Is Kaniza okay with that?"

Saori looked back again. Noticing the woman's silence, the body broker sighed. "She should be fine. Just…" Her voice went softer, quiet into a murmur. "Don't detail too much on Nezumi's or Kakuma's state, especially Nezumi's."

Minori nodded. "I know."

With the door fully opened, the pseudologist headed inside. He softly took a seat down, then discreetly eyeing Kaniza.

The astrophotographer's tears and snot had disappeared, yet her eyes looked just as dead as it did earlier. She was sickly white, bags underneath her eyes. The rosiness in her cheeks seemed to have fleshed out into almost a disgusting pale color. Her hair was messy, strands sticking out from place to place. The waviness in her hair had disappeared. Though the woman was now wearing her clothes, it was wrinkled and uneven.

Saori walked close to the woman, taking her seat. She crossed her legs as she eyed Minori. "What did you want to ask?"

"Well… First of all, let's talk about you." Minori frowned. "What were you doing this night?"

"Right, that." Saori adjusted her position. "To be frank, I was asleep. I woken up a minute before the nighttime announcement sounded though."

"I see." The pseudologist knew not to question Kaniza's alibi. "Alright, then let's talk about Kaniza's testimony. Was there anything in particular that seemed off? Any evidence?"

The body broker nodded. She reached her hands behind the bed, fingers touching a white piece of paper. She handed it over to the man.

"Let's see…"

Minori observed the piece of paper, the item having been folded in half. He opened it up, finding himself eyeing what seemed to be the purpose of the paper- a letter. Interested, the pseudologist quickly read it to himself.

It was a letter directed to Kaniza.

The contents of the letter were straightforward and short. It was merely a letter that told the woman to meet the sender at the stargazing room- to meet Nezumi there at exactly ten o'clock at night. Seeing Nezumi's signature at the end, the pseudologist folded it back and handed it to Saori.

* * *

 **Kaniza's Letter**

 **Summary: Kaniza had gotten a white letter from Nezumi to meet her in the stargazing room around ten in the night.**

* * *

"So," the pseudologist began, ready to explain it briefly, "Nezumi wanted to see her at the stargazing room at ten tonight."

Saori nodded. "That's what Kaniza told me. The contents of this letter said so as well."

"So Nezumi was the one who invited Kaniza there."

The body broker glanced over to the astrophotographer. "Yes, that's right."

Minori acknowledged this fact, but he still couldn't help but inwardly frown to himself. _Something doesn't seem right about that though…_

 _Ah, whatever. I'll discuss it with everyone later._ Minori still had a couple of questions he wanted to ask nonetheless. "What else does Kaniza remember?"

Saori strummed her fingers behind her, them tapping the soft contents of the bed. "Hm… She did say that her mind was fuzzy and that she cannot remember much, however I did notice that there was something on her lips. Something yellow, I think. I think it was called raisin or isin or something."

"Oh." Minori instantly knew what it was. "Resin, right?"

"Yes, however Kaniza doesn't know why it was on her lips to begin with."

* * *

 **Resin**

 **Summary: Resin is present on both Kaniza and Nezumi's lips.**

* * *

"Interesting…" Minori instantly deduced that Kaniza and Nezumi were tried to be poisoned or such. He couldn't think of anything else. "Kaniza doesn't remember much?"

Saori nodded, expression saddened. "That's right. She told me that she cannot remember much other than the fact that she was supposed to meet Nezumi. She doesn't know what happened to her."

"I'm sorry…" Kaniza murmured, face full of defeat and loss. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's fine," Minori said, trying to comfort the woman as best as he could. "It can't be helped. Just rest."

Kaniza didn't respond to this, eyes downcast.

"Hm… I do have another question though." The pseudologist looked back to Saori. "Ryoichi told me that the bomb he and the others made went missing. Seiga doesn't know where it went either."

Saori's eyes widened. "Really?" She then pursed her lips, expression that of mild annoyance. "That's foolish of them…"

"It's gone?" Kaniza perked up at this. "Why…?"

 _So even she doesn't even know about this. She's not lying…_ Minori cleared his throat. "Ahem, Ryoichi told me that it suddenly disappeared. He doesn't know where it could be."

The astrophotographer averted her gaze. "I don't know anything about this… sorry, Minnie…"

The pseudologist threw a friendly smile. "No, it's fine! It's nothing to concern yourself with. I just wanted to check if you know what could've happened."

Saori frowned. "Don't you think Ryoichi could be lying, Minori? He was the one in charge of this entire project and the bomb was made inside of his room."

"That is true…" Minori thought to himself. "... It might be possible he is lying to me, though I didn't notice anything off with how he answered me…"

Saori shrugged. "We can pin him down in the trial."

"Yeah, true." The pseudologist sighed, thinking hard about the topic. "If the bomb was used though, then why…?"

"I'm not sure about that. That's why it's only a possibility."

"Right."

Kaniza fidgeted about in place, head hung low and voice shaky. "We will be able to solve this… right?"

Saori and Minori looked over to Kaniza.

"We'll try as best as we could," the body broker said, straightforward and honest. "We'll try as best as we could to figure out who killed Nezumi and Kakuma."

"If we work together, I'm sure we can reach a conclusion," Minori added, nodding.

Saori frowned, suddenly hesitant. "I don't really have a lot of evidence though… Do you think the others provided the needed clues?"

"Don't worry about that. You and Kaniza are as much help to me as the rest of us." Minori then crossed his arms, frowning. "I'm sure everyone has their own truth bullets. We just need to hope that they'll all be willing to help us."

"Right…"

Kaniza seemed hesitant, but refused to speak any longer.

Well, she didn't need to speak, for the announcement had sounded off.

"Ahem!" Monokuma's voice was ringing throughout the entire school. "Investigation time is up! You guys seem to reach your own conclusions and all, so please gather forth at auditorium!"

Minori frowned. "It's already time…"

"Oh, and for those worrying about Sagiso- I already know she's injured!" The sounds of Monokuma screaming were heard. "Stop worrying and nagging about her! I'm already gonna take her over to the auditorium since you bastards are too weak to carry her there! Hmph, so anyways, bye!"

Monokuma's voice disappeared, and the tension continued to lurk in the atmosphere.

Minori saw Saori standing up from her seat, expression calm and collected. "It's inevitable," she said, voice reaching to him and Kaniza. "We should go now."

"Right." Minori stood up as well. He looked over to Kaniza. "Let's go. We'll figure out who killed Kakuma and Nezumi."

"Right… If you say so…" Kaniza was hesitant, but slowly got to her feet. She walked over to the door, following the duo outside.

As they were walking, Minori couldn't help but think to himself, worried.

 _Two people are dead… This is certainly going to be harder to figure out._

He felt his heart beating. He could feel shivers running down his spine.

The door to the auditorium opened, and the trio found themselves inside of the room first.

 _We all have different truth bullets too. I'm worried whether or not everyone will be willing to share everything… Nonetheless if I missed anything too._

Minutes passed before everyone else had gathered, Monokuma then appearing with Sagiso behind him.

"Yo!" The bear greeted, saluting the group. He was standing in the middle of the room. "You guys ready?"

"You already called us out here," Kamui said, calm in his voice. "You won't allow us to stall any longer."

Seiga cracked his knuckles, fiery in his eyes. He was glaring at the bear, teeth gritting. He was about ready to fight, his fists close to his body. "Bastard! I hope you get your karma in due time! I seriously don't want to toyed by you any longer!"

"And punches mean punishment." Monokuma grinned, eyeing Seiga who was forced to step down. The bear chuckled as he clapped his paws together, the elevator suddenly appearing from behind the students. "Anyways, you guys all seem energetic despite it being midnight. That's good! It'll definitely be needed in this trial."

Rin frowned. "Just be quiet for a second."

"Woah, rude." The bear rolled his eyes, but then threw another smile. "Well, guess I'll head down first! Hope you guys are ready!"

The Ultimates couldn't even care less, knowing that Monokuma would've disappeared from their sight even if they tried to stop him. Expectedly, he did within seconds.

"What a sick game," Ryoichi mumbled under his breath, saddened.

"Well, we can't just mope around here!" Seiga rushed over to the elevator. "I wanna get to the bottom of this fucking case, pronto!"

The stunt double then stopped. He was silent for a moment. A sigh escaped his lips. He then squinted his eyes, staring down Minori.

"Uh…" Minori couldn't help but raise a brow. "Are you alright, Seiga?"

The man's eyes widened as he looked away, shaking his head. "Just hurry up and get in here. I want to solve this case as quickly as possible."

"Right…"

One by one did the Ultimates began walking into the elevator. Like always, the tension in the atmosphere never ceased. Everyone was worried, and everyone was speculating.

Minori was in the corner of the elevator. He held his breath.

"You want me to put my trust in you, right?"

The pseudologist turned his head, eyeing Sagiso. The woman's voice was soft and although she was looking at the ground, it was obvious she directed her words at him.

Sagiso's words rang in his head.

The Ultimate smirked to himself, cold sweat running down his forehead.

Who was the killer? What happened? Why did Nezumi and Kakuma die? Why is this whole thing happening?

He didn't know. No one knew for sure.

The only thing they knew was that they had to solve this case.

 _It's either our lives, or them- the killer's. It's either we solve this case, or we don't. It is only black and white, there is nothing in-between._

 _It was either success, or defeat._

That was all Minori could think before the elevator plunged into the dark abyss.

* * *

... And that's it for the investigation! Next up will be the trial, and I really can't say that I'm completely excited for it. If anything, it's a mixture of anxiousness and excitement. Anxiousness for if I can meet everyone's expectations, and excitement that I do want to write this trial out. Well... let's see.

School's certainly coming close by, and I will be more busy than ever. Since I rarely study, actually deciding to not be distracted by everything around me and trying to concentrate on actually 'studying' will take a while. Hopefully school won't get in the way of this story. Of course I still hope that I can complete this story and AoD's!

Anyways, with that settled, the only thing I can say now is- please vote on my profile on who do you think the killer is~ Feel free to do so, or not. Anyways, I'll be off! See you in the next chapter (or on AoD if you read that haha), and let us hope that school doesn't ruin our connections!


	29. Chapter 3 - Part 2, Part B

Hello, and welcome to the official third case! I can't believe that this story made it this far! I never would've expected to reach Chapter 3 so quickly... and with you guys on board! Thank you for sticking with this story, through the ups and downs... Well, let's not get emotional and get this trial started! This trial is a doozy after all!

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "It's called logic~ Of course, all those questions will hopefully be answered in this trial. Aw, thanks! Good luck with your story too!"

 **ToonGuy:** "Aw, but I like your thoughts! Anything you say makes my day~ If only Danganronpa was a happy story, huh? Haha, well, we'll only have the mastermind reveal when we get to that. Yes, yes~ Nice thoughts on who you think is the killer. I love your reasoning for each of them too! Good luck with your story too!"

 **Ziggymia123:** "Yes, those thoughts are to be taken into consideration. Complications for the characters, and for me as well. Oof, well yes, people love to be right and prove others wrong. Haha, well let us see if you are right or not!"

 **liammarklh88:** "Poor Kaniza. Let's form the Kaniza Protection Squad! Yes, hopefully I can make this trial spicy enough for you~ Right, the trial will hopefully get more exciting and all that later in the road. Symbolism is sort of my favorite thing, and yes Danganronpa loves those sort of deaths~ Let us see what happens in the trial. Relationships are important in a story and in real life, haha. Aw, thanks, and good luck with your story as well~"

 **PoisonBanana:** "Haha, hello there. Just from the labeling, haha, interesting. Well, let's see if your thoughts are correct or not in the trial~ Yes, if this trial mindblowns you even in the tiniest bit, I will feel satisfied."

 **Agrael:** "At least you have suspicions~ Smoothly is quite impossible in a trial where everyone's lives are at risk, haha. Danse Macabre is one of my favorite songs to be honest~ A great orchestral piece."

 **VioEli:** "Yes, hello friend~ Monokuma is a strong bear, eh! Yes, well, let us see if any of your thoughts and/or theories are right. Hopefully I will be able to surprise you with the twists I have in store and whatnot. Bye bestie!"

* * *

Slowly, very slowly, the elevator came to a stop.

The door opened, and once again the Ultimates were face to face with the uneasy setting of the courtroom.

Minori took a quick look around the room. The same podiums, the same royal chair Monokuma was sitting on, everything.

Everything looked just the same.

 _The same as I last saw it…_

The smell of wood slipped into his nostrils. The smell of both wood and champagne. Wood which emitted from the entire setting itself, and champagne from Monokuma's glass.

A strange mixture of smells mixed together. The pseudologist couldn't help but gag at the smell. It was suffocating.

"Why do you have champagne?" Minori questioned, having walked out of the enclosed space of the elevator. He couldn't help but frown as the answer was obvious in his head. "Are you mocking us?"

"What? Of course not, Minnie~" Monokuma took a sip out of his glass. A loud, obnoxious slurping sound. "Ah! That hit the spot!"

Rin clicked her tongue. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as she shook her head. "Yeah, I think he's mocking us."

"What? Because you guys are minors?" Monokuma snorted. "Pfft, weakasses! Drink some champagne and loosen up a little! You don't need to fit to society's standards!"

"That's not the problem here." Kamui crossed his arms. "Are you going to be mocking us the entire time?"

"Nope! You guys already suffered enough through mood swings and shit."

That certainly seemed to catch the pseudologist's attention, the man having raised a brow. "What does that mean…?"

"Exactly what it means!" The bear threw his paws up, glass in hand. "And if you really want to know, I'm drinking champagne to celebrate us having yet another class trial! Isn't it great we managed to get to the third one?! And in record time!"

"What the fuck?" Seiga clenched into his fists. He took a step forward, anger in his eyes. "You're fucking messing with us! Bastard, get down here and I'll beat you!"

"S-Seiga!" The mortician was shocked, taken aback by the man's sudden ferocious behavior. "Please calm down!"

The stunt double was furious. "This is fucking immoral! I've had enough with you messing with us! Fucking throwing yourself a party to celebrate this 'third trial' or shit is bullshit!"

"Oho~ I see, I see." Monokuma gently placed his glass down to the floor. He began cracking his own fists, a sadistic smile on his face. "Warnings mean nothing, huh? I guess you do want to fight, Mr. Hero!"

Kamui's eyes widened. "Seiga!"

Ryoichi quickly grabbed ahold of the stunt double, fingers reaching at Seiga's shirt. He clenched into the cloth tightly as he grabbed his shoulder. "Mr. Kosoku, please calm down! You'll only hurt yourself if you try fighting Monokuma!"

"But don't you see? He's messing with us!" Seiga was breathless, face red. "Don't you hate how karma never seems to hit him? It's bullshit!"

Monokuma was standing up from his royal chair, looking down upon the man. He was mocking him, eyes sparkling in amusement. "Hey, did you know? Reality is never fair, Seiga."

Seiga glared at the bear. "You…"

"I do have to agree with Seiga though," Rin said, her arms crossed. "It's not funny for you to be 'celebrating' our 'third trial'. You're just mocking Kakuma and Nezumi."

Kaniza couldn't help but choke, trembling. "S-so cruel…"

"Just please don't celebrate in front of us." Minori looked up at the bear, uncaring whether or not the headmaster was intimidating them on purpose. He couldn't care less about authority or power. He just wanted to bring Kakuma and Nezumi to peace. "If you want us to participate willingly and openly in a trial, then don't anger us."

Monokuma frowned. He stared down Minori a moment, then sighing. He jumped back into his seat and let out a long, exaggerated groan. "Fine! No more champagne for me! Sheesh, you guys are fucking cruel!"

"You're the one who's cruel," Saori retorted, annoyed. She glanced over to Kaniza, noticing that the bear's antics had obviously shaken her. In response, the body broker shook her head with a murmur, "That foolish bear…"

Sagiso couldn't help but throw a look at Kaniza. "Don't worry. We'll definitely solve this case."

Kaniza was only silent, unsure of what to say.

"Alright, well, welcome officially to the third trial!" The bear was the same perky self as he was earlier. It seemed like the issue beforehand didn't matter, Monokuma having thrown his paws out. "Woohoo! Are you guys ready?!"

Rin scoffed. "Shut up."

"Woah, rude!" The bear slapped his cheeks, feigning shock. "Seiga, please tell her to be nicer to me!"

Seiga frowned, but he seemed to composed himself and backed down. He didn't heed Monokuma's words though, only eyeing the jeweler and shrugging.

"Whatever then." Monokuma sighed. Abruptly, he clapped his paws together. It echoed throughout the room. "Alright, head over to your spots so we can get this started."

Everyone was hesitant, but followed.

"Minori." Fumio had grabbed ahold of the pseudologist's sleeve. "We're going to help each other out, right?"

The Ultimate smiled. "Of course. We need to help each other out in order to reach the truth of this case."

The scholar smiled softly before heading over to his spot, Minori doing the same after nodding to himself.

"Nice! Everyone's in their spots!" Monokuma whistled, snickering. "Alright, is everyone ready? Go over your truth bullets before proceeding! This case is gonna be a doozy!"

Sagiso raised a brow. "What are you, an announcer?"

Minori chuckled inwardly to himself. _Yeah, most likely. Monokuma's always excited for this sort of shit…_

The pseudologist then held his breath. He slowly grabbed ahold of his MonoPad and brought it to his face.

 _I need to concentrate. Focus. Nezumi and Kakuma's murders have to be solved. I want their souls to rest in peace. Our lives are also on the line. It's either us, or the killer._

Minori looked down at the screen. There, he saw the truth bullets that he gathered.

* * *

 **List of Truth Bullets**

 **Case File #003 (Kakuma's)** \- Kakuma had died inside of the music room by being choked to death. There are non-vital bruises over his body.

 **Case File #004 (Nezumi's)** \- Nezumi had died inside of the stargazing room from trauma, the back of his head having been smashed in with a violin.

 **Cowhairs -** Cowhairs acted as and a means of restriction. They were used to tie Nezumi and Kaniza alongside the violin strings to the beanie chairs. They were also used as a weapon, having been used to choke Kakuma.

 **Nezumi's Lips** \- Nezumi's lips have been slightly cut, blood having trickled from his lips.

 **Resin** \- Resin is present on both Kaniza and Nezumi's lips.

 **Kaniza's Letter** \- Kaniza had gotten a white letter from Nezumi to meet her in the stargazing room around ten in the night.

 **Mess** \- The stargazing room was a mess. The smashed violin and bows were to be seen, but not only that, but also an array of wrappers and crumbs.

 **Music Sheets** \- There were music sheets mixed in with Nezumi and Kaniza's clothing. There may or may not be a purpose behind why they're present, nonetheless the pieces chosen.

 **Clothes** \- Nezumi and Kaniza's clothes are lying over the floor. The inside of Nezumi's shirt seemed to be slightly stained with blood, though his cloak is entirely soaked.

 **Unknown Bomb** \- As Ryoichi said, there wasn't a bomb to be seen inside of his room. There is nothing that linked to the bomb's use or whereabouts too.

 **Torn Clothes** \- Kakuma's clothes are slightly torn.

 **Meetup** \- Kakuma and Minori had planned to meet up around midnight to discuss about the killing game's situation.

 **String and Block of Wood** \- There is a roll of string and a block of wood besides the music room door.

 **Handkerchief** \- There is a handkerchief inside of the storage room that was wet with water, however there is also a strong smell emitting from it.

* * *

The pseudologist released his breath. A long sigh.

Hopefully, hopefully it was enough.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Monokuma was excited, eyes sparkling as he looked down at the Ultimates.

Silence.

Monokuma grinned. A moment passed, and the bear squealed. "Let's go then! The case of Nezumi and Kakuma, start!"

"What the fuck was that…?" Seiga couldn't help but eye the bear in bafflement. He then sighed as he looked back to the group. "So, we're here to solve Kakuma and Nezumi's deaths."

Kamui nodded. "Right… But how are we to start?"

"Well, for starters, I am curious as to why Monokuma hid their time of deaths." Saori cupped her chin, frowning. She was staring at her MonoPad with keen interest. "... The Case Files this time is truly lacking in detail."

"I'm sure Monokuma's doing this on purpose," Ryoichi said, saddened. "He really wants to complicate things."

Sagiso bit into her lips. She glanced over to the portraits of Nezumi and Kakuma, then clicking her tongue as she threw the headmaster a look. "Can you really not tell us their time of deaths?"

"Nope!" A blunt, straightforward answer. "You think I'll be that generous, huh! Nuh-uh, there's a reason why I cut out their time of deaths and I'm not willing to give you such valuable information now!"

Seiga scoffed. "Figures."

"Everything is entertainment to him anyways," Minori said, a snarky comment aimed to insult the bear. It honestly didn't matter though, as he had then crossed his arms. "Nonetheless, we need to figure out their time of deaths and who exactly died first."

"Right," Fumio scribbled, "It's important for us to know whether Nezumi or Kakuma died first."

Ryoichi sighed. "If only we had a time traveler in here…"

"Such a thing would be considered a beloved treasure to us," Sheina said, commenting on the topic. "If the Gods allowed such a thing to happen, those who have perished…"

"Let's not speak about that," Sagiso quickly interjected, noticing the sadness beginning to overwhelm the poor astrophotographer.

Kaniza bit into her lips. "I just want to know who could've done these horrible things… Kakuma… And my poor Nezzy…"

"Alright!" Seiga clapped his hands together. It was an obvious attempt to negate the tense atmosphere. "Then let's solve this little mystery, shall we? Let's do this for the sake of everyone here."

"Right." Rin nodded. "So, what evidence would suggest that either Kakuma or Nezumi died first?"

Saori frowned. "The letter Nezumi gave Kaniza."

"What?" Ryoichi's eyes widened. He turned to Kaniza, eyeing the raven who averted her gaze within an instant. "You didn't tell us this, Ms. Tsukitaiyo."

"Give her a break," the jeweler scoffed, "Her boyfriend just died."

"I-I know that." The investigator held his breath. He quickly bowed his head down to Kaniza. "S-sorry."

"It's fine…" The woman managed to answer. "I only told Saori and Minnie this… Sorry."

Ryoichi pursed his lips. "No. I-it's fine."

Fumio was troubled at this, but looked over to the pseudologist and body broker. Gesturing them to eye him, he quickly scribbled down his thoughts. "What does the letter say?"

"Oh." Minori frowned. "Nezumi told her to meet him around ten."

Saori nodded. "That's right. Nezumi told her to meet exactly around that time."

The astrophotographer rubbed her eyes. "I-I went exactly around that time… I met Nezumi at the stargazing room there, I think…"

Rin frowned. "You think?"

"Really now…" Fumio was hesitant to answer, now staying silent from that topic. Instead, his thoughts ran to something different. "What evidence would suggest that Kakuma died first then?"

"Kakuma…" Sagiso cupped her chin. "Hm…"

"Why was Kakuma even there in the first place?" Seiga asked, scratching his head. "Seems pretty sketchy when you think about it, right? Kakuma's obviously in the music room for some sketchy reason."

"True. You have a point." Kamui tapped his foot. "Why would Kakuma be there…?"

 _I have to tell them already?_

Minori held his breath. He wondered how he should go about this.

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Case File# 004 | Cowhairs | Kaniza's Letter | String and Block of Wood**

 **Seiga:** So, like, why would Kakuma be in the music room in the first place? It's not like he's there to _**play music**_ or some shit, right?

 **Ryoichi:** I doubt that.

 **Saori:** Maybe Kakuma was _**pulling a prank**_ on someone.

 **Sagiso:** Is he the type of person to do something like that?

 **Minori:** Uh…

 **Kamui:** Can we suppose that he himself was _**planning to murder**_?

 **Saori:** Seriously?

 **Rin:** What? Was he planning to murder Nezumi or something?

 **Kaniza:** N-no way… That can't be it…!

 **Minori:** No, it's not that.

 **Sagiso:** Maybe we can deduce that Kakuma was just _**planning to meet someone**_?

 **Sheina:** If so, then who?

 **Seiga:** Hey! I know! What if it's _**Monokuma**_!

 **Fumio:** Is that even possible?

 **Seiga:** Don't know. Just throwing it out there. I mean, anything is possible _**given how fucking crazy Monokuma is**_.

 **Rin:** Good point.

 **Minori:** Uh, guys, Kakuma wanted to-

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Kakuma's Letter-**

 **Ryoichi:** That's certainly a possibility!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori was shocked. He didn't expect someone to scream so suddenly, nor agree with a point so quickly. With the pseudologist having wondered how to tell the truth to others, he had already been cut apart.

His eyes looked to Sagiso. The woman's expression was filled with worry and doubt.

"Why do you think I'm right?" The psychogeographer asked, eyes now turned to Ryoichi. She had her arms crossed. "So, Kakuma was planning to meet someone?"

Ryoichi nodded, full of confidence. "Yes, that is right, Ms. Hazuki. Mr. Arakaki was planning to meet someone, and I have the evidence that makes this the truth."

"Really, Ryo?" Seiga was curious. "Show it."

The investigator smiled, quickly reaching into his pockets. He took out a crumpled piece of white paper, then unwrapping it as he eyed the contents of it. Apparently, it was a letter given by how Minori could faintly see words on the corner of the paper.

"Who's that from?" The pseudologist asked, curious.

Ryoichi frowned. "From Mr. Arakaki."

Everyone was thrown aback by this, eyes widening and faces expressing shock.

"Really? Dude!" Seiga threw a fist up. "Show it!"

Saori crossed her arms. "Please read aloud its contents."

Ryoichi confidently nodded his head as he cleared his throat. Eyes looking down upon the contents, he began speaking loudly in his smooth tone of voice. "'Dear Minori Watanabe, please meet me at the music room at midnight. Signed, Kakuma.'"

Minori's face paled. "What?"

"Aha!" Seiga pointed to the pseudologist, instantaneous confidence in his face. "So you're the one who killed Kakuma! Maybe you're the one who killed Nezumi too, right?"

"What? I've never gotten a letter like that!" The pseudologist bit into his lips, stomach churning. "This isn't right! Besides, isn't it crumpled? Where did you find the letter anyways, Ryoichi?"

"The trash can." Ryoichi crossed his arms, stern. "It was inside of the music room's trash can. I found it before anyone else did."

The Ultimate frowned. "Why is it there? I obviously never gotten that then."

Rin raised a brow. "Hm, maybe you foolishly decided that you should rid of your one ticket to death? You threw it in the trash can either out of stupidity, or out of desperation."

"T-that doesn't…" Minori shook his head. "You believe I'm the killer then?"

Sagiso pursed her lips, calm as she stared down the man. "But it's true you had to meet him, right?"

Minori's eyes widened. He knew this wouldn't bring him down the path of innocence, but he had no choice. He promised not only Sagiso, but to everyone that he'd save them. To save them would mean to confess everything that is needed to bring the trial to light-

-especially Kakuma's.

"It's true," the pseudologist said, trying to regain his composure. "I was supposed to meet Kakuma at midnight. That was the reason why I came upstairs in the first place, not because of Kaniza and Nezumi. Sorry."

Seiga growled, slamming his fists down the rail. "So it was you!"

Minori flinched, but continued. "Just because I was meeting with Kakuma doesn't mean that I'm the killer. I've never gotten a letter like that in the first place. He told me to meet him personally."

Sagiso crossed her arms. "Why? Why were you planning to meet him?"

"Ah, that."

Minori held his breath. It was now or never.

"To be short to the point, Kakuma was Monokuma's assistant."

Everyone was thrown into yet another episode of shock.

"A-ah…" Sheina was at a loss for words. "... Excuse me, what?"

"What does that mean?" Kamui asked, worry written all over his face. Cold sweat was trickling down his forehead. "What are you saying, Minori?"

"... That's…" Even Kaniza didn't know what to say, eyes dilated. "... Kakuma… There's no way…"

Seiga shook his head, face pale. "E-even if Kakuma wasn't an ally of our's, that doesn't give you the right to accuse him of such a thing! Are you fucking messing with us?"

"I'm not." Minori frowned. "Kakuma was assisting Monokuma, but that doesn't mean he's a traitor per se."

Fumio thought for a moment, then slowly scribbling down into his notepad. "He was acting like a double agent?"

"Technically, yes." The pseudologist held his breath. "He was trying to gain information out of Monokuma, and although I do not know what Kakuma did in return to help Monokuma exactly-"

"Bullshit."

Minori was shocked, eyes turning over to Seiga.

"That's stupid." The stunt double was shaking his head, face red. "I can't believe that anyone would help Monokuma. That's fucking stupid. You're just faking it!"

"I-I'm not!" The pseudologist cried. "Seiga, just listen to me! Kakuma was on our side!"

"That's not the point, murderer." The man had his hands clenched into fists. He looked ready to fight. "You're just trying to tarnish Kakuma's name! It's obvious you're the killer! You were the first one there at the crime scene!"

"We still haven't even considered the time of deaths nor what happened exactly to them!" Minori gritted his teeth. "Stop jumping to conclusions! I'm just trying to explain what happened between me and Kakuma! If you just let me speak-"

"Shut up! I'm solving this case and I am not letting you get in the way!"

Minori's heart jumped at those words. Those words were filled with hostility and anger, and Minori knew it was too late for him to back down. "Seiga…"

"Heh." Seiga cracked his knuckles, fight overwhelming his entire body. He was bloodthirsty. "Get ready, Minori!"

* * *

 **REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN**

 **Truth Swords: Case File 003 | Cowhairs | Kaniza's Letter | Unknown Bomb | Resin**

 **Seiga:** It's obvious that you're the killer!

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** Just fucking admit it!

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** The letter was directed towards you.

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** You obviously came to the scene because you knew Kakuma would be there!

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** It's obvious you were first to the crime scene because you're the murderer!

==SLASH!==

ADVANCE!

 **Minori:** Just because I was first at the crime scene doesn't mean I am the murderer.

 **Minori:** The only evidence you have against me is that suspicious letter, Seiga!

 **Seiga:** That's not true!

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** The same can be said for you!

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** You can't refute what I say!

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** Like dude, who can defend you? _**[Monokuma]**_?

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** You can't fucking show that you're innocent!

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** Are you a fucking coward?

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** Just admit it! You're guilty!

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** You're obviously the one who killed Kakuma!

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** I bet you even killed Nezumi too!

==SLASH!==

 **Seiga:** Minori, there's _**no one**_ who can defend you!

 **-Truth Blade Selected: "... Monokuma…"**

 **Minori:** I'll slice through those words!

==SLASH!==

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori stared down the stunt double, having had enough of his antics. "Do you really think that no one could testify for this claim?"

"What?" Seiga was grinding his teeth. "What are you fucking talking about?"

The pseudologist scoffed. "I said that Kakuma's an assistant to Monokuma before, right? Don't you think that Monokuma himself could testify if him being a double agent is true or not?"

The stunt double frowned, rolling his eyes. "Dude, Monokuma's fucking worthless. Why would I trust someone like him?"

"Woah, rude!" Monokuma cried from above, a tear falling from his face. "You just broke my heart the millionth time already, my wonderful Seiga."

"Millionth?" Rin raised a brow. "That's a lot."

"Are you gonna snark at everything I say?" Monokuma groaned. "Geez, kids these days grow up to have such a temper. It's scary."

The bear waited for a response. Hearing nothing but silence, the poor headmaster continued. "Well, anyways, Minnie's right! Kakuma was acting as a double agent! Trying to rip me off for information in order for you shitheads to get out of you… What a fucking bastard."

"W-what?" Seiga was sweating. "That's a lie. You can't be saying that Minori's telling the truth!"

"But he is!" Monokuma laughed. "I'm willing to even share this information because Kakuma was a backstabber! Geez, I gave him such valuable information too…"

Saori frowned, crossing her arms. "Are you sure you care? I would've expected you to have known Kakuma was a backstabber the entire time."

"Ooh, we have a smartie here! Round of applause!" The bear clapped his paws together excitedly, grinning. "Yeah, that's right. I already knew Kakuma was planning to backstab me. I have cameras everywhere and shit, remember?"

Minori couldn't help but shudder at this fact. "Then tell me something, Monokuma."

"Hm? What's up, darling?"

"... Don't call me that." The man gagged. "Anyways, the information you provided Kakuma are true, correct? There are two floors after this one, and the fact is that there's a mastermind running the scenes from behind… which, most likely, are in here with us."

Everyone's replies came immediately.

"What?!"

"A m-mastermind?"

Monokuma's smile became bitter as he stood up, a whistle escaping his mouth. He was staring at the pseudologist, amusement in his eyes. "I didn't expect you to blurt that out so suddenly."

"T-that's why you didn't want to tell me…" Sagiso was murmuring under her breath, baffled. "It's because Kakuma was a double agent…"

Minori sighed. "Sorry, he didn't want me to tell any of you guys."

Sagiso was silent. She didn't know what else to say.

"Anyways, what I told Kakuma's correct! Even if he was a backstabbing bitch, seeing what he does with this information was what entertained me most." Monokuma threw himself back to his seat. He was kicking his legs up- left, right, left, right, etc. "Isn't a shame he died before I got to see him making due with what shit I told him? Like dude, it would've been so much fun!"

Monokuma then stopped, eyes scanning the group. "Well, since Minnie told you guys the jist of shit I guess this is fine too."

"Seriously?" Seiga was unable to say anything comprehensible, at a loss for words. "I thought…"

"See? You should've just listened to me earlier." Minori sighed, saddened. "Seiga, I only saw the bodies first because I had to talk to Kakuma about what Monokuma told him."

"That's…" The stunt double stopped. He rapidly shook his head. "No, that still doesn't exclude you from murder! You still could've done it!"

Minori frowned. "I understand that, but let's not jump to conclusions and actually discuss what happened to Nezumi and Kakuma."

"What? Why? Because I cornered you?"

The pseudologist bit into his lips, noticing the smirk on Seiga's face. "Seiga, you're seriously just jumping to conclusions. Please, the hatred you have towards me shouldn't blind you from guessing who the killer is."

"What else can you say to prove your innocence?" Seiga scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Just admit it, you coward! For all we know you and Kakuma could've both been working under Monokuma! Maybe you made a deal with that shitty bear beforehand!"

"Monokuma has cameras everywhere," Minori retorted, face turning red. "Do you need video evidence of Kakuma having agreed to be Monokuma's ally? What evidence do you need to show that I'm not lying? If you ask Monokuma to bring up footage of me making a 'deal' for him to just lie to you all about this, then you'll find nothing."

"Nothing? What, you want to challenge me?" Seiga snorted. "You're out of your mind if you think you could trick someone like me-"

"Ahem."

Minori's eyes widened. He looked over, finding Sagiso.

The woman was eyeing the duo with a stern expression, cold. "We should actually focus back on the trial," she began, blunt. "And if there's nothing more suspicious than Minori's alliance to Kakuma, then what about the bomb?"

"The bomb?" Seiga slowly backed off, regaining his usual composure. "You mean the bomb I and the others made?"

Kaniza coughed. "D-didn't you mention that the bomb's missing?"

"O-oh! Yes, I did." Ryoichi awkwardly smiled, scratching his head. "I have no idea where it went…"

"Sounds like a lie to me," Rin mumbled to herself. "How could you lose something like that?"

"I don't know… I took my eyes away from it, and within seconds it was gone." The investigator bit into his lips. "I could conclude that someone must've found the bomb and took it. I do not know why though."

Kaniza raised a brow. "Maybe Monokuma stole it…?"

Minori shook his head, frowning. "I doubt that."

"Huh?" The astrophotographer's eyes widened. "Why is that, Minnie…?"

* * *

 **THINKING TIME**

 **Question: Why isn't it possible for Monokuma to steal the bomb?**

 **[A. He would've already done so beforehand when Ryoichi planned this.]**

 **B. Because he doesn't know where the bomb is.**

 **C. Monokuma is too nice of a bear to do that.**

 **D. Monokuma doesn't even know about the bomb.**

 **Minori:** _It's because of that!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"If Monokuma really wanted to ruin Ryoichi's chances of exploiting him, he would've have stopped him and the others by now." The pseudologist's glance was fixated on the bear. "The moment Ryoichi planned it, Monokuma would've come out and stopped him if he really wanted to avoid this mess."

"That's a good point." Sagiso nodded her head. "Monokuma probably allowed you and the others to create the bomb because of his desire for entertainment."

"Right…" Rin frowned. "I forgot Monokuma was an entertainment freak."

"What? You think I'm into some entertainment thing such as bondage and shit?" Monokuma laughed wholeheartedly. "Bitch, bondage is the least of your problems in the pleasure world! Y'know people are into actual shit and vore, right?! Fucking corpses are a thing too!"

"W-what… I didn't say that…" Rin quickly averted her gaze, embarrassed.

Saori bit into her lips. "Ugh. Disgusting."

"Ahem!" Kamui clapped his hands together. "Let's go back into the conversation, shall we? The bomb is certainly something to worry about, but it seems like Ryoichi and the others do not know where it could've gone."

Ryoichi nodded, a dejected look on his face. "Sorry."

"I guess…" Seiga tapped onto his chin, pondering. "Are we gonna go back and talk about the time of deaths then?"

"It seems like we are unsure about that though." Sheina crossed her arms. "Maybe we should talk about something else. The Gods above may shine fortune down upon us if we do."

"That's a good idea," Fumio said, his notepad in the air. "We should talk about one case at a time and speculate on what happened."

"Right…" Kaniza cupped her hands together. She was moving to and fro, idle. "Uh… W-who do we talk about first?"

"Maybe Kakumaa's?" Seiga suggested, scratching his head. "His case does look a bit easier to decipher… I'm only basing this on just sight though, so I might be wrong."

Kamui rubbed his hands together. "I suppose we can talk about Kakuma's case first. Does anyone have a problem with that?"

Everyone was silent. They acknowledged this, approving it in dreaded silence.

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Cowhairs | Kaniza's Letter | Clothes | String and Block of Wood**

 **Saori:** Kakuma's case…

 **Kamui:** Kakuma was _**choked to death**_ , correct?

 **Saori:** Yes, that is correct, although I admit the weapon of choice used to kill him was… well, rather strange.

 **Seiga:** Really?

 **Saori:** Yes. What was it called again? It was _**bow strings**_ , right?

 **Rin:** … _**Cowhairs**_ , Saori.

 **Saori:** I knew that.

 **Minori:** Saori, what's strange about the weapon of choice?

 **Saori:** I mean, it is the fact that the killer chose to use cowhairs instead of their own hands or clothing. Don't you find _**it quite strange**_ that the killer used cowhair of all things?

 **Ryoichi:** Well, now that you put it that way… It does.

 **Sheina:** It is strange. May the Gods please answer us… What is the reason for the killer using cowhairs?

 **Seiga:** I mean, the killer killed Kakuma _**in the music room**_ so I'd think that cowhairs were pretty accessible there.

 **Rin:** Yeah, totally.

 **Fumio:** I would think that possibly the killer already _**had the cowhairs with them**_ before attacking Kakuma? That would explain the usage of cowhairs on Kakuma that way.

 **Seiga:** Really? It's not like the killer could just burst into the room and yell, "Aw fuck yeah I got some cowhairs ready to kill you bitch!"... Right?

 **Rin:** Hmph. What _**an exaggeration**_.

 **Kamui:** Is it possible that the killer was _**caught in a fit of adrenaline**_ and that led them to believe that the cowhairs were their only means of weapon? It may explain why they haven't thought of to use their hands.

 **Sagiso:** One would've expected the killer to have used their hands.

 **Minori:** Hm…

 **Minori:** _That seems to explain it best._

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Cowhairs-**

 **Minori:** I agree with that!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori smiled over to Fumio's side. He gestured to the scholar, acknowledging his words wholeheartedly.

"Fumio's right," the man began, a surge of confidence overwhelming him as he crossed his arms. "I believe that the killer used cowhairs to kill Kakuma because they had it with them by the time they attacked Kakuma."

"What does that mean?" Ryoichi asked, having tilted his head. "Mr. Watanabe?"

"What is being suggested here is that the killer killed Nezumi first on the mere basis that cowhairs were used in both murders." Minori then stopped, frowning. "Or, if not that, then the fact that this shows that there is only one murderer here."

"On the mere basis that cowhairs were used…" Sagiso cupped her chin. "Though that does seem to point to the idea that there is only one killer among us… The murders were close to each other and in nearly the same time span."

Minori smiled. "Exactly. I believe that there is only one killer among us here, and, if possible, that Nezumi was killed first."

Fumio nodded his head. He threw the pseudologist a thumbs-up.

"Well!" Ryoichi smiled widely. "Going over one case at a time seems to help progress things quickly!"

"Yes, it did." Even Kamui himself seemed impressed. "We're already leading towards Nezumi being the one who was killed first."

"I mean, that's fine and dandy and all," Rin said, frowning, "but then why did the killer leave Kaniza alive?"

Kaniza's eyes widened as this. "W-what…?"

The jeweler brought her hands close together. "If Nezumi was the one who died first, then why did the killer leave Kaniza alive? It's obvious that the two of them were together, right?"

"Oh…" Sheina was bemused. "That's right. Why the killer left Kaniza alive is a mystery."

The stunt double slammed his fists down. "Ha! So maybe Kakuma was killed first instead! Sheesh, nothing's a hundred percent deduced. This is hard… Ugh, my head hurts!"

"W-why I'm alive…" Kaniza's head hung low. She was murmuring to herself, obviously shaken. Her face paled. "W-why am I alive…?"

"W-wait." Rin's voice suddenly became worried. The horror on the astrophotographer's face told her everything. "I didn't mean to hurt you…"

Saori quickly ran over to the raven's side, holding her shoulders. She was rubbing the poor astrophotographer.

"Don't worry about it," Sagiso said, noticing the dejection on the jeweler's face. "Your question needs to be stated here. It is certainly something to be aware of."

"That's right. I agree with that." Fumio nodded, holding his breath. "However, I think we should focus on Kakuma's case. It's not a smart idea for us to speak on each case back and forth."

Kamui tapped his foot slowly. "Right. Let's continue discussing about Kakuma's case then and roll over to Nezumi's later."

Rin was silent, though it was obvious she was more than willing to accept that request.

"Alright, so there is a huge possibility that Kakuma had been killed last and that we're handling one killer." The psychogeographer turned to Minori, staring directly into his eyes. "Am I right?"

Minori shuddered. Her gaze was intense. It was a sign that she was testing him, daring him to try and gain her trust. "That's right. I think that is the most likely scenario."

Fumio quickly raised his hand up, diverting attention to him. "There is also to mention that Kakuma being killed was purely because of bad luck. No one knew about him and Minori meeting except for… well, those two."

"Oh." Sheina's expression immediately shifted to that of pity. "What horrible fortune."

"Kakuma's death was most likely not planned then." Rin clicked her tongue, eyes averted from the crowd. "I can't help but feel bad for him."

Seiga sighed. "You said it. Though the dude was an asshole, he never really did anything that deserved that sort of shit. Who knows? He could've been friends with us."

Minori pursed his lips, heart clenching.

 _That's right. Kakuma just wanted to be friends with all of us… and yet this happened._

"That's heartbreaking…" Ryoichi lowered his head. "Mr. Arakaki…"

The pseudologist held his breath. His stomach continued to churn.

 _All we could do now is try to solve this case._

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Clothes | Torn Clothes | Meetup | String and Block of Wood**

 **Ryoichi:** So, er… What else can we discuss about Mr. Arakaki?

 **Kamui:** We know that Kakuma was inside of the music room to _**meet with Minori**_ , right?

 **Minori:** Yes, that's correct.

 **Rin:** If anything, I'm curious about how long he stayed there.

 **Seiga:** If he was killed last, then I think that he _**shouldn't have been out**_ for at least an hour. I doubt he'd just stand around and wait patiently for Minori to come.

 **Saori:** If he was staying there for hours, then why?

 **Fumio:** Kakuma and Minori were planning to meet at _**midnight**_ as well.

 **Seiga:** Though I'd think that the killer would've already left by that time… Nezumi and Kaniza were together _**around ten**_.

 **Sheina:** Maybe Kakuma came early because he thought Minori would?

 **Rin:** Why though? Does time really matter here to them?

 **Kaniza:** … Does it…?

 **Seiga:** Who knows? Maybe the dude stayed early just _**to wait and stall**_. He had nothing else to do, and if he slept he could've slept through the meeting, right?

 **Sagiso:** … Good point.

 **Minori:** I honestly would've thought that he'd come around the same time as I did. I exited my room a _**few minutes**_ before midnight.

 **Ryoichi:** Really? That means Mr. Arakaki was there beforehand.

 **Kaniza:** It's… It's strange…

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: String and Block of Wood-**

 **Fumio:** That's wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Hm…" Seiga was voicing his pondering to the crowd. "Kakuma…"

"This is certainly tough to crack," Rin mumbled under her lips. She was bemused completely.

Kaniza found herself relaxing as Saori continued to rub her shoulders. The astrophotographer looked over to the group, then frowning. "Uh," she began, worry in her face. "Guys…"

"Hm?" Minori eyed Kaniza for a moment, then following her gaze to find Fumio. His eyes widened. "Oh! Fumio, you wanted to negate something?"

Fumio frowned, but nodded his head slowly.

"Ah, sorry about that." Kamui quickly bowed his head down. "I normally only stop talking or pondering matters when I hear someone…"

Sagiso sighed at the mortician's excuse. She glanced over to the scholar with a small, thoughtful smile. "We'll be more observant next time."

"I know," the scholar scribbled. "It's fine."

Sheina tilted her head curiously. "What did you want to talk about?"

Fumio quickly scribbled into his notepad. "I don't believe that Kakuma stayed inside of the music room entirely to stall for time."

"I mean, I doubt that too." Rin crossed her arms. "Explain."

"Uh, yes." The scholar continued to scribble down into his yellow notepad. "Though there wasn't much inside of the music room that can be seen as evidence, we have to note that the roll of string and block of wood is suspicious."

"Right…" Saori pursed her lips. "It is odd that those two objects would be inside of the music room, and especially right near the door frame."

"What's suspicious about that?" Seiga asked, rolling his eyes. "There's lot of weird shit in anyone's room."

"Oh!" Minori's eyes widened. "There's also to note that the two objects seemed to haven't been used. I think that they were supposed to be used, but seeing as the block of wood and string seemed to have been fairly untouched…"

"That points to the possibility that Kakuma was killed last." Sagiso nodded her head. "But what are the purpose of those objects?"

"The purpose of those objects…" Ryoichi frowned. "We need to know whether or not the killer or Mr. Arakaki himself used them."

Minori bit into his lips. _Whether the killer or Kakuma used them, huh? Hm… I'll have to think a bit more into this._

* * *

 **PSYCHE TAXI**

…

 **Question 1: Is there a particular reason for the string and block of wood being inside the music room?**

A. No.

[B. Yes.]

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Question 2: Who would use the string and block of wood?**

[A. Kakuma.]

B. The killer.

C. Someone completely different.

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Question 3: Why would they use the string and block of wood?**

A. To stall for time, use the objects for entertainment.

B. No reason, the objects were there in the first place.

[C. To set up a trap.]

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Minori:** _That's the answer!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori snapped his fingers, a realization striking his face. "I think Kakuma was the one who was supposed to use the objects."

"Really?" Ryoichi tilted his head. "Why?"

The pseudologist frowned. He leered at the group. "There's a particular reason for those two objects in particular to be in that room, and near the door frame."

"I would think so," Fumio said, nodding his head. "But what?"

"Well…" The Ultimate averted his gaze. "What if those objects were supposed to be used to set up a trap?"

Saori raised a brow. "A trap? Why though?"

"I…" Minori frowned. "I haven't thought that far ahead. I can only deduce that Kakuma had wanted to set up a trap."

Sagiso crossed her arms. "How are you sure it isn't the killer?"

The pseudologist sighed, heart throbbing. "That's because the killer wouldn't have known that Kakuma would be in the music room. Only I did."

"Ah, I see." Kamui hummed. "Kakuma's death was what we considered out of bad luck. If the killer had set up a trap, they'd have to know that Kakuma was heading to the music room."

Seiga cracked his knuckles, idle. "What if the killer wanted to kill someone else though?"

"How'd the killer know that their victim was going to the music room?" Rin frowned, nose wrinkling. "They'd either have to ask their victim to go to the music room, bring them a letter, or hope that they won't go to sleep."

The stunt double looked like he wanted to speak, but was unable to because of his lack of words. He was at a loss, unable to counter.

"Right, that makes sense." The psychogeographer twirled her locks of auburn hair. "Hm… Why would Kakuma set up a trap then? He doesn't know of anyone who was targeting him, right?"

Sheina cupped her chin, pondering. "The Gods aren't providing us an answer…"

Fumio glanced over to the pseudologist. "You said that Kakuma was working under Monokuma, correct?"

Minori nodded slowly.

"You also said that you were the only one who knew of Kakuma's alliance." The scholar's pencil was shaky, but nonetheless he continued to write. "You were the only one who was supposed to meet Kakuma."

"Right…"

Fumio frowned, pursing his lips. His foot was tapping on the floor. "What sort of traps can be made with a block of wood and string?"

Seiga raised a brow. "I think you can make those hunter traps, right? There's net traps and all that shit. You could also make a trap that kills your prey, something like a noose."

The scholar tapped his chin, then writing. "Would you consider the trap Kakuma tried to set up dangerous?"

"Why're you asking me?" The stunt double glared at the scholar, but then sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, there's no other reason to set up a trap unless you mean to capture or kill someone, right?"

"Wait." A sudden realization escaped Sagiso's face. "If Minori was the only one who knew of Kakuma being in the music room, doesn't that imply that Kakuma's trap was meant for him?"

"What?" Minori's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Kakuma…" Kaniza's face saddened. "That's horrible… There's no way…"

Fumio's face paled. "Well, because you were the only one who knew about Kakuma's alliance with Monokuma. Don't you think there's a possibility that Kakuma backstabbed you?"

"What…" Minori bit into his lips, dejected. His stomach churned. To think about that was pure disgusting to him. "That can't be it. He's…"

"Does that mean Kakuma really was a traitor?" Rin frowned. "If he wanted to kill or hurt Minori, then that obviously means he isn't a friend to us."

"Wow…" Seiga whistled. "What a fucking asshole then."

 _Is that it? Was Kakuma just a traitor all this time?_ The pseudologist averted his gaze. _No, that can't be it. There must be a reason for him to do that. If he wanted to hurt me…_

Minori looked over to Monokuma. He frowned, noticing the bear's smirk. He quickly looked back to the group. _Hm…_

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Case File #003 | Case File #004 | Meetup | Handkerchief**

 **Sagiso:** Why would Kakuma target Minori then?

 **Kaniza:** I-I'm not sure about that…

 **Minori:** Maybe it has to do with what _**[I discussed with him]**_?

 **Ryoichi:** But then, what would that be?

 **Seiga:** Maybe he wanted to kill Minori because he thought _**Minori was gonna kill him**_!

 **Saori:** Is that it?

 **Kamui:** Maybe… There's a possibility that maybe Kakuma backstabbed Minori because he thought _**Minori was a traitor himself**_?

 **Rin:** Did Kakuma even have proof of Minori being a backstabber?

 **Kamui:** Maybe not.

 **Fumio:** Does it have to do with Minori possibly being someone whom Kakuma can't trust?

 **Sheina:** Like what, for example?

 **Fumio:** Hm, maybe _**Minori was working under Monokuma**_?

 **Minori:** R-really…?

 **Kaniza:** Ha… that can't be…

 **Ryoichi:** I'm not sure about that either.

 **Seiga:** What the fuck is the answer then?

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: "... I discussed with him…"-**

 **Sagiso:** Yes, that is correct!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Wait."

The pseudologist was thrown aback in shock. He found himself eyeing Sagiso, the woman having intervened.

"Huh?" Ryoichi tilted his head. "What's the problem?"

Sagiso adjusted her position, then clearing her throat and speaking. "Remember what Minori said about his discussion with Kakuma?"

"Uh…" Sheina toyed with her necklace, bewildered. "Please explain."

Kaniza gulped. "... T-the mastermind, right…?"

The psychogeographer nodded. "That's right. What if the information that Monokuma gave to Kakuma was on who the mastermind was?"

"What?" Minori's eyes widened. "I-I wouldn't have expected Monokuma to blurt that sort of information out so openly though."

"Entertainment." Kamui smiled awkwardly towards the pseudologist's way. "He possibly wanted to see what Kakuma would do with that information?"

Rin scoffed. "That's if what Sagiso said is true."

"Of course." The mortician chuckled. "That's right."

Minori awkwardly brought his hands to his scarf. "I suppose that makes sense… What does that have to do with-"

It hit him. A light bulb had flickered above his head, and he so desperately wanted to break it. Something had slapped him across the face.

"W-wait a second, please." The pseudologist suddenly found himself sweating, eyebrows furrowed. "If that's the case, then…"

Sagiso nodded. "That means that Kakuma was targeting you. He believed you were the mastermind."

Silence rang throughout the room.

"What?"

That was the exact word that ran through everyone's head.

"Fuck. Wow." The stunt double began. He was crossing his arms, baffled by the sudden turn of events. "Fucking seriously?"

"That does make sense," Saori said, slow with her words.

"Mr. Watanabe…" Ryoichi was shaking. "... The mastermind? I-if he was the one who's been plotting this killing game…"

"What? No, of course not!" Minori was sweating, feeling lightheaded. Fear was overwhelming his entire body. "That's not true. I would never do something like this!"

"That's…" Sheina quickly cupped her hands, deep in meditation. "As the Son of Osiris, it is my duty to keep unity between all of us. If you are the mastermind… I…"

The egyptologist suddenly stopped, head hung low. "I don't know…"

"I'm sorry. I don't believe Minori's the mastermind." Kamui crossed his arms, stern. "If he was the mastermind, he wouldn't have helped us through these trials at all."

"Everyone helps at trials, even if slightly." Rin bit into her lips. "If Kakuma planned to kill Minori, then that means Minori's a threat."

"A-are you serious?" Kaniza was shaking. "M-Minnie can't be the mastermind… That's impossible…"

Saori frowned. "Kakuma and Minori did discuss to each other that the mastermind was inside of this school… If the mastermind is one of us, then there's a possibility that Minori's the mastermind."

"What?" Minori was shocked. "There's no proof of me being the mastermind."

Seiga smirked. "Who knows? You're not the Ultimate Pseudologist for nothing."

The pseudologist was silent, unable to believe what he heard. _What? I thought we were done with that whole 'because you're a liar' shit…_

"What should we do?" Sheina asked, baffled. "If Minori is truly the mastermind, then…"

"Let's just vote for him!" The stunt double slammed his hands down, a surge of confidence overwhelming his body. "We can put an end to this killing game if we just reveal Minori as the mastermind!"

"I-is that really how it works?" Ryoichi pursed his lips. "But to think Mr. Watanabe as a mastermind… The one behind this killing game…"

Fumio shook his head, anxious as he scribbled into his notepad. "This doesn't seem right."

Seiga scoffed. "It doesn't matter! We need to put an end to this, now!"

 _No. This is wrong._ Minori held his breath, his heart racing. _This isn't right. How do I stop them from trying to vote for me? This won't go well if this happens…_

"Seiga, calm down," the pseudologist began, trying to keep up a calm voice. "We need to figure out who killed Kakuma and Nezumi. I am not the murderer. There is no direct evidence that points to me being the mastermind."

"Why should I trust you? Why should any of us trust you?" The stunt double was growling. "You're just lying to us! You're trying to avoid us pinning you down!"

"Minori…" Kamui looked at the pseudologist. His face was pale, full of worry. "Do you have evidence that proves your innocence?"

 _Shit. They're not going to believe me._ Minori looked up to Monokuma. _He won't help me at all. If anything, they'll just think that I'm trying to hide myself if Monokuma steps up for me._

"A-are we really going to vote for Minori?" Kaniza asked, eyes darting back and forth. "T-this… it doesn't seem right."

"We could end this now if we vote for him." Rin crossed her arms, calm. "But what if this only ends up with us being killed?"

Ryoichi shook his head. "We just need to throw him into a corner… Right?"

Seiga cracked his knuckles, eyes glaring straight into the pseudologist's. "Then let's vote!"

Fumio raised a brow. "Are you sure…?" He glanced at the pseudologist before looking back to Seiga. "This doesn't seem right."

"What?" Seiga was shocked. "We have the chance to stop this whole shit! We should grasp it!"

The scholar gulped. "No, you don't understand."

"What don't I understand?" Seiga's voice was raised. "You're just spewing shit!"

Fumio flinched at this, hesitantly scribbling. "I don't think Minori's the mastermind. We shouldn't vote."

"Just stop scribbling!" Seiga cracked his knuckles, anger in his eyes. "What sort of shit are you talking about? You're fucking stupid!"

Fumio's face paled. He raised his pencil before falling short.

"Just stop!" The stunt double had scared the scholar, the pencil falling with a short 'plop' sound. "You're just trying to defend Minori because you feel like playing 'hero' or some shit! Just stop!"

The scholar was shaking.

Minori clenched his fists, having had enough. He turned to the stunt double. "Seiga, that's enough!"

"Oh, you shut it!" Seiga glared at the pseudologist. He snarled at him before pointing over to Fumio. "Why do you care so much about him?! He's not worth shit!"

 _Seiga… Why? Why are you acting like this? This isn't right!_

"Worth shit?" Minori's face was turning red. "Seiga, what's wrong with you? Deciding who's worth their life and who's not is stupid! Don't talk to Fumio like that!"

"Seiga, stop." Saori was glaring at the man. "Let Fumio speak at least."

"What? Even you?" Seiga let out a snort, eyes turned back to Fumio. "Then fuck it! Tell me. Fucking tell me with your own mouth. Fucking talk."

"Hey, stop that!" Sagiso's eyes were teary. The insults thrown at the poor scholar was overwhelming her. "You're degrading him!"

"Don't you know he's mute?" Sheina's voice was low. "This is a sin."

"Yeah? Is that right?" Seiga threw another smirk towards Fumio's way. "Then that's a shame. I can't bother to listen to someone who can't even stand up for himself. He's just speaking shit!"

Fumio was silent, head hung low.

"See? He can't speak out of his ass even if he wanted to." The stunt double laughed. "So don't fucking defend Minori when you can't even do so in the first place! Minori's the mastermind, and you can't dispute it!"

"No, it's the fact that Sagiso said Kakuma 'believed' Minori was the mastermind!"

"W-what…?" Seiga was thrown aback. "What the fuck…?"

Minori was still, frozen in shock. His eyes were fixated completely on the scholar. "Fumio…?"

Fumio had his hands clenched into fists. His entire face was pale, his lips quivering. The notepad and pencil were on the ground, lying in the dust.

"Fumio…" Sagiso squinted her eyes. "You… You can talk?"

Fumio gritted his teeth. He averted his gaze, his orange eyes teary.

"You…" Minori forced himself to regain his composure, throwing forth a gentle tone. "You can talk."

"Y-yes…" Fumio's voice was emotionally unstable, brittle. "I-I'm sorry. I never told any of you…"

"I-It's alright." The pseudologist was having a hard time staying still. He just couldn't believe what was happening. "So… Er, what were you saying?"

"Right." Fumio was rubbing his eyes, though to his failure. Tears were falling down from his face. It was obvious the scholar was still shaken, eyes unable to look to the crowd. "Uh… Kakuma believed that Minori was the mastermind, however it doesn't mean that Minori's actually the mastermind."

Kamui frowned. "What does that mean?"

The scholar bit into his lips, legs shaking. "Monokuma could've lied to Kakuma about who the mastermind was."

"Really?" Ryoichi's eyes widened. "That means… Mr. Arakaki was tricked…?"

Sagiso pursed her lips. "That's a cruel thought. For Monokuma to lie to Kakuma… It's like he led Kakuma to his demise."

"Monokuma…" Rin clicked her tongue. "Disgusting."

"I see." Saori nodded her head slowly. "Thank you for your input, Fumio."

"Yes…" Fumio's breaths were raspy. "We should just talk about this case and not focus on the mastermind since we don't have any evidence…"

"Of course." Kamui smiled, looking over to Minori. "That means you're cleared."

"Hopefully…" Minori couldn't help but feel dejected, having noticed Seiga rolling his eyes. The pseudologist bit into his lips as he observed the scholar. Noticing that the blue-haired man was on the verge of crying, the Ultimate couldn't help but stand down from his podium. He quickly headed over to the scholar and bent down. "Are you alright?"

Fumio nodded, shakily curling into a ball and hugging his knees. "I-I'm fine. Just let me cool off for a moment…"

Minori saddened at this, but forced himself back up and walked over to his position.

 _I can't believe it. Too many things are happening at once… Fumio being able to talk…_

Minori threw a look at Seiga.

 _And the fact that Seiga literally threw Fumio into a panic attack. Was he always an asshole? What's happening to him?_

"Let's not talk about Fumio for now," Sagiso said, eyeing the group coldly. "There will be no talk about the mastermind for now either. We'll focus on this case and this case only, alright?"

Everyone was more than willing to oblige.

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL POSTPONED**

 **Survivors: 10/16**

* * *

Well, and that's the end of this chapter! This trial may be split up in more than two chapters this time, but that's probably to be expected down in the long run... Besides, there's two murders here! I'm still not sure if the entire case will be solved in the next chapter, but we shall see about that in the future.

Anyways, hopefully this chapter cleared some things up (or not). There might be a lot of twists in this case so far, but don't worry! It only gets worse in the long run. Well, school's seriously coming close... Aah, hopefully I can manage everything here! I'll see you all in the next chapter!


	30. Chapter 3 - Part 2, Part C

Hello, and welcome to the next part of the trial! If you didn't notice, this chapter seems to be pretty long. Hopefully it won't deter you much from reading it all the way to the end, haha. Well, I don't want to keep you all waiting, so let's get this party started! Anyways, because a certain someone told me not to say this- seesaw.

 **Ziggymia123:** "Oh my, the usage of caps XD I'm glad you seem to like this sort of formula~ Maximum pain and suffering is what we authors want to inflict on the readers, isn't that right, Ziggy~? Ouch, let's make Kakuma have friends in the afterlife at least then."

 **ToonGuy:** "Hooray, comments! Haha, well, we'd definitely win because we are not in a killing game. Ew, that thought of Minori and Monokuma went through my head now. I do enjoy your theorizing though! Wordings for many things can always be a bit better, I see. Yes, I'm glad you enjoyed that tidbit of people not being able to hear Fumio! Pfft, nice to see I confused you there."

 **dashunterman:** "Haha, well, let us see what happens in this chapter."

 **Cloak192:** "That's a nice quote there~ Ah, I remember those days too. Oh, how time flies by. Well, speculations are welcomed here. Let us see if you are right~"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Fumio Protection Squad, activate! Yes, Saori's definitely fitting as a motherly sort of character, and I love writing her so far~ Haha, well, no one seems to like Seiga now anyways. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this chapter!"

 **liammarklh88:** "Aw, I'm glad you seem to enjoy the trial so far! Hopefully the killer will get the death they deserve, or not depending on your interpretation of a well-deserved death for them. I shall wink at you~ Oh my. Well, the hatred for Seiga here is running strong I see. It seems everyone despises him so far~ That means Fumio can now talk smack to Seiga now, yay! Yes, Kaniza needs some love here. Byeza~"

 **Agrael:** "Yes, everyone hates Seiga and loves Fumio. I'm happy Fumio is getting the love he deserves~ Don't worry, if any of the characters survive, I'm going to post all their FTEs regardless. Death or life doesn't matter haha. It makes you wonder if Monokuma's telling the truth or not about everything now. Glad you're enjoying the twists so far~"

 **TheLlamaLord:** "Haha, well, let us see in this chapter. Aw, I'm glad you like Fumio so far! Oh, and thanks for having read this story! I'm glad you seem to enjoy it despite its weaknesses and faults! Haha, I mean, what you think is what you think. No one's right or wrong in feeling anything in this story here XD"

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL IN SESSION!**

 **ALL RISE!**

* * *

"So," Minori began, trying his best to keep the trial going, nonetheless regain his composure. His eyes always seemed to glance over to Fumio, the scholar still curled into a ball. He was worried, but hearing what Sagiso had said earlier, he knew it was better to continue. He cleared his throat, looking back to the group. "Let's review what we have on Kakuma's case so far."

"I can make due with that," Kamui said, smiling softly. He folded his arms. "We came into the conclusion that Kakuma had been killed last. Nezumi died first."

Sagiso continued. "Kakuma and Minori were the only ones who knew about their meeting, nonetheless that Kakuma was a double agent to us and Monokuma."

"Mr. Arakaki also got information that Mr. Watanabe was a mastermind." Ryoichi then frowned, sweat trickling down his chin. "Then… he acted upon that and tried to set up a trap to kill him."

"However, that didn't work. The killer got to Kakuma." Rin looked over to the pseudologist. "Is that right?"

The pseudologist nodded. "I think that's all we have so far."

Seiga let out a long, exaggerated sigh. "Sheesh, I feel like we got nowhere!"

Minori threw a look at the stunt double, but quickly forfeited his frustration and looked back to the group. "Alright, so have we talked most of what happened in Kakuma's case so far?"

Saori cupped her chin. "Well… other than who the murderer is, yes."

"Of course, we still need to take that what we came up with so far is just a mere possibility." Kamui crossed his arms, careful with his choice of words. "It is still possible that there are two murderers and that Kakuma was killed first."

"Now that I think about it…" Sheina raised a hand, looking to Minori. "How was Kakuma able to avoid hearing the killer killing… well, Nezumi?"

The pseudologist frowned. "What do you mean?"

The egyptologist smiled awkwardly, though she tried to make herself presentable and confident by having her chin held high. "Wouldn't Kakuma have heard the killer attacking Nezumi? I would think that the killer would've caused a ruckus."

Kaniza tilted her head, confused. "So… t-there is a possibility that Kakuma was killed first?"

"I don't know." Ryoichi's face saddened. "I just want to figure out who killed our friends…"

"Hm…" Minori cupped his chin. He was now pondering over Sheina's words. "I do believe that Kakuma was killed last…"

 _But then why? What else points to Kakuma being killed last? I need to think about it…_

* * *

 **HANGMAN'S GAMBIT**

 **Question: Why was Kakuma killed last?**

 **. . . . ' . - . . . . . . . . . .**

 **Minori:** _Let's see… Obviously, it does not have to do with our meeting times or anything…_

 **. oo . ' . - S . . . . . . . . .**

 **Minori:** _Hm… I feel like the answer's somewhere…_

 **Room's - S . . . . . . . . .**

 **Minori:** _Wait… I think I'm seeing something here…_

 **Room's - S . . nd . . . . f**

 **Minori:** _Oh! I think I get it now._

 **Answer: Room's Soundproof**

 **Minori:** _This is the answer!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori smiled, confidently looking over to the egyptologist. "I know the reason why Kakuma could've been killed last."

Sheina's eyes widened. "Ah, really? What is it then?"

"It's a given that inside of a music room that the room has to be soundproof." The pseudologist crossed his arms. "The music room is obviously soundproof. Kakuma couldn't have heard anything in that case, no matter how loud the killer or Nezumi were."

"Oh! Of course!" Sheina quickly bobbed her head, cheeks blushing. "I should've known that. Curse my lack of common sense please, Gods above."

"Wasn't the door open though?" Rin asked, an eyebrow raised. "I think the door was opened when we saw him."

"That could've been because of the killer's need to run before they get caught. I wouldn't think that the killer would've cared about the crime scene if they were rushing." Minori then raised a finger. "If the killer had killed Kakuma first, then I have no doubt that the door would be closed. They wouldn't want anyone to see Kakuma's body, even if they stalled for just a minute."

"Ah… that does make sense." Sagiso nodded her head, a small smile creeping to her lips. Noticing Minori's gaze upon her however, she quickly cleared her throat and continued. "However, what if the door was kept open? Wouldn't Kakuma have heard the killer and Nezumi in that case?"

Minori shook his head. "If Kakuma had wanted to kill me, then he'd make sure that no one knew that he was out this late. He's a meticulous person, so I don't doubt that he'd planned to kill me carefully. He does not want to risk anyone seeing him, even if we were all asleep and he knew it."

"Basing this on pure belief, huh?" Sagiso frowned. She stared at the man for a moment, then sighing. "Then again… I think Minori's right. Kakuma doesn't seem like the type of person to blatantly show what he's doing, no matter how low the risk of being caught is."

"Seriously?" Seiga glared at the woman. "Just because of that?"

Sagiso nodded slowly. "That's right."

"Uh…" Kaniza cupped her hands, anxious. Her face was still pale. "W-we should talk about something else now… R-right?"

"Right. I think we solved most of what we can regarding Mr. Arakaki's case." Ryoichi awkwardly threw on a smile. "So… uh…"

Rin frowned. "We're going to try solving Nezumi's case then."

Kaniza jumped at those words. "N-Nezzy…"

Minori looked worriedly at the astrophotographer's way, but he quickly composed himself and spoke. "We know a bit about Nezumi's case at least, correct? We were able to conclude that Nezumi had been killed first, after all."

"True…" Saori nodded her head slowly. "Everything else is not conclusive though."

Seiga shrugged, raising a brow. "Who cares about that shit? We just need to bring this case into light and then- boom! - we won."

The jeweler frowned. "Is that really how it works?"

"Alright then." Kamui forced a small smile. "Then we should talk about Nezumi's case. I'm sure we'll be able to come up with a general idea of what happened if we discussed it."

"I mean, obviously." The egyptologist threw her hands to her hips. "I'll happily ask the Gods for a favor if needed regardless!"

Saori couldn't help but smile at the woman. "Glad you're eager."

Sheina instantly blushed, quickly averting her gaze. Her entire face went red in embarrassment.

Ryoichi awkwardly clapped his hands together. "Alright, so where should we start with this case?"

"Let's go at this one by one." The psychogeographer crossed her arms. She fixed the bangs which hung low on her face. "For starters, on Nezumi's state."

Seiga tilted his head. "We're going to go over the basics then? Over what we should know so far?"

Sagiso nodded. "Is that fine?"

Minori smiled. "I'm fine with that." However, despite the pseudologist's positive smile he quickly glanced over to Fumio. Worry overwhelming his face, he couldn't help but call out to him. "Can you participate in the discussion?"

"Minori…" Fumio's voice was still meek, however after a moment of rocking himself back and forth he slowly peeked his head out. His eyes glanced over from left to right. A shaky sigh escaped his breath, and he moved up to his feet. "I-I'll be fine… Should I talk, or uh…?"

The pseudologist smiled. He tried his best to throw forth a comfortable, gentle tone of voice. "Whatever you want, Fumio. I don't think anyone has a problem with it."

Fumio glanced around the room.

"We're fine with it," Saori said, crossing her arms. "We're not here to judge you. It is more important to discuss about the class trial, after all."

Seiga seemed like he wanted to speak, however he kept quiet. He was only glaring at the scholar, intense in his gaze.

"Alright…" The scholar began, nodding to himself. "I'll use my voice… It's easier for you all to hear me as well,"

"Of course." Sagiso seemed satisfied with this answer, her head bobbing up and down. "Alright, let's go over what we know so far."

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Case File #004 | Nezumi's Lips | Resin | Mess**

 **Minori:** So, what do we know so far about Nezumi's case?

 **Fumio:** Uh, there's the possibility that _**Nezumi died first**_.

 **Kaniza:** I-I was meeting with Nezumi _**around ten**_ …

 **Seiga:** Nezumi was killed in the _**stargazing room**_ for starters.

 **Rin:** I mean, duh, that's what the _**case file said**_ , right?

 **Saori:** Nezumi died from _**blunt force trauma**_.

 **Kamui:** Yes, that's right. Is there any other injuries to keep note of though?

 **Sagiso:** Hm… I don't recall anything out of the ordinary.

 **Ryoichi:** Didn't Mr. Jirokichi have _**a cut on his lips**_?

 **Seiga:** Oh, right. That. Did he _**accidentally cut himself**_ or something?

 **Kamui:** We don't know about that yet.

 **Saori:** It might be _**intentionally there**_ on purpose.

 **Sheina:** Really now?

 **Minori:** So… Is there nothing else to note?

 **Ryoichi:** I suppose so. There's _**no other additional thing**_ that is to be noted as an additional injury or burden.

 **Kamui:** I guess so.

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Resin-**

 **Kaniza:** Stop, that's wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Ryoichi's eyes widened, taken aback by the sudden outburst. He was also surprised that it came from that specific individual, the look on his eyes making it obvious. "M-Ms. Tsukitaiyo?"

Kaniza was staring at the investigator in silence, her breathing shallow. She seemed a bit hesitant to talk, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed. A moment passed before her mouth open, her body slightly trembling. "I-I… I think there might be something else to add…"

"Yeah?" Ryoichi crossed his arms. "What is it, Ms. Tsukitaiyo?"

"Uh…" The astrophotographer averted her gaze. "I-I think it's possible that the killer attempted to poison Nezumi…?"

"Huh?" Saori frowned. "Explain."

Kaniza nodded slowly. "M-maybe the killer attempted to poison the both of us… Resin was on both of our lips, after all."

Minori's eyes widened. He instantly recalled back to the resin on Nezumi's lips.

"Resin?" Seiga crossed his arms. "Can that really count as poison? Nothing like that was even listed in the case file."

The raven gulped. "W-well, resin does contain chemicals that is hazardous if eaten… M-maybe the killer attempted to poison Nezumi and I, but something happened…?"

Sagiso cupped her chin, thinking to herself. "Hm… That doesn't make sense then if we match it up with what we have concluded so far though."

"I'm sorry." Kaniza hung her head low. Her eyes were downcast. "I-I don't really remember much…"

Rin nodded, acknowledging the woman's words. "Trauma, I see."

"So Kaniza doesn't remember much." Sheina was saddened. "Poor girl."

"But if you don't remember much, doesn't that mean that the things you're saying could be a lie?" Seiga crossed his arms, baffled. He was eyeing the woman strangely. "If I remember correctly, sometimes trauma causes you to remember things differently."

Fumio frowned, eyeing the stunt double. "... To an extent, yes."

The body broker tapped her foot on the ground. Her eyes were fixated on Seiga. "So, you're trying to say that we cannot rely on Kaniza?"

"I'm not saying that!" Seiga scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Kaniza's not the type of person to lie, but it's just like… y'know, maybe her memory's all fogged up or some shit? I mean, she did went through Hell, y'know?"

"Good point." Kamui crossed his arms. "There are a lot of possibilities for what could've happened then."

"There's certainly a lot of possibilities up then." Sheina bit into her lips, pondering. "Putting two and two together, one could even hypothesize that Kaniza was assaulted?"

"W-what?!" Kaniza's eyes widened. Her entire face went pale in an instant. "W-why would you suggest that?!"

The egyptologist awkwardly averted her gaze, cheeks flushed. "Only on the fact that you two were stripped… There's nothing else other than that and the trauma concept."

The raven was shaking, eyes beginning to grow teary. "R-rape… T-that can't be it! That can't be the case!"

"Rape." Ryoichi's face grew a light green color. "That's sick to think about."

"That would explain why you and Nezumi were stripped down…" Rin pursed her lips, a bit hesitant in speaking. "But if the killer did that… Why? What's their purpose?"

"W-wait, are we really suggesting that she got assaulted?" Minori's head was sweating. His stomach was churning in disgust. "That can't be the case. Besides, how are we to know for sure that Kaniza doesn't remember much because of post traumatic stress disorder?"

Fumio seemed too sick to even speak properly, his body shaking. "T-there's certainly other reasons why Kaniza doesn't remember much about what happened."

"Like what?" Seiga snorted, cracking his fingers. "Do you have proof about it?"

The scholar frowned. "Well…"

* * *

 **PRESENT THE EVIDENCE**

 **Truth Bullet Selected: Handkerchief**

 **Fumio:** This is the one!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Fumio quickly cleared his throat. "Well… Minori and I found a handkerchief hidden inside of the storage room."

"Really? That's it?" Seiga's shoulders relaxed. "How do you know if it's not just some random thing? It can't just magically be a truth bullet, right?"

The scholar shook his head. "The handkerchief looks fairly new. I, uh, think that this is proof enough that the handkerchief does not belong in the storage room."

"What is your point, if I might ask?" Sagiso pursed her lips, cautious. "And how does this relate to Kaniza's mental state?"

"The handkerchief has been damped with something." Fumio crossed his arms, steady in his voice. "It isn't water. The smell is strong… It's some sort of chemical."

"Fumio's right." Minori jumped into the conversation, standing up to help the scholar. "The handkerchief's been most likely damped with some sort of chemical liquid."

The stunt double sighed, scratching his head. "If you're that confident that it's some chemical or shit, then it must be chloroform, right?"

"Chloroform?" Fumio frowned. "Isn't that dangerous to use?"

"Like the killer gives a shit?" Seiga began cracking his neck, moving his head to and fro. "Chloroform's like the basic shit that most kidnappers in movies use to kidnap people. I would think that the only thing a person would know on how to kidnap someone using chemicals would be chloroform, right?"

"Right…" The pseudologist held his breath. He cupped his chin, thinking to himself. "We can't exactly check if it was chloroform or not considering we didn't look inside of the infirmary…"

 _Damn it, I should've known. Shit, I'll just have to make the assumption that chloroform was used then. So…_

Minori looked back to Kaniza, eyeing the raven who carefully examined him. "Do you remember anyone chloroforming you?"

"N-not really…" The astrophotographer gulped, breath shaky. "M-my mind's hazy."

Saori glanced at the white-haired man. "It might be a mixture of the chloroform and trauma getting to her."

"Yeah, true." Minori's expression turned into dejection. He felt sympathy for the poor woman. The woman hadn't done anything to deserve this torture, yet Monokuma was taking pleasure in her pain. It was disgusting. "So, we were discussing earlier about the resin present on both of the duo's lips, correct?"

"Oh, right." Kamui let out a long sigh. "What purpose was the resin for?"

"Since resin can act like a poison, maybe the killer wanted to poison them?" Ryoichi suggested. "Maybe the killer wanted to poison the duo, however Mr. Jirokichi ended up dead first? The killer then accidentally went to Mr. Arakaki and killed him, then realizing that they can't kill more than two people, right?"

Rin raised a brow. "That's… a bit complicated."

Sagiso nodded her head, throwing the others a small smile. It was an attempt to brighten up the others' moods. "I'm sure if we discuss it we'll get somewhere."

"Yeah." Sheina rubbed her hands together. "We can do this."

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Nezumi's Lips | Kaniza's Letter | Mess | Music Sheets | Torn Clothes**

 **Seiga:** Alright, so Kaniza and Nezumi _**were gonna be poisoned**_ , right?

 **Fumio:** From the resin, yes. Kaniza was _**also chloroformed**_ as well.

 **Ryoichi:** Was it the killer who chloroformed her or was it someone else?

 **Saori:** What are you talking about?

 **Ryoichi:** Well… there's a possibility that _**someone else**_ could've chloroformed Ms. Tsukitaiyo. I'm not sure who though, but it's a possibility I would think.

 **Sagiso:** We don't exactly know if Kaniza was truly chloroformed or not. It's taken into consideration, but we should keep that in mind.

 **Ryoichi:** Right.

 **Kamui:** So, the resin was supposed to act as poison, however why would Kaniza be alive then?

 **Kaniza:** A-alive…

 **Rin:** Nice going, Kamui.

 **Kamui:** Ah! Sorry! I'll word myself better next time!

 **Minori:** Kamui does bring up a point though. If the resin was supposed to act as poison, then Kaniza was _**supposed to be dragged down**_ with Nezumi.

 **Fumio:** Was it a _**red herring**_ then?

 **Saori:** It could be a red herring, but why choose resin out all possible poisons? Was it chosen _**randomly**_?

 **Seiga:** I mean, the killer was close to the music room… It's _**convenient**_ , y'know?

 **Sheina:** Hm, maybe there was _**a specific reason**_ other than convenience to choose resin?

 **Minori:** A specific reason, huh?

 **Rin:** If the killer was going to kill the both of them, then killing Nezumi by blunt force trauma was _**a mistake**_ , right?

 **Fumio:** I… I can't imagine it as a mistake. The murder feels _**meticulated and arranged**_. I think it was planned beforehand.

 **Sheina:** Ah, I don't even know!

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Music Sheets-**

 **Rin:** I believe that is correct!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Oh!" Sheina's eyes widened as she looked over to the jeweler. She was beyond shocked. "Y-you believe so too?"

Rin nodded, slow as she observed the group. Noticing their curious and nonetheless baffled expressions, she cleared her throat. "There are a certain number of things that can be connected together- the violin, bow, resin, and the music sheets. The question is, why these certain things?"

Seiga frowned. "So they weren't chosen just because the killer was close to the music room?"

"No, that's not it." The jeweler crossed her arms, stern in her expression. "Or else the music sheets wouldn't have been present inside of the room."

"Right…" Minori bit into his lips. "The music sheets."

"If the killer was choosing weapons or objects out of pure convenience, then what's the point of the music sheets?" Rin continued, tone confident. "The music sheets are at the crime scene to serve a purpose- possibly to symbolize this scene."

Kaniza's head was lifted. "S-symbolize what? Nezumi's death?"

Rin bit into her lips. She seemed hesitant, but continued regardless. "You know how jewelry can be a symbolism for things? Ruby symbolizes passion and power, sapphire symbolises wisdom and holiness. Anything can be hold a meaning. The crime scene… the violin, bows, strings, resin, music sheets… They are all a symbolism for a tragic love story."

"What?" Kamui was baffled. "Really?"

"Connect the music pieces to this crime." The woman steadied herself. "' _Danse Macabre'_ is another term for the words 'dance of death'. ' _In the Mood for Love'_ is self-explanatory. Death and love. Don't you think this fits the theme of this case well?"

Kaniza's eyes widened. She threw her hands over her mouth, a gasp suppressed.

Fumio began to sweat. "I see… Romance and death. It's definitely fitting to this case concerning Nezumi."

"T-the killer's really making a mockery of this." Ryoichi held his breath, pale. "Why? Are they trying to mock Ms. Tsukitaiyo and Mr. Jirokichi?"

Minori frowned. "It's like they're trying to simulate a _Romeo and Juliet_ scenario."

Sagiso shook her head. "Why though?"

The pseudologist bit into his lips. "That, I am not sure. It can purely be out of spite, to throw us off, or… Well, to frame Nezumi."

"What?" The psychogeographer turned to the man. "What does that mean? Please explain."

Minori held his breath, his heartbeat unsteady.

 _Luckily we haven't thrown ourselves at this route, but if I mention it… No, they'll probably think that sooner or later. Might as well discuss it._

The pseudologist cleared his throat, observing the group keenly. "Let's first ask this question- why were the duo stripped down to their underwear?"

"W-what?" Sagiso's face turned pink. "U-uh…"

Saori quickly looked over to the astrophotographer. "Cover your ears if you do not want to listen, alright?"

Kaniza nodded. She slowly had her hands over her ears.

Minori was worried for the raven, but he had to continue. "We suggested the possibility of assault, however we didn't particularly say who did the assault. What if the killer wanted to frame Nezumi as the culprit?"

"What?" Seiga's eyes widened. "Explain."

The man nodded. "Kaniza doesn't remember much, correct? If Fumio hadn't talked about the handkerchief and chloroform, then I think that we could've assumed that Kaniza's been raped, however not from the killer."

Realization escaped Sheina's face. She turned white as a sheet. "Nezumi…?"

"That's a sick joke." Rin pursed her lips, wrinkling her nose. "Was the killer trying to make it seem like Nezumi raped her?"

"What? Oh my god." Sagiso's eyes began to tear. "That's horrible… So, they stripped the duo down just to make it seem like that? Like Nezumi raped her and ended up being killed?"

"I-I can't believe that!" Seiga shook his head, furious. "What evidence is there to suggest that shit?!"

* * *

 **THINKING TIME**

 **Question: What compelling evidence is there to suggest this?**

 **A. The letter.**

 **B. The mess in the room.**

 **[C. Nezumi's lips.]**

 **D. Resin.**

 **Minori:** _This is the answer!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori crossed his arms. "Nezumi's lips."

The stunt double raised a brow. "Uh, what?"

"Have you seen his lips? They've been cut, bleeding right down the middle." The pseudologist bit into his lips. "Don't you think that the cut looks a bit too meticulous and arranged? It looks like his lips have been cut intentionally, possibly from using your fingernail to cut down the middle?"

"Now that I think about it…" Kamui frowned. "It does. It looked a bit too carefully placed now that I think about it again."

"Really?" Saori tilted her head. "I haven't investigated, so I wouldn't know."

"S-sorry…" Kaniza cupped her hands. "It's my fault…"

Sagiso turned to the raven. "How is anything your fault? Don't be like that, Kaniza. You can't help it."

Kaniza was silent. She didn't speak any further, only dejected and melancholic. The beautiful hazel hue in her eyes were dull.

Minori coughed. "Anyways, what if the killer wanted to insinuate that Nezumi was not in his right state of mind? There are a few hints that suggest this, though the blood on his lips and the resin present on both him and Kaniza are most important."

Silence. The pseudologist figured that he could continue. "What is most important to note is that both blood and the resin were present on Nezumi's lips. Why is that?"

Sheina's eyes widened. She immediately understood what the man meant. "It's… Oh! I see. It's a… a kiss of death?"

"Kiss of death?" Rin frowned, an eyebrow raised. "What does that mean?"

The egyptologist tapped onto her chin, a meek smile forming."Nezumi and Kaniza were kissing, however their lips were doused with poison. Or, er, in this case, resin. It could've been a case of double suicide."

Saori squinted her eyes at the woman. "Oh, really?"

"Y-yes." Sheina blushed. She looked over to the pseudologist. "Right?"

Minori nodded. "You're right. What if we were led to believe that Nezumi and Kaniza attempted a double suicide?"

"What?" Kaniza groaned, feeling her head aching. "D-double suicide…? That's insane…"

"Kaniza doesn't remember much, and we could've assumed it was because of trauma." The pseudologist then frowned, staring at the poor woman. "The fact that the resin was on their lips was because it was supposed to act as a poison. Since Nezumi's lips were bleeding, we could've assumed that Kaniza had backed off."

"Oh, I see now." Fumio nodded his head, an audible gasp escaping his lips. "Then we would've assumed that since Kaniza backed off then Nezumi would've felt betrayed. He'd then tried to assault her before she ended up killing him."

"That's certainly what the killer wants us to believe." Minori sighed. A smile formed on his lips as he noticed the scholar. "It's thanks to you for finding the handkerchief that we didn't fall for that."

Fumio averted his gaze, blushing.

"It's sick that the killer would want us to think that." Sagiso let out a huff, adjusting her position. A noticeable look of disgust was written over her face. "The killer simply had the duo stripped just for us to think such an act."

"That's fucking bullshit." Seiga slammed his fists down. "How dare they! That killer's gonna fucking pay for this."

"Well… We solved that, but we're nowhere close to figuring out who killed Kakuma and Nezumi." Rin's expression was grim. "How do we pin down the killer?"

"Oh!" Kamui's eyes widened. "I've been meaning to ask you all a question. Well, that is, do you mind?"

Ryoichi tilted his head. "What do you need?"

The mortician smiled, face however tightening. He was drumming his fingers on his sides. "It's about the letter Kaniza had gotten from Nezumi."

"Oh, I see." Saori instantly realized where the man was going with this. "You believe that the letter's fake."

"Yes, that's correct." Kamui did not look pleased about what he said, however he continued. "How do we know that the letter's not from Nezumi himself, but from someone else?"

"I mean… We can consider that, sure, but it's just a possibility." Sagiso frowned. "We need evidence to prove if the letter was really from Nezumi or not."

Minori frowned, cupping his chin. "Evidence…"

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Case File #003 | Kaniza's Letter | Torn Clothes | Handkerchief**

 **Kamui:** How are we sure that the letter isn't fake?

 **Minori:** The handwriting? Maybe we'd be able to tell if the handwriting is _**similar to one of us**_ or not.

 **Saori:** I doubt we'd be able to tell from handwriting alone. What if it was _**Nezumi's handwriting**_ _**himself**_?

 **Sheina:** Kaniza _**didn't bring**_ the letter with her, right?

 **Kaniza:** N-no… Sorry.

 **Sagiso:** That's perfectly fine. I'm sure we'll _**be able to figure out**_ something.

 **Rin:** Hm… Maybe we would be able to tell if the letter came from Nezumi if he _**actually had**_ paper to use.

 **Seiga:** I think we do. We have paper and shit _**inside of our cabinets**_ or whatever.

 **Ryoichi:** I'm sure we do. I think we all have _**the same**_ types of paper though.

 **Fumio:** We do… Most of us don't use paper though here.

 **Kaniza:** Yeah, that's right…

 **Minori:** Finding evidence to either prove or disprove the letter _**is quite difficult**_.

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Yellow Notepad-**

 **Fumio:** That's wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Fumio was eyeing Ryoichi who looked over to the man. The scholar was clearing his throat before speaking. "May I speak? I don't think that's true."

"Huh?" The investigator raised a brow. "Why?"

The scholar was silent. He took a quick look at Kaniza before quickly moving his eyes elsewhere. "What color is the letter?"

"T-the letter?" Kaniza blinked a couple of times, baffled. "Uh… It's white. Why?"

Fumio frowned. "If the letter's white, then the person who wrote that letter wasn't Nezumi. I checked Nezumi's own notepad… the papers inside of his cabinet, are yellow. His notepad also wasn't used at all. It looks new, untouched."

"What?" Kaniza's eyes widened. "T-then…"

"Either someone else wrote that letter, or Nezumi asked someone for paper." The scholar pursed his lips. "The latter is unlikely though, so I believe that someone else wrote that letter."

The astrophotographer was silent, stunned.

"That makes sense…" Sagiso said, her voice quiet. "I wouldn't think that Nezumi would've just given her a letter. It was suspicious from the beginning."

"True…" Sheina worriedly cupped her hands. "This would also suggest that Nezumi himself had gotten a letter, right?"

"Right." Sagiso frowned. "We do not have proof of that one though."

"But is Fumio even trustful?"

Minori gritted his teeth. He whipped his head around to find Seiga, the man hesitant as he looked over to the scholar.

"How do we know for sure that Fumio's not lying to us?" Seiga then threw Minori a ferocious glare. "Even if you could analyze whether or not someone's lying we don't fucking know if you yourself is lying, so don't bother."

Rin raised a brow. "I'm guessing your point is that Fumio was most likely the only one who 'searched' Nezumi's room."

"Now that you put it that way…" Sheina gulped. "I guess…"

"That is something to be concerned about," Ryoichi admitted, nodding his head. "If he was the only one who searched Mr. Jirokichi's room, then his chances of having lied to us are quite high."

"I don't doubt Fumio though," Saori said, frowning. "I don't think he'd lie to us."

"The letter was suspicious in the first place." Sagiso mused, defending the scholar. "I think we should take what Fumio said into consideration."

"I-I just want to solve this case." Kaniza said, dejected. "If Fumio's lying…"

Kamui bit into his lips. "I think what he said should be taken into account though."

"Maybe Fumio's lying to us." Seiga cracked his knuckles, voice raising slowly as each second passed. "No one else checked Nezumi's place, right? Other than him?"

It was silence.

"See?" The stunt double scoffed. "Besides, isn't Fumio's notepad yellow?"

Fumio's eyes widened. He looked down to the ground, finding his notepad and pencil besides his feet.

Rin huffed. "He just came up with a color on the spot, huh?"

"That's not right." The mortician's eyebrows tipped. "What he says should be taken into consideration-"

"He lied to us about being mute." The investigator smiled awkwardly at the man. "I think… I think we should be cautious of him."

"What?" Sagiso's face paled. "That's stupid! Just because he lied about not being able to use his voice doesn't mean he'd lie to us about this!"

"I think we should be cautious at least." Rin crossed her arms, stern in her gaze.

The psychogeographer was shocked, taken aback. "But-"

"Hey, bastards! Shut up and listen to me!"

Everyone was interrupted within milliseconds, Monokuma's voice having echoed throughout the room. Their eyes were forced to look upon him, the bear staring at each Ultimate with a gleeful smile. Amusement was written all over his black-and-white face.

"You guys are split right down the middle with your opinions, eh!"

"Oh." Rin realized what the bear was trying to suggest. "A scrum debate?"

"That's exactly right!" The bear threw his hands up, whistling in a victorious tune. "We got ourselves a fucking scrum debate!"

"Sheesh…" Sagiso sighed, shaking her head. "I can't believe we have to debate over this."

Fumio was saddened, head hung low.

Minori took notice of this, frowning. He glanced over to the group. Determination was overwhelming his body. His hands tightened their grip around the wooden railing. He needed to convince them to believe in Fumio. He just had to.

"Alright! Is everyone ready?!" Monokuma had his gavel right in his hand. The button had appeared immediately at the front, and he jumped down, smashing into it. "Let's fucking do this!"

The room rumbled. Everyone began to rise.

* * *

 **SCRUM DEBATE**

 **Question:** Is what Fumio says legitimate?

 **LEFT SIDE "YES":** Minori, Fumio, Kamui, Sagiso, Saori

 **RIGHT SIDE "NO":** Seiga, Ryoichi, Rin, Kaniza, Sheina

. | . | . | .

 **Ryoichi:** How do we know if Mr. Fujiyoshi is _**telling the truth**_ or not? He's lying.

 **Saori:** Then what if he is actually _**telling the truth**_? You don't know if Fumio's lying or not. He's only stating what he can contribute to us.

.

 **Kaniza:** I-is there any _**proof**_ that Fumio's telling the truth?

 **Kamui:** Well, is there any _**proof**_ that he's lying?

.

 **Sheina:** Maybe Fumio's the one who _**killed**_ Kakuma and Nezumi!

 **Fumio:** Why would I _**kill**_ any of them? I have no reason to kill them.

.

 **Rin:** Even if you say that, the _**notepad**_ you're talking about could've just been your's. You're lying to us.

 **Minori:** Fumio has his _**notepad**_ with us, and with his handwriting! We could've easily linked that letter to Fumio's handwriting if he was the killer!

.

 **Seiga:** Fumio's not reliable! He's definitely _**suspicious**_!

 **Sagiso:** In a trial, everyone is _**suspicious**_! We need to take everything with a grain of salt!

.

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"It's not right to cross what Fumio says off." Sagiso has her arms crossed, expression stern and cold. "Everything that is said here can be a possibility. Maybe likely, maybe unlikely, but they are still a possibility."

"Don't just throw Fumio out because he lied about being mute." Minori bit into his lips, annoyed. "Instead of talking about Fumio only, we should talk about who the actual killer is here."

Everyone was silent. No one was able to say a word, expressions a mixture of guilt, anger, pity, and hesitation.

"But… Most of us were asleep," Sheina said, trying to break the tension. She was toying with the necklace on her body. "How are we going to pin down who the killer is?"

Ryoichi raised a hand. "Who wasn't asleep?"

Rin cleared her throat, speaking slowly in an answer. "Kaniza, Nezumi, Kakuma, and Minori. That's all, right?"

Minori nodded. "That's right."

"Well, isn't that great." Seiga groaned, shaking his head. "Can't the fucking killer just raise their hand up and turn themselves in? That's what a real hero would do."

"I doubt they'd do that," Kamui said, awkwardly chuckling and scratching his head.

"M-maybe it has something to do with the bomb?"

Minori's eyes widened. He looked back to find Kaniza, the raven nervously speaking.

"T-the bomb's missing, remember? Maybe the killer used it…"

"Right, the bomb." The psychogeographer frowned. She focused her attention to Seiga and Ryoichi. "You two said that you don't know where the bomb went either, right?"

"Nope." Seiga began cracking his knuckles, idle. "Ryo was in charge of taking care of that."

"To be fair, I was asleep." Ryoichi held his breath. "I never would've expected it to have gone missing."

"Hm…" Fumio thought for a moment. "The bomb's supposed to take out the signal inside of a room. Is that all you knew what the bomb did?"

Kaniza hung her head low. "Y-yeah… All we got was that the bomb's supposed to take out the electrical currents inside of a room."

Sagiso raised a brow. "Well, do you know if the bomb does any damage to the room itself?"

"Huh?" The raven's eyes widened. "I'm not sure about that…"

"Isn't that obvious?" Seiga crossed his arms, confused. "Like, obviously, it should cause damage or shit. It's a fucking bomb!"

Minori's eyes widened. Something suddenly had clicked into his head.

 _He's… lying._

"Seiga."

The stunt double frowned. He looked over to the pseudologist. "What?"

The pseudologist held his breath. He knew that the stunt double would become hostile towards him, but he had to do this. He had to pry for information. "You're lying, aren't you?"

Seiga blinked for a moment, stunned. "What?"

"You're hiding something from us," the Ultimate said, repeating himself. "You know something, right?"

"Well, do you have proof of that?" Seiga asked, anger in his face. His complexion had been flushed out of his face.

"In your words, because I am a 'pseudologist'." Minori crossed his arms. "I could tell when somebody's lying, and you're hiding something from us."

"What?" The stunt double began to sweat. "Bullshit."

Ryoichi's expression saddened. "Did you steal the bomb then, Mr. Kosoku?"

"What?! Of fucking course not!" Seiga looked back to the pseudologist. His face began to turn red. "Are you trying to fucking corner me or some shit?!"

"You're hiding something from us that could be important to solving this case." The pseudologist frowned. "Just tell us, please."

"You're just trying to turn everyone against me!"

Minori held his breath. He steadied his heartbeat, fingers drumming against the wooden railings in a slow rhythm.

 _I guess I can't ask him peacefully._

The pseudologist glanced around the room. Everyone looked unsure, hesitant, and doubtful of what to do.

 _I'll have to pin him down._

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Kaniza's Letter | Clothes | Unknown Bomb | Handkerchief**

 **Seiga:** What? Do you think I'm _**the murderer**_ or some fucking shit like that?! That's stupid!

 **Kaniza:** S-Seiga…

 **Seiga:** You're fucking trying to frame me, Minori! It's not like we know _**where the bomb is**_!

 **Ryoichi:** Mr. Kosoku, please calm down.

 **Seiga:** How could I not calm down?! He's accusing me!

 **Rin:** It's not like you're _**the murderer**_ , right?

 **Seiga:** I'm not!

 **Fumio:** What are you hiding from us? You _**don't look like**_ you've been innocently accused.

 **Seiga:** Oh, shut it! I'm fucking _**innocent**_!

 **Kamui:** Can you prove it though?

 **Sagiso:** Even if there is a possibility that _**Minori is lying**_ about this… We need proof.

 **Sheina:** Poor Seiga.

 **Seiga:** So like I fucking said- I'm goddamn innocent! You're just trying to pull my leg, Minori!

 **-Lie Bullet Created: Found Bomb-**

 **Minori:** I'll use this lie to solve the case!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Oh!" Minori clapped his hands together. He threw the group a sheepish smile. "I think I just realized where the bomb went."

Seiga's eyes widened. "W-what?"

"Really?" Fumio looked at the pseudologist. "Where?"

The pseudologist awkwardly scratched his head. "Well… I saw it inside of the storage room actually. I could tell it was the bomb because it looked like one, with the wiring and how similar it looks to TNT."

"Really?" Sheina tilted her head. "So the bomb wasn't used?"

"It wasn't." Minori crossed his arms. "Well, from observation, the bomb is definitely similar to TNT. I do not know why the bomb's there, but I supposed it was used to cause damage to the entire third floor."

"W-what?" Kaniza's face paled. "Really…?"

"Are you fucking stupid?"

Minori was silent. He glanced over to Seiga. Inwardly, a smirk escaped his lips. He had Seiga right under his finger.

Seiga slammed his fists down the rail. He was pointing accusingly at the man. "You're just fucking with us! The bomb's not like that! It's not supposed to fucking explode shit! It's built to not damage anything! It's-"

The stunt double's eyes widened. He quickly threw his hands over his mouth.

"Seiga…" Saori frowned. "You're hiding something."

"It's…" Seiga's face was red. He glared at the pseudologist. "You ass. You tricked me!"

Minori shook his head. "I needed you to speak."

The stunt double was silent. He averted his gaze. "It's nothing important. Why the fuck are you so gung-ho about this? What I think about isn't anything special."

"That's wrong." The pseudologist bit into his lips, eyebrows furrowed. "Anything said here is important."

"It's nothing fucking important!" Seiga cried, suddenly defensive. He was sweating, voice almost whiny. "What the bomb's are like is nothing important!"

Minori pursed his lips. One single word ran through his head. "... 'Are'?"

It was a fatal mistake.

"Shit!" Seiga slammed his fists down. "Fuck."

"So you are hiding something from us." The pseudologist held his breath. His expression had changed into that of both curiosity and yearning. "Seiga, this is important to the case. Just tell us what you're hiding. Why do you have to hide it from us? You're not the killer, right?"

Seiga hung his head low. "It's…"

Kaniza's eyes glittered with hope. She was staring straight at the stunt double. "Seiga, please. Tell us…"

The stunt double was silent.

"I…" The astrophotographer cupped her hands, eyes beginning to water. "I want to know who killed Nezzy… and Kakuma…"

Seiga looked at the group for a moment. His expression was unsteady, a mixture of hesitation and anger. His eyes glanced to Minori for a second, then to the group. A sigh escaped his lips.

"Yeah, okay, fine." The stunt double held his breath. "I'll tell you shit."

Sheina's eyes widened. A smile had formed on her lips. "Really?"

"Yeah…" Seiga scratched his head, huffing. "Long story short, there's two bombs."

"What?" Kaniza's mouth hung agape. "I-I didn't know that…"

"Of course you didn't. You were hanging out with Nezumi everyday at night." The stunt double sighed. "I worked on it with Ryoichi."

Ryoichi quickly averted his gaze, silent. He knew better than to lie or defend himself.

"What?" Sagiso frowned. "Why would you make two bombs though?"

The stunt double scoffed. "Well, I fucking thought we'd use the two bombs to fucking use against Monokuma or shit, but the first one was fucking used as a test."

"I mean…" Kamui raised a brow. "Is there a problem with that, Seiga?"

"Of fucking course there is!" Seiga threw Kamui an aggressive stare, but backed down after a second passed. "I genuinely thought that we were gonna use two bombs and I was already suspicious about only me and Ryo making the second one, but fuck! I didn't think that the first bomb was a test!"

"Yeah?" Saori cupped her chin. "But is it that bad that you have to hide it?"

Seiga laughed. "Are you fucking stupid? It's the fact that Ryo lied to me in the first place! He had no reason to lie to me, right?! He even told me to not tell Kaniza and Nezumi shit about this!"

"Ryoichi…" Rin turned to the investigator. "Explain."

Ryoichi gulped, nervously toying with his collar. "Well… I really did want to test out the bomb."

Fumio crossed his arms. "Then why lie to Seiga?"

The investigator anxiously smiled. His hands were now cupped, fingers toying with one another. "Y-you don't suspect me of being the killer, right?"

"I don't think you are." Seiga looked at the investigator, suddenly calm in his expression. "If you can explain shit about your innocence, that is."

"O-of course I'm not the killer!" Ryoichi cried, suddenly pale. His forehead was beginning to sweat. "I only lied to Mr. Kosoku because I knew he would get mad at me!"

"I'm not mad about the bomb being a test. I'm mad because you lied to me!" The stunt double's face was entirely red. "Everything just fucking points to you and I fucking hate it!"

Minori frowned.

' _Everything'?_

"Ahem." Sagiso loudly cleared her throat, forcing attention onto her. "Ryoichi, what have you done with the second bomb then? If the first bomb was used as a test, then what happened to the second one?"

"What?" Ryoichi was stunned. "I-I don't know what happened to the second bomb!"

Kamui frowned. "Are you lying to us?"

"Of course not!" The investigator threw his hands in the air. "I'm innocent! I didn't kill Mr. Arakaki and Mr. Jirokichi!"

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Case File #003 | Case File #004 | Mess | Handkerchief**

 **Ryoichi:** I am _**not the killer**_! Just because I lied about the bomb doesn't mean I killed them!

 **Rin:** I want to believe that, but then why hide it from Nezumi and Kaniza?

 **Ryoichi:** I-I wasn't hiding anything! I _**wanted to tell them**_ about it, but since the duo usually hung at the stargazing room at night I stayed silent!

 **Kamui:** You still could've told them.

 **Sheina:** You could've _**gone to the room**_ and told them still, right?

 **Ryoichi:** They would've been bothered by it!

 **Kaniza:** No… W-we wouldn't have mind.

 **Ryoichi:** Besides, if I had used the bomb, you _**would've heard it**_!

 **Sagiso:** Then why was _**the second bomb**_ missing?

 **Ryoichi:** I don't have a clue about that! Someone must've _**stolen it**_!

 **Sheina:** Are you sure about that?

 **Minori:** I'm assuming the first bomb had been tested inside of your room?

 **Seiga:** Ryo's room? Yeah.

 **Fumio:** Ryoichi, just _**tell us the truth**_ , please.

 **Ryoichi:** I am telling the truth! I'm innocent!

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Bomb's Properties-**

 **Seiga:** That's wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Ryo…" The stunt double's voice was unsteady. His expression was tentative, eyes a mixed look of both anger and disappointment. "Don't you fucking remember? The bomb's not supposed to make any noises. It's a silent bomb that only destroys any electrical currents in the room."

Ryoichi gasped. "M-Mr. Kosoku!"

"I fucking trusted you." Seiga hung his head low, fists shaking. "Why the fuck did you lie to them?"

"T-this is a sudden turn of events," Rin said, a bit shocked by what she was seeing. "Ryoichi, what happened to the bomb then?"

"I-I'm innocent!" Ryoichi cried, shaking his head. His movements were erratic, long and drawn. "This isn't right!"

Minori sighed, crossing his arms. He looked at the investigator, steady in his gaze. "Is there anything you can do to dispute this then?"

"O-of course! I didn't kill them anyways!" Ryoichi leaned forward, sweating continuously. His breathings were shallow, hitched. "T-the letter!"

Fumio frowned. "The letter?"

Ryoichi nodded, violent as he whipped his head up and down. "That's right! How are you all so sure that Kaniza's letter was forged? How are you even sure that it was the killer who wrote it and not someone else?"

The pseudologist raised a brow. "Explain."

"What if it was Mr. Arakaki who wrote that letter?" The investigator pointed to Kaniza, scaring the raven who ducked her head. "His own letter to Mr. Watanabe was white, just like that letter! Don't you think that Mr. Arakaki could've written that letter?"

"Hm, that is a good point." Saori crossed her arms, now pondering. "Kaniza doesn't have her letter though, so we can't compare the handwriting to Kakuma's letter though."

"Yes!" Ryoichi smiled widely. "See? It could've been Mr. Arakaki who tried to kill Mr. Jirokichi!"

The body broker pursed her lips. "But, then why would Kakuma die?"

"Ah!" The investigator froze. He stopped for a second, then quickly shaking his head. "D-does that really matter? The fact is that you can't pin me down as the killer if someone else could've written those letters! Besides, Mr. Jirokichi himself hadn't gotten a letter! Wouldn't you think that the killer would've sent him a letter, not only Ms. Tsukitaiyo?"

"He has a point," Seiga said, mumbling under his breath.

"That doesn't matter." Kamui had his arms crossed. "I think the killer didn't have to send Nezumi a letter."

"Huh?" Sheina's eyes widened. "Why?"

* * *

 **THINKING TIME**

 **Question: Why did the killer not have to send Nezumi a letter?**

 **A. The killer could've lured Nezumi into the room.**

 **[B. The killer could've told Nezumi about Kaniza's 'plan'.]**

 **C. Nezumi already made plans with Kaniza.**

 **D. I do not know the answer.**

 **Kamui:** _Here is the answer!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Kamui drummed his fingers down on the wooden rails, idle. "The killer did not have to specifically tell Nezumi to meet inside of the stargazing room through a letter."

Ryoichi jumped at the mortician's words, a bit fearful in his expression. "W-what does that mean?"

"The killer could've just told Nezumi about Kaniza." Minori frowned. "They could've told Nezumi under the excuse that Kaniza couldn't tell him personally because she's either sleeping or busy."

Saori lifted her head. "The killer could've also simply lured in Nezumi under the impression that Kaniza's life was in danger."

Rin pursed her lips. She stared directly at the investigator.

"B-but there's no proof of that!"

"A possibility though," the jeweler mused. "We said this a bit too many more times before."

Ryoichi's hung agape. He looked at the group for a moment before continuing to shake his head, denying everything thrown at him. "Y-you still can't disprove the letter Mr. Arakaki made though! There's still a possibility that Mr. Arakaki made the letter for Ms. Tsukitaiyo too! You don't even know what the second bomb could've been used for!"

"That's true…" Kamui began, a sigh escaping his lips. "However, what is most important is not about the bomb, but whether or not you are guilty of murder."

"I keep telling you, I'm innocent!" The investigator pounded onto his chest. "Please, believe me! I'm telling you the truth!"

Seiga couldn't help but click his tongue, scoffing as he turned away. He didn't want to listen to the investigator any longer.

Minori cupped his chin, eyes directed to the floor. He thought for a moment, wondering about what to do.

He could hear Ryoichi yelling at everyone. He could hear everyone demanding for answers.

He lifted his head up, albeit slightly. He took a minute to observe Ryoichi. A moment passed. Another passed.

Minori's eyes widened. A realization struck through his head, almost instantaneous.

"Ryoichi."

Ryoichi jumped in response, his name having been called. He quickly whipped his head back to the pseudologist. "Y-yes?"

"You have Kakuma's letter with you, correct?"

Ryoichi bobbed his head.

"Can I take a look at it then?"

The investigator quickly reached into his pockets. The paper in his hands, he passed the letter down to the pseudologist.

Minori grabbed ahold of the letter. Having uncrumpled it, he was staring eye-to-eye with the contents of the letter. Each word was being registered into his brain. Each wrinkle and each curve- everything was being processed into Minori's brain.

 _Alright… Something is suspicious here. I need to find it. I know it's here somewhere!_

* * *

 **MIND MINE**

 **minrdtfhujioklorifcgvhbjkmlwfcgtvhjbmkatafghujioklnafyguhjikjfvbdbe**

 **Minori:** _I know I can find it here somewhere…_

 **minoklorifcgvhbjwfcgtmkatafghujiklnajfvbdbe**

 **Minori:** _I know it's here… It's close…_

 **minokrifcjwfatanafghbdbe**

 **Minori:** _I think… It's right there._

 **minorifcjwfatanabe**

 **Minori:** _It's right there!_

 **minoriwatanabe**

 **Answer: 'Minori Watanabe'**

 **Minori:** _I found it!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"This letter was not written by Kakuma."

It was a sudden confession.

Everyone's eyes widened. Their focus was entirely upon him.

"W-what are you talking about?" Ryoichi asked. The hopeful glint in his eyes had disappeared completely. "M-Mr. Arakaki definitely wrote that…"

Minori shook his head. He brought the letter to his face. "'Dear Minori Watanabe, please meet me at the music room at midnight. Signed, Kakuma.'" The pseudologist then brought it down, staring at the group. "Does anything sound suspicious?"

Kamui frowned. He thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't recall anything that sounds off per se…"

Sagiso tapped her chin. Her eyes then widened as she let out an audible gasp. "I see it now!"

"What?" Seiga's face lifted. "What is it?"

The pseudologist smiled. "Right, it's the fact that my full name was written."

"What?" Rin raised a brow. "What's wrong about that?"

"Is there a need for letters to be issued? Nonetheless, do we feel the need to call others by their full names?" Minori crossed his arms. "Don't you think it's weird for us to refer to each other by our full names?"

"I mean…" The egyptologist looked unsure.

Sagiso shook her head, adjusting her position. "If we were to communicate through letters as pen pals, we would most likely refer to each other by first names. We are friends as well, after all."

Kamui snapped his fingers. "There's also to note that Kakuma doesn't have his last name on the letter. Only Minori."

"Now that you put it that way…" Saori nodded. "You have a point."

Fumio averted his gaze. "And the only person to refer to us by last names is…"

Sheina jumped, hands over her mouth. "It's Ryoichi."

Ryoichi paled immediately. "What? But I'm not the killer! I'm innocent!"

"It's a possibility that you aren't the killer," Rin began, blunt, "but you have to prove it. Can you?"

"W-what? But I'm not the killer!" Ryoichi whined, shaking his head. "Why can't you all believe me? I'm innocent and I swear it! Right, Mr. Kosoku?"

Seiga was silent. He couldn't do anything but watch the events unfold before his eyes, the man's expression unsteady.

"You can't prove it though," Saori responded, irritated. "Just admit you're guilty."

"I can't because I'm not!" The investigator slammed his hands down, eyes beginning to water. "You don't even know where the bomb is! You don't know where it went! It's nowhere in this school!"

"Nowhere…?" Minori frowned. "How are you sure of that?"

Ryoichi threw his arms out. "How should I know?! The bomb's nowhere in the school, and you can't prove that I'm guilty otherwise!"

"Minori."

The pseudologist turned his head, finding Sagiso. The woman was staring at him intensely. "What's wrong?"

Sagiso gestured to the investigator, mouthing her words. "Trick him. I think I know how to pin him down."

"Really?" Minori mouthed, questionable.

"Just calm him down," Sagiso mouthed, noting the investigator's heated look. "I have something against him."

"But what do I say?"

The auburn-haired woman frowned. "Talk about the bomb. I know something that can be used against that."

"Alright…"

Minori looked back to Ryoichi.

"I'm innocent!" The man screamed. "I'm not guilty!"

Minori held his breath. He bit into his lips.

This was it.

He had to pin Ryoichi down.

* * *

 **ARGUMENT ARMAMENT**

 **Ryoichi:** I'm innocent!

|BREAK!|

 **Ryoichi:** Please believe me!

|BREAK!|

 **Ryoichi:** There is no way that I could've killed them!

|BREAK!|

 **Ryoichi:** Can you prove that I am the killer?

|BREAK!|

 **Ryoichi:** I would never hurt them!

|BREAK!|

 **Ryoichi:** You don't have proof of me being the killer!

|BREAK!|

 **Ryoichi:** You don't even know where the bomb went!

|BREAK!|

 **Ryoichi:** So how can you call me the murderer?

|BREAK!|

 **Ryoichi:** The bomb's nowhere to be found!

|BREAK!|

 **Ryoichi:** There's no vital proof of me having killed them!

|BREAK!|

 **FINAL BLOW**

 **Ryoichi:** You don't know where the bomb went! It's futile!

 **YOU ARE | THE ONE | WHO HAD | THE BOMB**

 **Minori:** This is the answer!

 **ANSWER:** _ **You are the one who had used the bomb.**_

 **Ryoichi:** No way…

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"If the bomb's nowhere to be found, that means it's been used!" Minori pointed straight at the investigator. "That means that you used the bomb!"

"Seriously? That's your claim?" The investigator was shocked, almost baffled into silence. "There's no evidence suggesting that."

Minori glanced at Sagiso before continuing. "Well, there's to note that you said that the bomb's 'nowhere' to be found. It's obvious that you had either used it, or have it with you."

"That's…" Ryoichi shook his head. "That's wrong. You can't prove that."

"Is that so?" Sagiso looked at the man, expression stern and steady. She had her arms comfortably around her crutches. "Then prove it."

"W-what?" The investigator's eyes widened. "What does that mean, Ms. Hazuki?"

Sagiso frowned. "Are you willing to show what you have in your pockets? What do you have hidden underneath your clothes?"

"How suggestive," Sheina gasped, cheeks blushing a faint pink.

The psychogeographer quickly ignored the claim. "If you are truly not the killer, then would you please show us what you have with you?"

"W-what? That's insane…" Ryoichi creeped up a smile. He began sweating, his breathing audible to the public. "Why do I need to-"

"Ryo." Seiga stared blankly at the man. "Just show us what you have."

"I can check your pockets for you if needed," Kamui suggested, an awkward smile on his face. "Do you prefer me to check?"

"No! I'm fine!" The investigator shook his head. "It's not needed!"

Kaniza hung her head low. Tears were beginning to fill her eyes. "Please… just show what you have…"

Ryoichi shuddered. "I…"

The investigator was silent. His eyes were downcast. His body slumped as he suddenly went limp, still.

Everyone went silent in apprehension.

It happened in an instant.

Suddenly, the investigator fell to his knees. He threw his hands over his eyes, and began crying.

"Ryoichi…" Kaniza's eyes were watery. "So… it was you…?"

Ryoichi was sobbing, crying as his arms began to soak with tears. His entire body was shaking. "Yes… I-I killed Mr. Jirokichi and Mr. Arakaki…"

"Why though?" Sheina asked, fearful. "Is it because of the motive?"

The man nodded, forcing himself to lower his hands. He shakily looked at the group. "I-I… I just wanted to get M-Ms. Hoseki out of here… I-I didn't want her life to be e-endangered anymore…"

"W-what? Because of me?" Rin's eyes widened. She went pale at this fact, the usual coldness in her face having completely disappeared. "You idiot… You didn't have to do that."

"I'm sorry… I really didn't want to kill them…" Ryoichi continued to sob. "I-If anything, I wanted to make it less tragic…"

Minori frowned. "Less tragic?"

The investigator grabbed ahold of the rail. He shakily stood up, a nervous eye directed to the astrophotographer. "T-to be honest, I wanted to kill both you and Mr. Jirokichi."

"W-what?" Kaniza froze.

"T-to make the murder simpler for me and to cause the both of you pain from the other dying." Ryoichi sadly smiled. "Mr. Arakaki's murder was an accident."

"So it was an accident." Fumio held his breath, tentative. "Why?"

Ryoichi shook his head, obviously irritated. Tears continued to roll down from his eyes. "I didn't have enough strings and cowhairs to tie them up."

"That's sick though!" Sheina cried. "Why do you have to feel the need to strip and tie them up?!"

"You guys already answered it." The investigator coughed. "It was supposed to be a tragic love story. Like Mr. Watanabe and you all had discussed, I wanted to throw you all off and make it seem like a double suicide…"

"That's…" The egyptologist shook her head. "That's too cruel."

"I-it was either them or me!" Ryoichi was glaring at the woman, suddenly fierce with his gaze. "A-all I wanted to do was protect Ms. Hoseki!"

Rin was silent. She didn't want to speak at all, her entire expression that of unsteadiness.

"That's…" The stunt double was unsure of what to say. His mouth was slightly agape, however he went silent. He was completely baffled.

"I'm sorry," Ryoichi began, voice suddenly gone meek, "This was all my fault."

Minori bit into his lips. He slowly crossed his arms. "Did… Did Kakuma tell you about this? About him being a double agent?"

The investigator looked at Minori. He stared at him for a moment, then biting into his lips. "It's true. He told me everything before I killed him. He told me that you were the mastermind. Monokuma told him so. I didn't want to kill him, but… It was either me or him."

Minori instantly recalled back to Kakuma's torn clothes.

Ryoichi crossed his arms, expression suddenly that of disgust. "If you are the mastermind… Then why?"

Minori didn't bother to defend himself. He knew better.

"W-wait a second." Kaniza looked up at the investigator, lips quivering. "I-if you wanted us to be in a double suicide, t-then w-why did you smash Nezumi's head in? I-it would've been better to poison him… right?"

"Oh." Ryoichi stopped. "That."

The investigator's expression suddenly shifted. It was instant, the man's expression suddenly that of slight irritation and annoyance. It was almost as if the man had remembered something- something grating.

"Well…"

* * *

 **FLASHBACK TIME**

Ryoichi waited patiently inside of the stargazing room. He had everything prepared. Kaniza had already been chloroformed and was inside of the room, unconscious and stripped down to her underwear. He had the violin and bows prepared at the corner of the room, ready to be used simply to restrain his victims.

All he had to do was catch Nezumi off guard as well.

He heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

An excited pace- that was Ryoichi could describe his footsteps. They were excitable, joyful, and cheery. It was obvious that Nezumi wanted to spend some alone time with his girlfriend. They were lovers, after all.

Nezumi took his last step up the stairs. A noticeable smile was on his face, however it soon disappeared once he reached the stargazing room.

"Huh?" The thief found himself staring at Ryoichi, the investigator having blocked the door. "Um… What're you doing here? You didn't tell me that you were invited inside as well?"

Ryoichi smiled a friendly one at the thief. He honestly pitied how the man looked so baffled over what's happening. "I'm sorry," the investigator began. He had grabbed ahold of the thief's wrist, a gesture to lure him inside. "I lied."

"W-what does that mean?" Nezumi's expression immediately shifted to that of apprehension. He looked down at Ryoichi's hand. The man's fingers were wrapped tightly around his wrist. "R-Ryoichi-"

He looked ahead of the man, and he had instantly regretted it.

Nezumi was frozen in shock as his eyes were set on Kaniza.

Her unconscious body, naked and seen to the eye of the public. Her sleeping face which was riddled in fear. Her body being thrown on the ground, like a helpless doll.

Nezumi was unable to bear it as he felt Ryoichi pulling him closer into the room.

The door was closed.

"Why?" The thief moaned, eyes watering as he looked upon the investigator. "What are you trying to pull?"

Ryoichi shook his head. He grabbed ahold of the handkerchief that was soaked in chloroform. It was hidden inside of his pockets. Although he could've had attacked Nezumi earlier, he felt like he needed to explain himself at least. He wanted Nezumi to understand where he was coming from, after all.

"I want to bring Ms. Hoseki out of here." The investigator was breathing slowly, steady. "She deserves to be safe from this… this entire mess."

"What?" Nezumi frowned. "T-that doesn't make sense. Why does this have to drag you into killing us?!"

Ryoichi grimaced. The sudden loudness in Nezumi's voice was aching his ears. "Isn't it obvious? I love her, so I want to keep her safe. I can't bear to see her living here where she could die."

"That's…" The thief went silent.

 _Good. He accepted it._

Nezumi was silent, and as the investigator was about to charge forward, he was stopped.

"That's wrong."

Ryoichi's eyes widened. He looked at the man, a sudden fierceness in his eyes. "What? Why? Why is it wrong?"

"Killing is wrong. Killing under of the excuse of 'love' is wrong." Nezumi was shaking his head, hands clenched. "It's not right to kill someone when you have the freedom to choose other options!"

"That's wrong." Ryoichi frowned. He suddenly found his stomach churning, heart throbbing. "I thought you would've understand. You love Ms. Tsukitaiyo, don't you?"

"Of course I do. S-she was the one who accepted me the first second I met her!" The thief threw his hand out. "I love her, but that doesn't mean that I'd kill someone else when we have the option to choose something else! This isn't a situation of self-defense or a need to sacrifice yourself. We don't have a time limit! The only motive we have here is that flimsy excuse of a motive!"

"Flimsy excuse?" Ryoichi suddenly found himself gritting his teeth. "How can you call it a flimsy excuse when it's the perfect opportunity for you to save your loved one and escape from here?"

Nezumi shook his head. "No, y-you don't get it! Of course I want to see Kaniza safe! It's a given since we're lovers, however that doesn't mean I'll just throw away the others! We can all get out of here, but it takes time. It takes time and you don't seem to get that."

The investigator felt his blood boiling. Nezumi was lecturing him, and honestly it was pissing him off.

He didn't want to listen. He didn't want to listen.

He didn't want to listen at all.

His eyes travelled over to the side of the room. The violin was suddenly bright, glimmering in his eyes. It was beautiful, almost tempting him to just take it captive in his hands.

"Ryoichi, I won't tell anyone about this." Nezumi was now looking firmly at the man, calm. "Please, don't do this. It's not worth it."

Ryoichi shook his head. He slowly walked over to the room. His hands grabbed ahold of the violin, the instrument now in his hands. His eyes then travelled down to the music sheets.

"Mr. Jirokichi," the man began, slow, "Do you know why I haven't killed Ms. Tsukitaiyo yet?"

Nezumi hesitantly walked over to Kaniza's side, eyeing her unconscious body. "What?"

"I was just wondering if you could've been the one to take her life. I guess that idea's out of the window."

The thief froze.

It was too late. The instrument had made a beautiful sound, crashing into darkness.

 **FLASHBACK ENDS**

* * *

Kaniza was on the floor, sobbing. Saori had ran over to the woman without a second to waste, having held the poor raven's shoulders.

"You…" Sheina was entirely pale, the haughtiness in her expression completely having disappeared. "That's horrible."

"Nezumi gave you the chance." Kamui couldn't help but shake his head at this, a sad sigh escaping his breath. "Why?"

"You're fucking…" Seiga wanted to speak, but stood silent. He had completely given up on cursing the investigator out.

Ryoichi didn't bother to speak anymore, instead looking at Minori.

Minori knew what the man was trying to tell him.

"Alright," the pseudologist said, eyeing the group. He cooly kept his composure. "I'll explain to you all what happened before we vote, alright?"

"O-oh, right." Rin jumped. "I-I forgot we had to vote."

Minori nodded. "Alright, I'll start then."

* * *

 **CLOSING ARGUMENT**

 **Minori:** I'll convince you with this!

This murder, like all previous murders, had happened because of the motive. What was this case's motive? Well, it was the fact that if you were to kill someone and get away with it you would be able to take someone else with you to graduate. It was a simple, but brutal motive that circled around not only your fear and desperation, but your want to keep others safe. It was manipulative motive that can tempt anyone no matter who that person was.

First off, the bomb- rather, bombs- played an important role in this case. The killer had proposed an idea where a bomb would be created to throw off Monokuma. This bomb's purpose was to shut down the power inside of any given room the bomb detonated in. Although we are still unsure of the bomb's whereabouts, there is no doubt that the killer had used it… That is, rather because the killer is unwilling to reveal to us of what they have in their hands.

The killer had planned to use this idea to their advantage however. Only the killer knew of this plan- that the bomb was silent and that two were supposed to be made. The killer hasn't told anyone of their plans, instead the only person the killer bothered to speak to was Seiga. I suppose that the killer only told Seiga about wanting to create two bombs because Seiga had a role in building the bombs, however this ended up becoming a fatal mistake in their plans. Having lied to Seiga, using the first bomb as a test had angered the stunt double. Seiga would later admit to two bombs being made to us.

… Now, I have to admit, we do not know the bomb's usage, however we can assume that it's been used or will be in use. The bomb does seem to not have played a significant role in Nezumi's or Kakuma's deaths however, so we can skip over that.

Now, the killer's plan was to have Nezumi and Kaniza killed. The killer had everything planned. The violin and bows were to symbolized a beautiful relationship alongside the music sheets in place. The wrappers, crumbs, and clothes were to represent the duo's mischief. The duo being tied up would be them having been trapped in their love, an act of them having tied themselves. Everything was set up to make it seem like the duo were alone in both happiness and tragedy.

Nezumi and Kaniza were supposed to die together. The resin on the duo's lips were to represent their kiss of doom, however it was all for naught. The killer had accidentally killed Nezumi from blunt force trauma, not from poisoning. This was a fatal mistake, and so the killer had desperately tried to cover up their tracks.

How? Well, the killer first made it seem like Nezumi was the one who had killed the woman. Since the duo were both stripped down to their underwear, the killer could've made it seem like the duo were engaging in some… alone time. Secondly, the killer cut Nezumi's lips to make it seem like Kaniza had doubted the idea of a double suicide. However, the killer still had Nezumi tied up to make it seem alike to a tragic love scene.

Now, it was possible that the killer had wanted to kill Kaniza next, however didn't have the tools needed to kill and disguise the crime. This led to the killer moving to the music room in order to get more of what they needed.

However, what the killer didn't realize was that Kakuma was inside of the room, having tried to… well, kill me.

Why was Kakuma inside of the music room? Well, Kakuma and I had planned to meet each other there at midnight. Kakuma was a double agent, and so he gained information from Monokuma to tell me. We wanted to meet to discuss what Monokuma told him so far, and that was the reason for him being there.

… That would be the only reason if it weren't for what exactly Monokuma told him. Monokuma had told him that I was the mastermind of this entire killing game, and this led to Kakuma believing that he needs to kill, if not, capture me.

Kakuma grabbed ahold of a block of wood and string. He was supposed to use these in order to create a trap, however instead he was interrupted by the killer.

The killer and Kakuma had possibly talked to one another before fighting. Kakuma had obviously wanted to make himself look innocent and so told the killer about his intentions. The killer however wanted to cover up their crime and this led to the duo fighting. Sadly, this ended up in murder as Kakuma was the one who had died, having been choked by cowhairs that the killer most likely had in their hand.

The killer didn't want to kill Kakuma. Kakuma dying was nothing but a mistake. The killer was forced to keep Kaniza alive because of Monokuma's rules, and so their seemingly decent plan was now full of holes. However, the killer still wanted to pin someone down as a murderer, and so the killer had forged a letter that was addressed to me.

That letter… However, it was that letter that ended up costing them.

And that killer was you, Ryoichi Homura, the Ultimate Extraterrestrial Investigator!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"What do you think?" Minori asked, staring at everyone present in the room.

They were silent. They honestly didn't know what to say.

"Well, that was a fun ride!" Monokuma giggled excitedly, obviously jumpy. What was about to come was definitely exciting him. "But now that's over and shit! So! The execution's coming soon! Fucking hurry up and vote!"

Everyone's eyes widened. The voting ballot had suddenly appeared in front of their faces.

"Vote!" The bear cried, ecstatic. "Vote now, bitches! Hurry up!"

Minori looked over to Ryoichi. The man was completely silent. He looked back down at the screen.

He felt bad, but, like always, he had to vote.

* * *

 **VOTING TIME**

 **CHOOSE THE BLACKENED OF THIS CASE!**

Minori Watanabe

Fumio Fujiyoshi

-Kakuma Arakaki-

-Nezumi Jirokichi-

Kamui Setsushi

Seiga Kosoku

-Haruko Yoshikawa-

 **Ryoichi Homura**

-Fuwari Akatsuki-

Saori Arai

Rin Hoseki

Sagiso Hazuki

Kaniza Tsuitaiyo

Sheina Yakamuro the 12th

-Amyto Uchida-

-Asami Arihime-

* * *

Like always, the voting ballots disappeared, and Monokuma was throwing his hands to the air. He was jubilant, cheering like a child having nagged their mother into giving them their favorite toy.

"Fuck describing shit! Just show the results!"

The tallies were shown right throughout the room, bright red over the walls.

* * *

 **VOTING RESULTS**

 **Ryoichi Homura** \- 10 Votes

 **RIGHT!**

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL END!**

 **PLEASE RISE!**

* * *

"So it was you." Seiga frowned, lifting himself off from his podium. He was looking straight at the investigator. "Really?"

Ryoichi sighed, a small smile forming on his lips. "I can't deny it."

Kaniza was shaking her head, continuing to sob from where she was. Saori was continuously rubbing her shoulders.

"This is…" Kamui bit into his lips. "If you had…"

"The past is in the past." Fumio frowned. He crossed his arms, now averting his gaze. "Though that is a good point…"

"I just thought he would understand me," the investigator admitted, laughing bitterly. "I only ended up killing him though."

"If only you had calmed down…" Sheina quickly held her hands tightly, bringing them close to her face. "Gods, please let Nezumi and Kakuma's solve rest in the afterlife."

Ryoichi shook his head. "You do not need to pray to any God above. Aliens are the only thing that matters."

Sheina frowned, looking at the man. "I don't really care. I'll do what I do."

"Of course."

"Are you done?"

Everyone looked back.

Monokuma was yawning, kicking his legs back and forth from his royal chair. "I'm like dying for my execution, y'know?"

"A-already?" Kaniza's eyes widened. "But-"

"No." The investigator smiled. "It's fine."

The astrophotographer looked hesitant, but stayed silent.

"Right…" Ryoichi looked over to Seiga. "I want to ask you something before I die."

The stunt double's brows lifted, having had his thoughts interrupted within seconds. He looked over and snarled at the investigator. "What do you want?"

Ryoichi held his hands together over his back. He smiled as he swayed back and forth, hesitant. A doubtful look escaped his face, however a chuckle came forth as he forced himself to speak. "You saw what I did with the second bomb, didn't you?"

That stirred Seiga. His eyes had widened, face suddenly paling. He quickly regained his composure however as he scoffed. "Yeah, so?"

"That's the real reason why you're mad at me."

Seiga went silent. He didn't register the sounds of confusion from the others.

Ryoichi smiled, letting out a small chuckle. "I see I was right then. Oh well… Thank you for not telling anyone."

"You…" Seiga squinted, glaring at the man. "You're really…"

"What are you talking about?" Monokuma asked, curious. He was smiling at the duo with keen interest. "Talking about having some boy issues? Hmmm?"

"Ew." Rin wrinkled her nose. "Disgusting."

"It's not that." Ryoichi turned to the bear. "I'm ready to die."

"Oh really?!" The bear clapped his paws together. "That's fucking great! Alright, we're gonna get this party started up and-"

"No."

Monokuma stopped. He was thrown off guard as he looked back at Ryoichi. "What do you mean 'no'?"

Ryoichi stood still, silent.

A moment passed.

It happened so suddenly that nobody was able to say anything.

Ryoichi had suddenly reached into his pocket. He fumbled around before taking out a bottle.

There was a skull on the back of the bottle. A white skull that surrounded the blackness of the object.

It told them everything.

It was a bottle of poison.

Minori's eyes widened. "What?! Ryo-"

He quickly unscrewed the cap and threw his head back, gulping down the contents.

The bottle was thrown, plopping down to the ground and rolling to the side.

Then, it happened.

Coughing was heard throughout the room. Groans and moans echoed throughout the room. Ryoichi had fell to the ground, arms hugging his chest. His entire body was shaking, face entirely red.

He was wheezing, panting with tears flowing from his eyes. His eyes were beginning to turn pink as snot fell from his nose. Drool fell from his lips as he continued to groan, loud cries escaping from his mouth.

"W-what the heck…?" Kaniza had lifted her head up, eyes widened in complete terror. "R-Ryoichi…"

"W-what should we do?!" Sheina cried. She was completely lost. "Ryoichi's dying!"

Kamui turned left to right, eyes then turned to Monokuma. "D-do something!"

The bear was silent. He was completely baffled as well, the glint in his eyes having disappeared. He was frozen in place.

The coughing sounds became worse, suddenly sounding wet and violent. Ryoichi had completely threw his head low, pints of blood spewing from his mouth. A puddle was forming beneath him, pools splattering to the ground. His eyes were entirely pink, and his face was entirely red.

"Oh my god!"

A screech escaped the investigator's mouth. It sounded horrific, almost animalistic. It was a terrifying cry of death that sounded for hours on end. Hours which passed until-

- _thud!_ , the sweet release of silence.

It was now silent in the room.

Silence as everyone stood still, eyes completely fixated on Ryoichi's dead body.

The investigator was dead, lying in his own pool of blood.

It was then did Minori realized-

-the second bomb had been used to cover up Ryoichi's own suicide.

Minori quickly looked up to Monokuma. The headmaster's face was heating red in anger, claws piercing out from his paws.

"Are you fucking serious?" The bear was pissed. He turned around and began clawing at his royal chair. "Fucking hell!"

Slash. Slash. Slash.

The royal chair was sliced in four.

Monokuma turned back to the group of Ultimates, rage in his eyes. "Did you all see that? That?! That's fucked up man!"

"What's wrong with that?" Fumio asked, looking over to the bear. "You kill people…"

"Pfft, what's fucked up is the fact that he's trying to mess with me!" The bear kicked at the air. "Fucking bitch can think he can one-up me?!"

"But…" Saori looked to the side. "He is dead though…"

Monokuma growled as he jumped off from his podium. "He's dead, but fuck it! We're still gonna do an execution! I wasted fucking money on this!"

"You're still gonna kill him?" Sheina's eyes widened. "But he's already dead!"

Monokuma scoffed. "Who cares?! Fact is that I'm not only mad about him dying, but that all you fucking little shits didn't stop him!"

"W-what do you want us to do about it?" Saori asked, thrown off guard. "It happened so suddenly."

The bear frowned. His expression shifted into abrupt calmness, a strange tranquility before the storm. "Yeah? You know I fucking hate being one-upped though. You guys should've done something sooner."

Kamui couldn't help but shudder. "But we couldn't. There was nothing we could do."

"Oh yeah?" The bear smirked. "It's fine. I'll deal with you all later."

Kaniza gulped. "W-what…?"

"Anyways! Let's start some shit!" Monokuma suddenly grabbed his javel off from the air. He jumped back up to the podium, a big red button out on display. He threw his javel down into the button, screaming loudly into the air, "LET'S FUCKING KILL THAT SHIT!"

A metallic hand suddenly jumped from the air. It wrapped its fingers around Ryoichi's body, almost squeezing him tightly, and then shot up into the ceiling.

Blood fell from the air.

* * *

 **GAME OVER**

 **Ryoichi Homura has been found guilty.**

* * *

 **EXECUTION START!**

 **RYOICHI HOMURA - Extraterrestrial Death**

Ryoichi's body was thrown straight into a rocketship. His body slumped down the chair as the ship began to heat up, engines running and alarms flaring.

"Three! Two! One! Start!"

The rocketship flew straight into the air, flying in the speed of light. It flew past the building, past the stratosphere, and straight into space. Meteorites and asteroids were seen. Stars were glittering brightly in space and the moon was right there in view of the dead man.

It would've been a marvelous sight.

The rocketship continued zooming along space before the engines suddenly began to burst. Alarms flared more ever than before, lights flashing on and off. The screams of "Warning!" was echoing through the metal device, yet it reached deaf ears.

The corpse couldn't hear anything and was unable to respond as the rocketship crashed down into dirt.

Strange, metallic dirt.

There was red dirt everywhere. The capsule opened as Ryoichi's body slid down to the ground. Footsteps were heard. Murmurs were heard.

Monokumas were gathering around the investigator, baffled and questionable beyond comprehension. They were looking at one another, wondering what to do. Pondering and wondering for minutes on end, it was until one of the Monokumas lifted up part of Ryoichi's body that everybody began to celebrate.

"King! King! King!"

Monokumas were crying out in joy. Jubilant cries escaped into the void of space. They gathered around the dead body and began throwing themselves under the man. They were carrying him, the numerous amount of bears having held him high into the air.

A march was heard. The Monokumas then paced down the dirt road.

One, two. One, two.

Hours had passed. It seemed like hours had passed as the Monokumas carried Ryoichi's body over the dirt.

A castle was to be seen in the distance.

A beautiful, golden castle.

The bridge was hung down, and the Monokumas were given complete access to walk. They marched over the bridge and straight into the castle.

Horns were sounded. Chattering was heard. Happy, perky voices.

Marching down the castle halls, the Monokumas were greeted with the throne room. It was a beautiful room that was painted in royal gold and red. Beautiful, intricate patterns of eccentric symbols were seen all over the walls. It was an alien language to behold.

A queen Monokuma was seen sitting on the throne. The bear's hot pink lips and horribly drawn eyelashes were what caught the eyes of the servants.

"Queen! Queen! Queen!"

The Monokumas happily cried out.

The queen looked down. The bear smiled once noticing the investigator's body.

Yes, it was the bear's king.

The bear gave out a hearty laugh. Wishing the servants a good luck and fortune, the bears quickly took their leave. The queen chuckled before reaching into their bottom.

A fork and knife were to be seen.

The queen's king was certainly a treat. It was something marvelous to behold.

The king's stomach which was covered in acid was marvelous. The king's heart which was dead and bloody was a treat. The king's brain was the best.

The king certainly had provided for the queen.

The king served as a full on meal. A meal that is served only to the best of the best- the royalty.

 _BOOM!_

The entire castle had exploded into bits.

Everything had exploded into bits. Fumes were to be seen and screams were to be heard.

Monokuma jumped straight into the view of the camera, a psychotic laugh escaping his mouth.

"Fuck Ryoichi, am I right?"

It was certainly an ending which mocked death altogether.

* * *

"Ha!" Monokuma could be heard laughing from the distance. He was walking back over to the group of Ultimates, a relieved smile over his face. "I'm so happy I exploded that place! I was so fucking pissed man."

"Oh my god…" Rin bit into her lips. "That was overkill."

"What? You seriously care about that?" Monokuma scoffed. "I fucking wasted money on executions, y'know? The death penalty fucking costs a lot of shit man!"

Fumio frowned. "Then why do it?"

"Pfft, bitch." The bear rolled his eyes. He then stopped, now having his arms crossed. "Anyways, now that the bitch's gone from this world forever, I have to punish you guys."

"What?" Sagiso's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Because you fucking let Ryoichi die!" The bear kicked at the air, then throwing a punch. "Like I want to have this shit be wasted?! You're all paying for this!"

"W-what do you even want us to do about it?" Sheina asked, fearful in her tone of voice.

The bear laughed. "Well, obviously, equivalent exchange! Fucking give me shit that will make me happy and I'll forgive you all!"

"What kind of shit?" Seiga raised a brow, hesitant as he stared into Monokuma's eyes. "What the fuck is 'shit' to you?"

Monokuma shrugged. "Well, I don't fucking know. Just have someone cut their damn finger or some fucking messed up, bloody shit!"

"... What?"

The beat groaned. "Can I not repeat myself? I fucking want you all to repent for your sins, so someone do something to make me happy! If you need it, I have the fucking knife or whatever! Just fucking make me not wanna throw you all into a week of nonstop high-pitched screeching!"

"But…" Kaniza was teary. "T-to do something like that…"

"Can we not do something like that?" Minori asked, heart throbbing. He couldn't believe what was happening. He knew that Monokuma wasn't someone to mess with, but it was still uncanny- he never would've expected something like this. "This isn't right."

"Fuck this whole 'right or wrong' bullshit! I'm sick of it!" Monokuma jumped back over to his ruined chair, standing on top of the rubble. "Someone fucking make themselves a sacrifice and do something before I start the goddamn high-pitched screeching!"

Everyone was hesitant, suspense written over their faces.

"Oh, and I'm telling you now that you do not want to hear high-pitched screeching for a week! That's gonna fucking drive you crazy."

"But…"

Monokuma was not having it. The fierce, serious look on his eyes told everyone so. They should not bother rebelling him.

"S-so…" Sagiso looked over to the group. "What should we do?"

"I-I'm not going to do it!" Sheina cried, shaking her head. She was holding her hands up. "This is a sin!"

"This is messed up," Rin murmured under her breath. "So messed up."

"But…" Kamui gulped. "What do we do? Are we… Are we going to do what Monokuma says?"

"We can't just argue against him," Fumio said, albeit nervously. "He's not going to let us out scott free…"

Minori couldn't help but hold his breath. "T-then what do we do?"

"S-someone…" Kaniza was choking on her words. "A-a sacrifice… I-I think I should-"

"No, you shouldn't."

The astrophotographer's eyes widened. She looked back to find Seiga, the stunt double eyeing her sternly.

"You don't deserve to suffer more than you do," the man began, arms crossed. The woman was shaking, and he couldn't help but sigh, shaking his head. He slowly made his way over to Monokuma, expression serious and steady. "I'll do it."

"What?" Minori's eyes widened. "Seiga-"

"Minori, shut it." The stunt double glared at the man. "Just let me do this. It's my fucking fault for hiding the fact that Ryo was gonna do… that."

The pseudologist was saddened, but stayed silent.

Seiga sighed, turning back to the bear. "I'll do it. I'll cut a goddamn finger for you, you sick bastard. I need to repent for shit anyways."

Monokuma tilted his head, a curious look on his face. "Oh, you're suddenly less violent now. Whoops, I think we messed up on that part, eh? Oh well, whatever." The bear smirked. "You really wanna cut off a finger?"

Seiga rolled his eyes, cracking his knuckles. "Whatever the fuck you want. I'm more than willing to fucking cut off my hand if that's what you want, fucker."

"Okay, you don't have to be that scary." Monokuma reached into his back. A sharp knife shone from his view. He chuckled, then tossing it in the floor. It fell right in front of the stunt double's face. "Here."

Seiga glanced at the knife. It was glimmering, almost mocking him with its shiny tip. It was daring him.

A deep sigh escaped his lips. He slowly bent down to grab ahold of the knife, then bending down into a kneeling position. He had his left hand out in the open, his pinky kept out in plain sight.

The knife was in his right hand. He was gripping tightly onto the handle, almost too tightly.

"Seiga."

Fumio's voice was heard throughout the room. Seiga didn't look back.

"You don't…" The scholar's voice was shaky. "You don't have to do this…"

Seiga stared down at the knife. He then directed his attention to his pinky. A small smile escaped his lips as he began to speak. "It's not in your place to talk right now."

Fumio frowned. "But-"

"Look, you don't need to fucking pity me or anything." Seiga shook his head. "You have no reason to care for me anymore. I just fucking knock you down again and again. You shouldn't even bother talking to me."

The scholar pursed his lips. He obviously looked like he wanted to say more, but instead kept silent. He just didn't know how to respond properly.

Minori glanced over to Monokuma. The bear was smirking at the group, pleasure written all over his face. It was a smirk that was obviously hiding deceit and mischief, a smirk that was hidden in a numerous amount of emotions- emotions that Minori couldn't decipher completely.

 _There's something wrong here. Something's not right. Ryoichi's behavior… Seiga's behavior… Everyone's behavior isn't right._

The headmaster let out a small snicker, covering his mouth.

 _Monokuma's not acting right either… But why? Why is he not acting right? Why am I thinking that?_

 _What… What exactly is 'right'?_

"Aren't you guys glad? You should be thankful someone's gonna sacrifice themselves for you!" Monokuma laughed a hearty one into the air. It was echoing throughout the room. "Seiga volunteered as tribute!"

"Tribute…" Rin bit harshly into her lips. "It's not the time to reference stuff."

The bear rolled his eyes. "Just fuck off with that, bitch. I got another treat coming for y'all anyway so hurry up with this!"

Seiga threw a look at the bear. "Just shut up."

Monokuma scoffed, but heeded his words nonetheless.

The stunt double heaved a deep breath.

In. Out. In. Out.

He looked down at the knife. It shimmered a metallic glint, almost mocking him. It shimmered as he looked down to his pinky, the poor finger shaking in fear and desperation. It was crying for him to stop. It begged for a brief moment of hesitation, of doubt.

Slowly, the man brought the knife down. He adjusted his grip onto the handle, making sure the sharpness of the blade would cleanly slice down into his pinky. A few times of bringing the blade down and up, and Seiga was sure he had gotten ahold of the angle.

Now, it was time to actually do it.

He could hear his heartbeat throbbing, echoing inside of his ears. Cold sweat was trickling down his face and his body went cold, pale. Chills had ran down his spine and his stomach had churned in unease.

He lifted the blade.

Seconds passed. His eyes were locked onto his pinky. He knew he was going to slice it off cleanly.

He knew that, yet his arm was shaking.

His entire body was shaking. The grip on the handle was slowly loosening, but he continuously denied it. He denied that he was scared. He denied everything.

He had to do this. He just had to do this.

He forced himself to believe that, and he let out a scream.

His arm swung down.

The terrified screams of the people rung throughout the room, blending in with a childlike applause and an agonizing scream closely related to death.

Blood soaked the ground, resting below a cleanly severed pinky.

Seiga was curled up into a ball, holding his bleeding hand tightly. Tears were in the corner of his eyes, teeth harshly bitten down into his lips. His clothes were beginning to soak in crimson red blood.

"S-Seiga!"

Minori quickly ran over to the stunt double.

He couldn't care less if the man didn't want his company. He couldn't care less if the man hated his guts. All he could care about was the fact that Seiga was hurt.

"This is so messed up." Saori was holding her breath, her expression tightened in that of pain. "Seiga…"

Kaniza's sobbing had only became louder, choked and hitched.

"Seiga!" Minori had ran to the man's side, grabbing ahold of his shoulders. He couldn't care less the soles of his feet were on the puddles of blood, instead unwrapping his scarf and bringing it to the man. "Please, use this. You're bleeding so much right now…"

The stunt double slowly turned to the pseudologist. "Minori…"

"You." Kamui was looking angrily at the bear. "Do you derive pleasure out of this? Out of this sick act?"

"What kind of question is that?" Monokuma was standing high and mighty, looking down upon the Ultimates. Their looks of despair was melting him. "Of course it does."

The mortician bit into his lips, observing Minori who had wrapped the scarf all over the stunt double's hand. "This is sick. There's no point in doing this!"

"You guys always want an excuse for everything," the bear moaned, throwing his head back. "It's fucking entertainment! Get it through your thick skulls!"

"Entertainment is just an excuse!" The mortician cried, furious. "You're toying with death like it's nothing! You're treating life as if it was nothing but a joke to you! It's sickening, and you're a rat bastard for that!"

"K-Kamui…" Fumio couldn't help but flinch at the mortician's loud voice.

"I hope the Gods punish you for your sins!" The egyptologist pointed straight at the bear. "This is unjust!"

"Woooow, everyone is so angry at me. What the fuck did they mess up with this time?"

The pseudologist frowned. … ' _They'... 'This time'...?_

"Anyways, you guys seriously piss me off. I think I lost like ten years of my life because of you all!"

Monokuma let out a long, exaggerated yawn.

"I'm going to take my leave now, so goodnight peeps!"

Nobody was able to say anything. The bear had left the moment they tried to open their mouths.

He had disappeared into thin air, yet the despair in the room had never ceased.

Nothing was making sense.

Nothing was going right for them.

No one knew what to do.

Their futures were bleak.

* * *

... And that's the end of the trial! I am sorry that it's pretty long, I really thought that I could end this trial in this chapter, and so I ended up going over 15k words. Oops. I'm pretty sure everyone guessed who the murderer was anyways, so it was a matter of how it was done and the twists that would be made in the trial. Hopefully (or maybe not) this chapter will satisfy or even exceed your expectations of this case! I did have a lot of fun writing this chapter though~

Anyways, the aftermath will be coming up next, and then I'll be able to switch back and forth between this story, AoD, and the FTEs for the dead folks. I still need to do Amyto's free time events, oops.

That's all I have to say for now, but please leave your thoughts on this chapter to help me improve better in the future! Thank you for reading, and hopefully school and life won't bother me much!


	31. Chapter 3 - Part 2, Part D

Hello and welcome to the aftermath of this story! I'm sorry it took a while to get this out and all, but since school's starting I have a lot of workload piling up on me already. I'm those tryhards, haha. Anyways, I'm here at least and gosh I can't believe we're right there to Chapter 4! Geez, it hasn't even been a year yet. I'm crying. Well, anyways, let's continue this story!

 **PainX65:** "I'm glad you're pleased, my dude~ Yelp, thank you for the five stars. I'm crying with happiness right now~"

 **PoisonBanana:** "Give me more memes please, I need some more! Ryoichi did do something before death, ha~ Well, glad Seiga losing a finger made him jump up a few spots, haha. Oh my, I dodged the Chapter 3 curse. Is there a Chapter 4 one too now? If so, I'm crying."

 **Ziggymia123:** "Thoughts are good~ Oops, I tortured the poor girl a bit too much there. I'll pray for Rin's happiness. Haha, glad you like Sheina, and well let's see~ Haha, interesting thought. What Monokuma says is ominous, so it's good to think about it. I like that theory! Let us see if you are correct in the future. Your heart will just burn if you suffer too much emotional pain, haha. I don't even realize that I balance out the genders XD I just pick the people who's gone and do it that way. Saori and Rin are becoming favorites here~"

 **liammarklh88:** "I'd laugh if you didn't know XD You seemed to be the only one who recognized that in the letter before, or what I've seen. Good job! Haha, nice to hear your thoughts, and glad you enjoyed the execution! Pfft, one less finger saves you a couple of mishaps, maybe. If only Nezumi was alive, I'm sorry Kaniza *tears*. Nooooo, I love your stories though *tears more*. Haha, alright~"

 **TheLlamaLord:** "I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter regardless~ Yeah, I feel like the others need some more time participating in the trial, so here we go! It's a start. Hm, I do tend to word things vaguely, so your confusion is understandable. Yeah, it felt like hours~ Haha. I think everyone feels bad for poor Rin at this rate, oops."

 **ToonGuy:** "Pfft, welp. Let's be glad Sheina's better now, and hopefully she won't die. Yes, participation is a big thing I want to improve on for the trials, haha. Pfft, lies can work or cannot work out now, but maybe in the future it can bite. Asami is a nice person, so it works out~ Aww, I'm glad you liked the trial overall! Ah, of course, of course. Thank you~"

 **Agrael:** "Haha, nice phrase. Glad you got surprised by that at least~ Rin is suffering so much right now. I never knew I tortured her that much, oops. Ooh, so you have your thoughts on who the mastermind is. Interesting, I wonder what will be your input. Well, guess the expectations are high for Chapter 4. Hopefully I can meet those!"

 **FadedFiction:** "Hello~ First off, you don't need to review three times, one's enough~ I read everything anyways! X3 It takes a lot of time to write out your thoughts continuously, so one review is fine! Also, Fanfiction doesn't work like AO3. Fanfiction says if a story's complete, and if not, then it's in progress. Anyways, I'm surprised you read through everything I've wrote, haha. Glad you took the time to review too. I'm happy you enjoy this story."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "I think everyone was, Rosy~ Haha, glad you got surprised by that at least~ Seiga loses a finger for a bit of respect, what a great deal. Thanks!"

 **KISL:** "Hello, friend! Nice to see you here, haha. Hm, yeah, it is a weird thing to focus on. Never realized that until you mentioned it XD I wanted the others to participate more in the trial as, well, it's not like Minori's the only one who can accomplish things. Everyone else has their own thoughts and ideas. It's alright, everyone has their different opinions on characters and all. Glad you seemed to like it nonetheless~ Authors always twist people's emotions, and I know you will in your story as well XD Interesting thoughts, let's see if they're right. Glad you're liking Sheina and Rin so far! Very interesting theory~ Haha, the lie and truth theme is something I hope to expand on! Thank you for taking the time to review~"

* * *

Despair was overwhelming the courtroom.

It was filled with blood.

It reeked of blood. It was a horrible metallic stench.

Truly despairing.

The courtroom was filled with despair. The looks on the Ultimates' faces told it so. They were defeated, dejected, and dull.

They were not Ultimates at this very moment. They were humans. They were humans who longed for escape, who longed for a way out.

Ultimates which were a symbol of hope and were a model to the rest of the world- they were now nothing more than weaklings. They were humans who had been kicked and beaten halfway to death.

Despairing. It was truly despairing.

Nothing made sense. Nothing was making sense.

Will anything ever make sense? Honestly, the answer was unclear.

"Shit… that stings…"

Minori's eyes widened, having snapped back to reality. He looked over to Seiga who was wincing, his face covered in sweat. Worry escaped his entire face as he looked down at Seiga's hand. It was wrapped in his scarf which was now soaked in crimson. "Seiga, do you need help? I'll take you to the infirmary."

"Minori…" Seiga looked at the man for a moment, but quickly looked away afterwards and shook his head. "Don't fucking bother. Shit… It fucking stings."

The pseudologist pursed his lips. "Seiga, just shove aside your ego for a moment and let me help, alright?"

"N-no, it's not that…" The stunt double threw the pseudologist a cold look. "I don't need you to feel like you need to help an enemy of your's. That's all."

Minori saddened within an instant.

 _That's not the case at all…_

Still, the sudden guilt hidden behind Seiga's voice was suspicious. Minori honestly didn't know what to think of the stunt double. Was he trustworthy? Was he a friend? He didn't know. The sudden changes in behavior was baffling.

There was something wrong here, and Monokuma was to blame.

"I don't get it." Rin was murmuring under her breath. She was in constant denial of what just happened, her head continuing to shake left and right. "Just because of me…?"

Kamui's breath was shaky. "Rin, it's not your fault."

The jeweler shook her head, a hitched laugh escaping her lips. Her eyes were teary. "Of course it's not, but… It just feels like the entire world's falling down on me."

The mortician frowned, but said nothing. He didn't know what else to say.

Sheina had kneeled down to the ground, suddenly praying in a mantra of incomprehensive words. She was praying to the Gods above, voice both hushed and rushed at the same time.

Saori was continuing to rub Kaniza's shoulders. The poor astrophotographer never caught a break, her voice now broken and hoarse.

Sagiso looked over to Minori. Her expression was tentative. It was obvious she was contemplating whether or not to say something, however she held it in. Instead, she shakily adjusted the grip on her crutches and headed over to Kaniza and Saori's sides.

Fumio held his breath. It was obvious he wanted to be alone for a moment, fear inside of his eyes.

Minori was speechless. Though he had wanted to engulf the group in a plague of hope, it was futile. He knew they wouldn't listen to him.

 _What should we do? Are we actually getting anywhere closer to stopping Monokuma? What have we even learned?_

He felt like they have learned nothing.

"We… We should rest."

Minori looked over to Kamui. The mortician had forced himself to speak, having cleared his throat and throwing a comforting look to the others. That look was superficial, lacking any genuinity behind it. It was merely an attempt to escape this air of tension- a forced smile.

"That's…" Sheina nodded her head slowly. "That sounds like a good idea. Saori, we should go."

Saori sighed. "Right." She looked down to Kaniza. "Can you stand?"

Kaniza shakily nodded her head. She slowly went up to her feet, following Saori and Sheina who headed towards the elevator. Her breaths were shaky as Saori gestured her inside.

"I'll…" Rin shook her head. She forbid the words that were about to escape her voice, instead coldly saying. "I'm going."

Kamui awkwardly scratched his head. "I… I should take my leave as well. I really need a mental rest after all of this… I want to think quietly about Ryoichi and the others too."

The mortician headed over into the elevator, following behind Rin. He threw her a worried smile before he looked back, eyeing the rest of the others who were still present inside of the room. His hands were over the frame of the door.

"Are you going to stay there for a while?"

His question echoed into the courtroom, dangling in suspicion.

Minori frowned. He found himself eyeing Fumio and Sagiso. The duo were confident with their position, unmoving. He then took a careful look at Seiga, eyeing the stunt double. The man seemed hesitant in speaking, and so Minori quickly threw Kamui an acknowledging nod.

Kamui pursed his lips, eyebrows furrowed. However, with the lack of movement from those inside of the courtroom, he was forced to accept. He let go of his grip and the elevator slowly came to a close.

They were gone.

Minori couldn't help but let out a long breath of air, exhausted. He then frowned. The pseudologist looked over to Sagiso and Fumio. "Are you two alright?"

The psychogeographer frowned as she looked at the man. "I want to talk with you later."

Minori awkwardly threw a smile. "I'm assuming this has to do with the whole 'mastermind' theory?"

Sagiso nodded. The pseudologist sighed as he turned to the scholar.

Fumio shook his head. "I'm fine. I'm just worried about him…"

Seiga frowned. He looked at the scholar for a moment, then shaking his head and slowly catching his breath. "I… I have a question."

The scholar's eyes widened. "U-uh, alright."

The stunt double winced as he forced himself to his feet. He was tightly gripping onto the scarf around his wound. "Why…" He began, voice strained. "Why did you decide to hide the fact that you can talk…?"

"That? Oh…" Fumio quickly averted his gaze. He was looking at the soles of his shoes, face blushing a faint pink color. "T-to be honest, the reason is because I don't like socializing… I never really had people who supported or positively impacted me aside from one person, so… I didn't want to be made fun of."

Seiga's eyes widened, shock written across his face. "Really? Just because of that stupid idea?"

The scholar simply cowered from the man's words.

Sagiso frowned. "I mean, in his defense though, what happened during the trial was a notable example of why he stayed 'mute'."

Seiga threw the auburn-haired woman a look, but stayed silent. Instead, he scratched his head and eyed the elevator. He glanced down to his makeshift bloody bandage, then back to the group. "You guys just wanna talk to Minori, right? I'm gonna go to the infirmary and patch myself up."

Fumio bit into his lips. "D… Do you need any help?"

"No." Seiga's answer was blunt. His expression hardened within seconds. "I rather not be pitied. Bye."

The stunt double quickly entered into the elevator, and soon he ascended.

Silence began to wane in the room again.

"Ahem." Minori quickly tried to counter the looming silence. "Did you want to ask me something as well, Fumio?"

Fumio jumped. He quickly nodded his head as he composed himself. "Yes. I, uh, wanted to talk about the 'mastermind' thing as well."

"Oh…" The pseudologist held his breath. "I see."

Sagiso sighed. She had noticed that worried look on the man's face, however she didn't comment on it. Though she cared for Minori, she honestly felt uncomfortable expressing it. "So, what do you think about this?"

"I mean, if I was the mastermind then I'd…"

Minori stopped. He honestly didn't know. What would he do if he was the mastermind? Would he have acted any different than he was already? He didn't know. He didn't know anything.

"I don't remember working under Monokuma or anybody suspicious though," the pseudologist said, forcing himself to answer. "If I was the mastermind, I would've kept the information about me being the mastermind a secret, correct?"

"That's true…" Sagiso averted her gaze. "I do find it weird Monokuma would tell Kakuma that you were the mastermind though."

"Right, that." Minori frowned. "I know that I'm not the mastermind though. Telling Kakuma that I'm the mastermind is either a joke or… if it's true…"

Sagiso raised a brow. She quickly tilted one of her crutches, using it to poke the pseudologist's leg. "Please don't think like that," she said, having instantly noticed the man's increasing worry, "You don't look like you're lying about not being the mastermind."

"What?" Minori's eyes widened. "I-I mean… Wouldn't you still doubt me? I am the Ultimate Pseudologist-"

"I know you're not that kind of person." Sagiso's expression was that of confidence. It was genuine, filled to the brim with trust. "After the many times I've doubted you, it's impossible for you to just hurt me again."

"I wouldn't call it a red herring either to throw us off from believing you weren't the mastermind." Fumio calmly explained. "People would still think you were the mastermind if you were trying to make this a red herring."

"Really…" The pseudologist slowly came to silence, unsure of how to respond.

"Don't worry about it." Fumio awkwardly smiled for a moment. "I'm sure everyone's willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Even Seiga."

Minori would hope so.

"If that was nothing more than a lie though…" Sagiso bit into her lips, expression suddenly tightened. "Monokuma led Kakuma to his death, or, if things happened differently, to your potential death."

"Right." The pseudologist held his breath. "If Monokuma was lying to Kakuma, he technically led him to his death. Him lying to Kakuma can be considered 'entertainment' in his eyes, however it was that lie that led to Kakuma's demise."

The auburn-haired woman frowned. "To be fair though, would Monokuma have known that Kakuma would've tried to kill you?"

"I would think so, but then again…" Minori didn't know. He glanced over to the scholar. "What do you think?"

"Uh…" Fumio cupped his hands together, slowly rubbing them. "It's hard to accurately judge Monokuma's character. He's a bit… well, he's outlandish, to put it bluntly."

 _Outlandish, huh?_

Minori crossed his arms, eyebrow raised. "Like discussed repeatedly, Monokuma does everything under the motive of 'entertainment'. There is no doubt that there is more to this, especially with what Kakuma had shared with me… though…"

The pseudologist quickly shook his head.

 _No, Monokuma couldn't have been lying to Kakuma about everything else. I'm sure Kakuma would've at least noticed if Monokuma was continuously lying._

Minori quickly cleared his throat. "We'll discuss this with Kamui and the others tomorrow."

Fumio and Sagiso looked content with this idea, heads bobbing up and down.

 _Hopefully everyone else will listen to me and not believe that Kakuma could've entirely been lied to about everything._

"Anyways," Minori turned to Sagiso, "Are you fine?"

Sagiso eyed the man for a moment, then averting her gaze. Her cheeks blushed a faint pink hue. "I-I'm fine. I know how to walk with crutches well, I think."

Fumio glanced at the duo for a moment. It was then did he frowned, slowly walking over to the elevator. He noticed the duo who looked back at him, and he awkwardly focused his gaze to the side. "Uh," he began, voice still a bit meek, "I'll take my leave. It seems like you two need to talk things out privately."

Minori's eyes widened. He wanted to speak, but was unable to as the elevator door closed. Fumio was gone from his sight.

 _He seems uneasy about something, but what?_

The pseudologist cupped his chin.

 _Did Monokuma talk to him again? If so, then about what? It can't be about entertainment since Fumio's already more assertive._

The man then stopped. He noticed the uneasy look on Sagiso's face.

… _Right. He might've noticed that we're a bit awkward around each other though._

Now confident in that answer, the pseudologist composed himself and stared straight at the woman. She was staring at him, expecting him to do something. To say something. A small smile escaped his face as he held his hand out.

"I'm sorry," he began, straightforward and to the point. "Even if I had wanted to keep what happened between Kakuma and I a secret, that doesn't excuse what I said about you."

"It's… it's fine." Sagiso blushed, averting her gaze. Her hands were gripping tightly around the handle of her crutches, however after a moment of hesitation she reached a hand out. Her hand was now grabbing ahold of Minori's. "I shouldn't have been so nosy. I don't have any right to treat you the way I've been treating you recently either."

Minori shook his head. "It was my fault in the first place for getting mad at you. It's sickening to think that I made you cry. I'm sorry."

"D-don't talk about that." Sagiso blushed harder. A sigh escaped her lips as she then threw Minori a small smile. "I'm sorry for doubting you."

The pseudologist smiled back. "It's fine. Your worries are understandable. You just wanted to make sure we were all safe."

"Still…" The psychogeographer held her breath, eyebrows furrowed. "I can't help but feel really horrible for all of this. I just nose into people's business. I shouldn't do this. I'm just a hindrance to you all."

Minori frowned. "That's not true. You just want to see us safe. You're nothing more than someone who just wants to keep us alive and happy. You're not a hindrance at all."

Sagiso averted her gaze. "But-"

The pseudologist quickly threw the woman in an embrace. He wrapped his arms around Sagiso, making certain that the woman wouldn't feel uncomfortable. He honestly wanted to make Sagiso feel better, to make her know that she wasn't a hindrance. That she wasn't a burden.

"You shouldn't tell yourself that," he began, his voice gentle, "Nobody thinks of you as a burden. You're the one who keeps us together, Sagiso."

Sagiso was tense, her breath having stalled. "Minori…" She averted her gaze, hesitant. However, she slowly loosened up and smiled. "Thank you."

The pseudologist smiled back, now releasing his arms around her. "There," he said, a lighthearted laugh escaping his lips. "Do you feel better?"

"I…" Sagiso blinked for a few seconds. Her entire face went red as she quickly looked away, hands tightening around her crutches. "I-I do."

Minori couldn't help but grin playfully. "I would've thought you'd be more composed about that. You usually would get close to me, y'know?"

"What? No I do-" Sagiso's eyes widened. She stood frozen in place. "B-be quiet about that!"

The woman was clearly flustered.

Minori let out a chuckle, then crossing his arms. "Anyways, you're fine, right? We should rest now."

"Right…" Sagiso pursed her lips, acknowledging the man's words without a struggle.

The duo headed over to the elevator, the door closing the moment they were inside. A smooth, uneasy ride back to the building.

 _Ding!_

The door opened, and the duo headed out. They were back inside of the first floor, the lights inside of the room turned on as well as the hallways'.

"Are you going to sleep now?" Sagiso asked, taking careful steps away from the man. She turned to give him a curious look. "You're most likely exhausted from what happened today."

Minori shook his head. "I mean, we all are. We're human."

"That's true. Still, you should rest soon."

"I know, I know." The pseudologist waved. "Good night."

The psychogeographer smiled at that, then turning the handle on the door. The door was peacefully and quietly opened, then making the woman leave the room.

Minori let out a sigh. He was clearly exhausted.

He decided it was best to rest himself for the meantime. He knew that he'd be stressed out further if he were to stay awake, and so he began his way outside of the room. The room seemed to mock him, the elevator from behind looming with an airy sound. The air was chilly. And, to add to it, although the lights were bright and on, it felt like they were flickering- on and off, on and off.

He knew though. It was merely because of his exhaustion and anxiety, but nonetheless it still frightened him. He was imagining things.

Clearly, he was imagining things.

The infirmary door was opened. Minori walked past it to see Seiga, the man silently bandaging his hand. The stunt double took a moment to eye the bloody scarf at the side. He reached his right hand out to touch it, then moving it back. He pursed his lips, then sighing. He was shaking his head. An unsteady look was written all over his face.

It signaled to Minori that the man wanted to be left alone. He continued his way.

Down the hallways, the pseudologist calmly walked towards the dormitories. It was silence within the hallways. There was nothing to be heard other than the chilly air and his breathing. His heartbeat was steady, though relatively a bit quicker than normal.

He stepped straight into the dormitories, and his eyes were instantly fixated on a familiar figure.

Somebody was standing right at a door. A woman was standing right at a door, and it was obvious that the door was not the entrance to her own room. No, rather, it was obvious that the door was the entrance to someone else's.

"Rin?"

The jeweler turned her head around immediately, eyes widened in shock. Her face paled upon noticing the pseudologist, cheeks suddenly blushed a pink hue. "M-Minori?"

Minori awkwardly threw on a smile, trying to not come off as suspicious. "Are you alright? Sorry if I startled you."

"Like that's not obvious?" Rin frowned. She looked at the man for a moment before sighing, crossing her arms. "You're wondering why I'm in front of Ryoichi's door, right?"

The pseudologist slowly nodded his head. "Right…"

"That sounded like a yes to me." The jeweler rolled her eyes. "It's nothing to concern yourself with. I'm not going to mope like a coward last time."

Minori pursed his lips. Yes, he was worried about Rin's mental state, but he didn't expect her to deprecate herself so easily. Fuwari and Amyto died, and they were Rin's closest friends. Ryoichi died, and it was obvious that his intentions were all for Rin. This costed Nezumi and Kakuma's lives, and, to an extent, Kaniza's.

Rin raised a brow, noticing the look on the man's face. "It's fine. I'm not here to cry. I'm just here to think about everything that happened today. That's all."

The pseudologist was silent. He expected that the woman didn't want him to speak. At least, not yet.

"Ryoichi did what he did because he liked me. I know that much." Rin let out a painful chuckle, expression bitter. She turned back at Ryoichi's room, hands against the solid door. "He's such an idiot. He should've known I had no feelings of that kind towards him. He was just… well, a friend to me. He was someone I liked as a friend. Even if he was stupid at times, he's still one of us. He's a victim of this killing game."

Rin hung her head low. Her shoulders began to shake. "He killed Nezumi and Kakuma because of me, and I know that. He caused Kaniza to grieve, I know that. I know everything that happened in this case, and it hurts. It should hurt. Everything happened, and it seemed like it was because of me…"

The jeweler let out a long breath of air. She stood frozen for a second. Slowly, very slowly, she turned back to Minori. Her eyes were staring straight into his.

"I still have to live on though. Kamui and the others taught me that." Rin's entire expression was stern, serious. "I have to live on to carry their legacy. I can't give up now. I know that."

Minori's eyes widened. "Rin…"

The jeweler looked at the man before grinning, a rare playful smile on her face. She quickly averted her gaze as she teased the man. "You didn't expect that, huh Minori?"

"I-I'm just surprised." The pseudologist awkwardly scratched his head. "I'm glad you feel this way now."

Rin nodded. She turned back to the door, now frowning. "I was going to open the door earlier, but you came to ruin it."

"Oh!" The pseudologist bit into his lips. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it." The jeweler sighed. "I'm just going to check Ryoichi's room as a… well, I guess as an apology for making him do these things."

Rin brought her hand over to the handle. She slowly turned it, and the door began creaking. It was slowly opening.

And it did open. It was fully opened, yet all that can be seen was darkness.

The room was entirely dark. There was nothing to be seen inside of the room.

No, it was an enclosed space of darkness. Black, black everywhere. Nothing was to be seen in the blackness of the room. No, it was as if the door opened to an entirely black painting. There was nothing to be seen but one shade of black.

"What…?"

Minori was beyond shocked, unable to comprehend the sight in front of him. There was nothing to be seen except darkness. No bed, no chairs, no clothes- there was nothing.

"This is… this is weird." Rin reached a hand out, however it stopped as she suddenly found her hand smacking the blackness. A black wall.

"What?" Minori stepped to the side, putting his own hand out. Like Rin, his hand had stopped midway. "What the hell…"

"Oops! Shit!"

The familiar black-and-white bear jumped at the front, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. He grinned as he eyed the duo, chuckling as he scratched his head.

"What is the meaning of this?" Rin asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Just some technical errors." Monokuma mumbled, an embarrassed blush riding his face. "I accidentally forgot to plug some shit in, and this happened. I swear, technology is getting more advanced these days!"

Minori raised a brow. "Technology?"

"Don't worry about it, Minnie." The bear smirked. "You should've known all this shit anyways."

"I…" The pseudologist frowned. "I do not understand."

"Is that so? Rude! Minnie, you're mean! You're so mean!" Monokuma faked a sob, wiping his crocodile tears. "You're the worst person ever!"

Minori was silent, unable to comprehend what the bear was talking about. He sighed, shaking his head. What Monokuma was saying now didn't matter. "So, what exactly happened to Ryoichi's room?" The man asked, ignoring the bear's sobs.

"Oh." Monokuma suddenly snapped out of his tears. "Nothing really. It's just an error in the system. Toying around with new gadgets and stuff really isn't safe, y'know?"

Rin pursed her lips. She was slowly beginning to pale. "Wait, I have a question."

"Yeah?" Monokuma smiled. "What's up?"

The jeweler held her breath. "You're doing something to the rooms of those who had died, aren't you?"

"Hm?" Monokuma tilted his head. "Am I?"

Rin gritted her teeth. "It's obvious after what happened now. You wouldn't have made an 'error' in Ryoichi's room if you weren't planning to do something with it."

"Like that's totally the case." The bear chuckled, amused by what Rin had said. "It's a good theory. I'd love to see you discuss these theories on those forums~"

The jeweler clenched into her fists. "Don't mock me."

"I'm not. It is a good theory." The headmaster suddenly stepped back, now feet away from the duo. "I know a lot of people have their own theories. Some act upon them, and others don't. I wonder if you'll act upon them, liar."

Rin's eyes widened. "Liar?"

Monokuma snickered. "Everyone's a liar here anyways. You think I'm lying? No, that's wrong. Everyone's lying here about something."

The bear's eyes landed upon Minori, however those eyes of his seemed to also land upon something else.

What, though? Nobody except him knew the answer.

"Well, I just came here to tell you guys about that shit. I'm gonna fix it later. So, I'm gonna go now, bye losers!"

Like always, the bear left without a second to waste.

Minori and Rin were silent. They had no idea what just happened, only eyeing the blackness that was now engulfing Ryoichi's room.

"Guess I'll sleep."

Minori took a look at Rin who yawned, stretching her arms out. She rubbed her eyes, lips chapped as she looked to the pseudologist. The man comfortably smiled. "Alright."

Rin nodded back in acknowledgment, then walking over to her room and closing the door behind her. She was now gone.

Minori let out a sigh.

 _I should really go to sleep now._

Minori stretched his arms out himself. An audible yawn escaped his lips as he walked over to his dorm room. Opening the handle, the door creaked opened. He closed the door behind him as he turned the lights on.

His bed was still a mess- his blankets were everywhere, his mattress and pillows were wrinkled, etc. He was on a rush to meet up with Kakuma, and so to tend to his bed was the last thing on his mind.

Never would he have expected Kakuma to die. Never would he have expected everything to lead to Nezumi and Ryoichi's deaths.

Sure, he knew that the motive was on that was tempting and tantalizing. To save a beloved one was the cruel motive. It was cruel and persuasive, more so than the others.

 _Still… I'm not used to murder._

Minori loosened up his scarf, tossing it to the side. He took off his coat before laying down on his bed, arms spread across the mattress. He blankly stared at the ceiling.

 _Everything Monokuma had said doesn't make sense. I don't know what he's talking about… If he's lying to us or not._

Minori turned to the side, having rolled over and hugging his blankets.

 _Monokuma didn't have to punish us either. If Seiga hadn't sacrificed himself, then… Tsk, I don't get it. Monokuma's getting more and more petty by the second. Why? I can't just think everything's for entertainment… What is the reason? What's the reason for all of this?_

Minori closed his eyes.

 _No. Stop._

He had to stop thinking about this. He had to rest. He knew time wouldn't stop for him or the others.

And so he kept his eyes closed. To think about everything was a hassle. To think about anything was a burden. He had to think about nothing without that being a thought. He thought about nothing and fell into a state of nothingness, and so successfully did he fell into a slumber.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3 - Dead Man Walking**

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **WOULD YOU LIKE TO START CHAPTER 4?**

 **[YES] | NO**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4 - ?TITLE UNKNOWN?**

 **[START]**

 **Survivors: 9**

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 3 as a whole, or even just this chapter haha. I know I'll be slower on updates and stuff than I usually am because of school, but fear not! I'll try my best regardless!

Anyways, goodbye for now!


	32. Chapter 4 - Part 1, Part A

Hello, and welcome to the official fourth chapter of this story! I am so shocked that I was able to make it to this chapter, and honestly it was thanks to you guys for supporting this story. I'm glad you guys are here to motivate me to continue releasing updates~ Uh, well, anyways, enough about the sappiness here, let's get to the story!

 **TheLlamaLord:** "Nice thoughts~ I see people are liking Fumio now, that's good! I think if people were to blame Rin, everyone reading this would be screaming at those people lol. Yeah, true, closing chapters are short for a reason. The Seiga hate is strong here."

 **ToonGuy:** "Wait, what, it's not even a year since this story was first published? Holy shit, I'm shook right now. Seiga, Seiga, the poor dude lost a finger. We need some good ol' shipping to brighten up this mood. Yay, Minori and Sagiso are friends again! Ryoichi's room, hm... Interesting thoughts, upupupu. And interesting choice of mastermind! Very interesting. I think you're the first to think about Sagiso, but then again the other characters aren't being pointed as the masterminds either yet other than Minori, pfft. And yes, I'm planning a new SYOC! I'm surprised you noticed it! Aw, thanks!"

 **liammarklh88:** "To be honest, I'm shocked that I'm still here. Is Seiga still in your trash list though, because that is the ultimate question to ask. Fumio is such a sweet person, don't hurt him. I see you still love your good ol' Minori and Sagiso ship. Rin suffers too much, I didn't even realize I made her suffer through this much. Monokuma wants to host a party, I'm telling you. Aw, thanks! Good luck to you as well~"

 **Ziggymia123:** "Oof, I just realized that I'm torturing Rin a lot. I didn't mean to make her suffer this much, oops. And yay, Sagiso and Minori made up! Hm, interesting thoughts, maybe they hold merit? Welp."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Yes, but let us see if they are true. Ouch, I shall now pray for the safety of Rin and that character in your story. Yeah, I'll just give hugs to everyone because, well, Danganronpa is full of suffering. Aw, thanks!"

 **zephryr:** "I always do enjoy the trivia on the characters' names, so thanks for that! I think people who genuinely love Ryoichi as a character is low, or from what I see in the reviews. Haha, well, let us see. Saori is now best mom now, lol. Of course, of course~ Dynamics are interesting, so hopefully I'll be able to create some dynamics between the characters. No, it's fine. I always enjoy hearing what you have to say whether short or not~"

 **FruitlessKitty74:** "Aw, thanks. I'm glad you enjoy this story, and I wish for you the best as well."

 **PainX65:** "Yes, and your stories all deserve five stars as well~"

 **KISL:** "Hey there friend~ Closing chapters are usually our rest (?) time for the characters, so yeah not too much to analyze, I think. Pfft, I'm surprised you remember that, cause I didn't until you told me. Ah, nice thoughts. Brief thoughts, but still thoughts nonetheless! Maybe what Seiga says does hold merit to what is happening here~ Aw, but outlining stuff is very important, Ki! Thanks regardless~"

* * *

A dream. It was a dream that spoke about the past. It was a dream that spoke about the beginning of the end.

However, one could consider that it wasn't a dream, but more of a recollection of what had happened in one's past.

"Suiko, Fūma."

Minori smiled at his little siblings. It was a smile that was genuine, yet there was an unsteadiness behind those lips. That smile was unsteady, mixed with worry, anxiety, nervousness. It was a smile that was meant to comfort others.

His younger siblings looked at him, tears in their eyes. They were sobbing nonstop, expressions filled to the brim with fear and tragedy.

"Don't worry," he said, trying to sound as calm as possible. To see his younger siblings in fear made him queasy. "We'll be fine. Just don't look back."

Fūma was shivering, the youngest of the siblings shaking entirely. "But…"

"It's fine." Minori held his breath. He looked over his siblings, then frowning. He suddenly turned to his younger sister, staring straight into her tearful green eyes. "Just run away with Fūma, okay? I'll stay here and take the consequences."

Suiko's eyes widened. She glanced over to Fūma before shaking her head, biting hard into her lips. "Can't you just run away with us? We can run away successfully together-!"

"No, that's not true." Minori chuckled bitterly. "Just run away with your younger brother, okay? I'm going to stay here."

"But…"

The white-haired man bit into his lips. "Just go, you idiot! They'll be here soon."

Suiko eyed Minori painfully. Her expression was that of hesitation and doubt, however she quickly shook her head and grabbed Fūma's hand. She pulled the younger sibling away, the duo charging out of the room and towards the backdoor.

Minori could hear the door open and close.

The man closed his eyes. He could hear the faint noise buzzing close by.

He could only hope that he could escape from this particular situation successfully.

"That's a wish that can never be achieved, Minori."

* * *

Minori's eyes snapped open within an instant, cold sweat trickling down his forehead as he whipped his body up. His heart was beating quickly, stomach churning.

His breathes were shallow and quick. The cold air was touching his skin, tingling his insides. He could feel his lips being bitten into, his nose wrinkling in uneasiness.

 _What? … What was that?_

Minori grabbed at his heart. He let out a deep breath. In, out. In, out.

He froze. He could feel his entire body shaking. His hands were shaking violently.

 _What's happening to me?_

Minori closed his eyes. He forced himself to calm. He counted mentally to himself. One. Two. Three. His body rested. He felt calm. He opened his eyes again, then finding his hands still.

… _Okay, good…_

Minori sighed, shaking his head. He glanced around the room, eyes darting back and forth aimlessly. He was merely thinking to himself, expression unsteady.

 _Why am I dreaming about this? I don't… My head hurts…_

The pseudologist could feel chills running down his spine. His stomach continued to churn around and around, crying in uneasiness. His eyes landed straight down at his blankets, fixated aimlessly.

 _This isn't right. I still… my body still hurts…_

Why? Why was it hurting him so badly? Why was he feeling so anxious?

Minori could conclude that it was because of the recollection of the past, yet there was a cry that screamed that it wasn't the only case. There was a hidden ingredient behind his anxiety and nervousness. The droplets of sweat which trickled down from his forehead signaled to him that there was something else.

 _But what?_

Minori didn't have the time to register his own hypothesis, for the morning announcement suddenly screamed throughout the school.

"Hey, kids!" Monokuma's voice rang out. His voice seemed to be gargled with liquid- Minori assumed he was drinking alcohol. "Get up! It's morning, your favorite time of the day! You feel energized! Do push-ups! Sit-ups! Planks! Jogs! Walks!"

Monokuma's voice went silent for a moment. "Ahem! Anyways, just get up and do shit, alright? Y'know I'm watching you, so get up before I have to personally punish you, you masochistic bastards!"

And the announcement fell into silence.

Minori frowned. He stayed still, silent. He honestly didn't know what to think. He was merely looking at his blankets as if he were a corpse, dead and rigid in posture.

A moment passed. Minori bit into his lips, frustrated with what he was feeling right now. It was stressing him out, and he didn't know the reason why.

… _It doesn't matter._

Minori shook his head. He shouldn't bother with this issue any longer. There were other issues that held of much greater importance, and he knew that.

The pseudologist jumped out of bed, stretching his arms and letting out a yawn. Rubbing his eyes, the man quickly went to clean himself up and change his clothes. He loosely wrapped the scarf around his neck, a bit irritated that he was used to this routine.

 _Oh, whatever. Clothes don't matter much to Monokuma… I think._

The white-haired pseudologist sighing in acknowledgment, he headed outside straight over to the dining hall.

Opening the door, the man was greeted with his fellow Ultimates.

"Minori." Kamui smiled kindly. He was holding a tray of food in his hands. "Take a seat. We're just preparing the table."

Minori smiled back. "You don't need any help?"

"Of course not, but thank you for the offer." The mortician chuckled. His eyes were glanced over to Kaniza and Sagiso, the duo sitting on the dining table and talking to one another. "We didn't want to make them cook, so since I was early with Saori we decided to cook instead."

"Oh, I see." The pseudologist nodded, approving of Kamui and Saori's actions. "Is everyone else here?"

Kamui shook his head. "They should be coming soon. Only us four are here, excluding you."

Minori raised a brow, eyeing Kamui for a moment. He looked over to the tray of dishes on the man's hands, noting the amount of delicacies on display. "Are you sure you and Saori don't need any help?"

"Don't be like Sagiso," Kamui playfully said, joking. He couldn't help but smile shyly. "Saori and I can handle this."

"Ah, I guess." Minori sighed. "Alright. I'll check on Saori then. Is she in the kitchen?"

The mortician bobbed his head. "Yes, that's right. She's preparing the drinks."

Minori acknowledged the man's words, waving before moving over into the kitchen. There, he could easily spot Saori, the body broker preparing the drinks. She was pouring water into each glass, making sure the amount of water poured into the glasses were symmetrical and aligned with one another. The woman let out a small huff once she finished, the jar now empty. She looked over to find Minori, eyes slightly widening.

"Oh." Saori eyed the man. "I didn't see you. Sorry. Did you just came in now?"

The pseudologist nodded. "Yeah, I did. I just wanted to greet you."

"That's fine." The woman turned away, now looking for a tray. Once she had found her desired tray, she began placing each glass of water on top. "Are the others here yet?"

Minori pursed his lips. "Um… I was the first to come in here after you, Kamui, Kaniza, and Sagiso."

"Alright." Saori continued to place the glasses of water, finishing within a moment. She was now carefully carrying the tray, slowly walking outside.

Minori followed behind, moving outside and leaving the door open for the woman. She thanked him quietly as she walked out, moving over to the dining table. He watched the body broker who arranged the glasses around the table, then grabbing a couple of saucepans from the side.

The pseudologist couldn't help but smile at the sight. To see the body broker working so kindly and diligently made him joyful. If only this wasn't a killing game, then he could've been happier all the more likely.

"Minori."

"Oh." Minori looked back to find Fumio. The scholar was greeting him with a small wave. "Good morning."

Fumio nodded, his voice somewhat a mumble and tired tone. "Mhm. Uh, have you seen the new floor yet?"

"The fourth floor?" Minori shook his head. "No, I haven't. Is everyone else investigating upstairs?"

"I don't think so. I haven't checked it out myself." Fumio fiddled with his fingers. "I was asking since I figured everyone else would want to investigate together."

"I figured everyone would simply be used to this routine, that's all." Minori chuckled, playful. "I'm sure people would want to investigate the new floor together though. You can ask the others when they come…"

The pseudologist then frowned. "You're not going to talk through your notepad anymore, Fumio?"

The scholar's eyes widened, and he quickly looked at his feet. His cheeks were a pink hue. "Well… I wanted to get out of my comfort zone…"

"Oh, I see. That's good!" Minori smiled happily. "I'm glad you're becoming more comfortable around us."

"Mhm." Fumio bit into his lips. He looked left and right, then frowning. "Um, Seiga's not here?"

"He might be coming soon. Rin and Sheina aren't here yet." The pseudologist crossed his arms. "Why? Are you planning to talk to him?"

"... Yes, something like that." Fumio held his breath. "I… I really don't think he's that bad of a person."

"Really?" Minori wrinkled his nose. "I mean, even if he had sacrificed a finger for us… He's been hostile towards you and I."

"I know that." The scholar toyed with his shirt, pulling at the collar. "I… I just think that something's wrong about how he's been acting. I know he's been hostile and aggressive, but he's never been like that before."

Minori frowned. He thought back to when he first met Seiga. The stunt double was egotistical and obnoxious, but he was endearing. He was a man who cared for others. He was someone who admired the heroic acts of others and tried to imitate them. He was merely a man who Minori could admire.

Fumio had a point. The change was sudden, and it was worrying.

The door opened.

Sheina and Rin walked into the room, looking over and waving to the others.

"Hello." Sheina smiled over to Minori and the others. "Sorry we're a bit late."

Rin averted her gaze, clutching at her sleeve. "I accidentally bumped into her and spilled water on her, so she had to change her clothes."

The egyptologist awkwardly scratched her head. "I suppose the Gods couldn't grant me the wish to not be so clumsy."

"It's not that big of an issue," Rin mumbled, eyes looking over to Minori. "Have you checked Ryoichi's room?"

Minori frowned. "No, not yet. Why? Did Monokuma fix it?"

"Mhm." Rin was hesitant, expression that of worry. The jeweler couldn't help but shake her head, walking over to the dining table where Kaniza and Sagiso were.

"Hello there," Sagiso greeted, smiling at the jeweler. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Rin answered. Her eyes were fixated upon Kaniza, however she bit her lips and stayed silent. The food was prepared anyways, and she knew that breakfast was to start.

Sheina ran over towards Saori, the woman having poured the black pepper sauce and others into the arrays of saucepans. "Good morning, Saori. May light shine down upon you."

"Mhm. Same to you too." The body broker gestured Sheina over to take a seat. After a while of arranging the saucepans and dishes alongside Kamui, she took her own seat.

Fumio and Minori looked at one another before taking their own seats as well. Breakfast was about to begin.

Kamui stopped as he finished setting up the plates. He was observing the room, silent. He was then frowning. "Does anyone know if Seiga will be here?"

"Oh! Right, him." Sheina's voice rang out into the open. "Before bumping to Rin, I bumped into Seiga."

"You are so clumsy," Saori said, carefully eyeing the woman. "You need to be more careful."

Sheina blushed, then quickly clearing her throat and continuing. "After I apologized to him we talked for a brief moment. Seiga's still injured and I could tell he was having trouble using his hand."

Sagiso raised a brow, her arms crossed. "He doesn't want to bother us, I'm assuming?"

"I'm not sure," the woman admitted. "Seiga was vague. He told me that he doesn't want to see us anymore. He says something like how he'll end up becoming 'different' again."

"Different…" Kamui cupped his chin, curious. "Hm…"

"Doesn't that sound like an excuse?" Rin asked, frowning. Her eyebrows were furrowed. "He's just trying to stay away from us after what he said to Fumio and Minori."

"I…" Fumio fiddled with his fingers. "I don't think that's the case. Seiga's not acting right. I feel like there's more to that than we know."

"It's sudden, for one." Minori quickly mused, contributing to Fumio's argument. "Seiga has never acted like this before. And even if he had held disliking towards us since the first day, especially towards Fumio, I cannot believe he would've showed it so openly like that."

"Belief." Sagiso tapped her chin. "Belief can only go so far. There needs to be a truth within that belief."

"I mean, obviously." Rin scoffed. "But he's the only one who's acted like this so far."

Kamui crossed his arms. "Then what about Amyto?"

Rin's eyes widened. "I'm… I'm not sure."

The mortician smiled awkwardly at the jeweler, however his expression hardened as he turned to the crowd. "If we're saying that Seiga didn't change like this willingly, then why? Is it because of Monokuma?"

"We don't exactly know everything about everyone though," Rin countered, frowning. "I didn't think that we'd be capable of murder, for one thing."

Kaniza's eyes lowered at that statement. To think about murder was something she did not want to participate in.

"Yeah… Amyto's entire appearance towards us was a lie, and Fuwari's talent as well." Sheina murmured, saddened. "I wouldn't have believed us all to murder either, so I can see your point."

"But Seiga changed so drastically," Fumio said, pursing his lips. "It's surreal."

"Then why target him?" Sagiso asked. She sternly eyed the scholar. "Why target only Seiga?"

Fumio's eyes widened. He quickly looks down at the table, eyeing nothing but the solid object. "I-I don't think it's only Seiga though."

"What?" Sagiso raised a brow, genuinely shocked. Her posture slightly stiffened in curiosity. "What does that mean?"

"Well…" Fumio awkwardly laughed to himself, nervous. "Think about it. How many of us have thought of something along these lines- 'That person is not acting the same', 'Why am I acting this way', or even 'This isn't right'?"

Everyone's eyes widened. They seemed to realize what the scholar was saying, and it strangely resonated with them well- all too well.

Sagiso pursed her lips, her breath heaved. "Are you suggesting that Monokuma has done something to our bodies?"

"W-what?!" Sheina gasped, almost obnoxiously loud into the air. Her entire face was blushed red. "H-he's sinning! I cannot allow such atrocious actions!"

"I-I don't think it's that," Kaniza murmured, eyes staring off into space. A moment passed. She slowly shook her head as she looked over to Sagiso. "W-what's this all supposed to mean?"

The psychogeographer gulped. "This… I do not know, to be honest. If we're going with what Fumio said, then it's most likely that Monokuma has done something directly to make us like this, or, with how Seiga's been behaving."

"It does sound like a likely possibility though," Saori mused, grabbing her glass of water and sipping into it. She frowned as she noticed that the water tasted lukewarm inside of her mouth. "I have to admit, I believed that a lot of you have changed differently, without warning."

Kamui's eyes widened. "R-really now?"

"Not all of us though." The body broker put down her glass, eyes suddenly fixated on Minori. "He's a prime example other than Seiga."

"O-oh." The pseudologist awkwardly threw out a smile. "I… I do have to admit I've acted drastically different from what you've all seen from me beforehand."

"True." Rin crossed her arms, frowning. "Minori wasn't acting the same as he usually does before the trial."

Sagiso slowly nodded her head. She knew exactly how Minori had acted, and she couldn't help but purse her lips. Her fingers drummed the table impatiently. "Minori has been acting different from before, but he seems fine now."

"Do I?" Minori bit into his lips. He honestly didn't feel the same.

Kamui clapped his hands together, smiling. "I believe so as well. Despite you having been accused of being the mastermind and whatnot, you're still trying to keep us together."

"That's because you guys believe in me." Minori's shoulders loosened at that statement, his cheeks blushing a pink hue. "I can't thank you enough for that."

The jeweler scoffed, averting her gaze. "We need evidence to back up the claim that you are the mastermind, after all."

"Mhm…" Saori frowned. Her nose wrinkled in disdain as a sudden thought ran across her head. She eyed the pseudologist again. "Wait, what if Monokuma isn't only altering our personalities, but our cognitive abilities as well?"

"What?" Minori frowned. "What does that mean?"

The body broker held her breath. "To put it briefly, what if Monokuma is not only altering our personalities, but with our entire minds?"

"H-huh?" Kaniza bit into her lips. "Gosh, that sounds confusing…"

Minori's face paled. A sudden epiphany had struck him. "Is he trying to lower our chances of success in figuring out who a killer is sooner by cutting information off from our brains?"

"That sounds like the case." Fumio eyed Minori worriedly. "Isn't that why you weren't able to detect Ryoichi's lies?"

The pseudologist frowned. "Lies?"

"Right." Kamui threw the white-haired man a stern expression. "During the pivotal moment when we were accusing Ryoichi through Seiga, you could've detected that Ryoichi was lying about the bomb's whereabouts. You should've, given your talent."

"T-that's…"

"Then again…" Rin coughed awkwardly. "Ryoichi did specifically cut off information that could hint to him lying. He could skew his words to make it sound like the truth by making what he says vague."

Sheina nodded slowly. "Y-yeah, that's right."

Minori was struck in silence. He suddenly found himself hearing nothing but white noise- buzzing, buzzing white noise. He could only pale in wonderment over what he had just heard, over what he had realized. It honestly pained him. It made him think-

-was what he was saying and thinking true, or was it all a fabrication and a programmed input of what Monokuma wanted him to do?

"W-well, let's not think about it too much," Kaniza said, quickly interjecting into the conversation. She threw the group a wary smile. "T-this talk is hurting my brain. We could, uh, think about all of this later when we investigate t-the fourth floor. We should just… well, eat."

The group eyed the astrophotographer worriedly. It was obvious that the woman was still hurt and traumatized from what happened.

"Of course," Kamui said, throwing the woman a warm smile. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "I suppose we should eat now. We'll investigate afterwards."

"That's fine with me," Rin commented, grabbing ahold of her plate and beginning to search the table for food.

Fumio cleared his throat. "Kamui, can you pass Seiga's plate?"

"Oh, this?" The mortician softly handed the scholar the plate. He eyed the man curiously, watching Fumio who began putting food into the first empty plate. "Ah, I assume you want to give food to Seiga?"

"Mhm…" Fumio averted his gaze. "He should eat, at least…"

The pseudologist observed the scholar for a moment. It was in an instant did the man recognize Fumio's intentions.

 _Despite being scared of him, he wants to try smoothing out his and Seiga's relationship._

Minori stuffed a brussel sprout in his mouth, eyebrows furrowed slightly from the bitter taste. He continued to observe Fumio who grabbed the food and drink, then pouring sauce to the side of the plate. He then watched Fumio who headed outside of the dining hall, the door coming to a close.

 _Hopefully it'll work out._

The group was now eating, focus entirely on the food. They ate their food with ease, engaging in small talk. It was pleasant and friendly, but Minori knew it was nonetheless tense. The group of Ultimates were worried over the future, their expressions a mixture of both positivity and negativity.

Minutes passed before Fumio headed back inside, Seiga's plate gone from sight.

"Oh!" Kamui smiled, noticing the scholar. "Did you give the food to Seiga?"

Fumio nodded his head, albeit hesitantly. "He told me he didn't want it, so I just left it in front of his door."

"Geez." Sheina worriedly frowned. "Is he alright?"

The scholar bit into his lips, moving over to take his seat next to Minori. "I'm not sure. Honestly? He sounds a bit frightened."

"It sounds like Monokuma's doing," Sagiso inputted, expression unsteady as she bit into her food. "Monokuma is doing something to him, and he knows that he can't stop it."

"It's just a theory though," Rin murmured, cautious as she sipped into her water. "We don't even know why he's doing it… Nonetheless how."

"Yeah, it sounds nearly impossible." Sheina mused, cuddling with her necklace. "... If only the Gods could answer us."

"It'll be fine," Saori said, eyeing Sheina. The body broker then turned to the group. "We'll figure this out sooner or later."

Kaniza nodded her head slowly. "I-I want that… I want that to be true."

"I'm worried about Seiga," Kamui began, "but we can't force him to see us if he doesn't want to."

Sagiso nodded slowly. "I… I suppose so."

"I-I really don't think that's the case." Kaniza cautiously looked at the man. "N-Nezumi was able to open up to us because Seiga continuously approached him… I-If he hadn't done that, then Nezumi wouldn't have ever…"

The astrophotographer bit into her lips, eyes fixated at her food. "Kakuma though… I feel so bad for him…"

Minori averted his gaze. "Right. He… He wanted to befriend us, but couldn't. He didn't have the chance to."

"That's so sad," Sheina cried, lips quivering. "Why does life have to be cut short because of Monokuma? It's not fair."

"We can only try to carry on their wishes." Saori crossed her arms. "Ko, Asami… We'll survive to tell their story. Our story."

Kamui nodded. "Right."

Everyone seemed content with what was said, now transitioning back to eating their food. The silence had rained into the room without a second to waste, however it shifted into a more lighthearted atmosphere once the Ultimates finally found themselves unable to stay silent. A few pleasant and relaxing conversations came to and fro, and within an hour or so the group finally finished their food.

They waited patiently around the dining hall or beyond as Kamui and Saori took it upon themselves to wash the dishes. As expected, Sagiso had wanted to help, but with her injury the duo merely persuaded her to sit still.

Sagiso let out a sigh, waiting before eyeing Minori. She let out an awkward smile. "How are you, Minori?"

The pseudologist smiled. "I'm fine, of course. I'm more concerned about you."

"Ah, I see." The psychogeographer giggled. "I'm fine. I won't let my injury deter me from doing what I usually do."

Minori nodded. "Mhm. Hopefully you'll be able to heal soon." The man then frowned. "Will you be fine walking up to the fourth floor by yourself?"

Sagiso looked down at her crutches. "Well…"

"You don't need to be embarrassed about asking for help," Minori joked, playfully teasing the woman.

"I know that," Sagiso replied, rolling her eyes. "It's just that it's embarrassing if someone carried me around the school."

"Okay, good point." Minori awkwardly scratched his head. "Though I think embarrassment is better than hurting yourself a second time."

"True…" The woman sighed. "I suppose so."

Kamui and Saori were able to finish washing the dishes within around half an hour, having walked outside and calling everyone back in. Everyone was now standing up and ready to move, ready to explore the fourth floor.

 _I guess Seiga's not willing to go with us._

Minori sighed at this thought. He honestly had hoped to reconcile with Seiga sooner. He had to wait. Hopefully, hopefully soon.

The pseudologist eyed Sagiso who shook her head, grabbing ahold of her crutches. She gestured to the man that she'd try at least, and so Minori shrugged and decided to walk close to Kamui and Saori who were leading the way.

"Have you checked the fourth floor from the MonoPad yet?" Sagiso asked, eyeing the group curiously. A worried expression was written all over her face. "Based on pictures and words alone, it seems like the fourth floor is quite… interesting, to say the least."

Rin let out a small laugh. "Even more so than the last floor? That place came straight out from a horror flick."

Kamui smiled awkwardly. "Ah, I haven't checked yet."

"I-I saw it," Kaniza said, mumbling as she walked close behind the group. "T-there were computers and stuff… Uh, technology."

"Technology?" Fumio raised a brow. "The fourth floor is centered around technology then, I suppose?"

"Ah…" Kaniza nodded her head slowly, almost hesitant in answering. "Yeah…"

Saori threw the astrophotographer a comforting smile before clearing her throat, speaking to the group as a whole. "We'll see what we can investigate when we get up there."

"Of course!" Sheina clapped her hands excitedly. "We'll definitely find something useful!"

"Hopefully." Kaniza heaved out a heavy sigh. "I-I just want to get out of here…"

Rin eyed the woman, frowning. She seemed unsure of whether to speak to the poor raven or not, her entire face mixed with anxiety and worry.

The group made their way up the staircases. Minori had to carry Sagiso upstairs, having saw her struggling to carefully place herself on each step. Despite the woman having blushed and denied the need for assistance, she forfeited and allowed herself to be carried straight upstairs to the fourth floor.

Rin was carrying the woman's crutches in the meantime, her eyes sometimes looking over to Kaniza. It was obvious that the jeweler was thinking about her, but yet the woman had yet to speak to the raven. She instead engaged in a conversation with Sheina and the others.

A few moments passed before a waft of cool wind hit the Ultimates' faces. It was instantaneous, having happened just as the group took their first step to the floor. Sudden chills ran down the Ultimates' bodies, almost as if a harsh breeze had struck them in the face.

Minori brought Sagiso down, eyeing the woman who grabbed ahold of her crutches. The man then took a look at the fourth floor's hallways, the cold air continuing to stick to his face.

The entire fourth floor was white. The walls were white and the ceiling was white and the floor was white and… Everything was white, white all around.

It was as if the fourth floor was trying to give off a sense of cleanliness, sterile.

The doors that were seen from where the pseudologist stood were that of iron, a glossy color of silver and the handles metallic and shining white. The light panels above were brightly dimmed, almost too bright- blinding at that point. It was also to note that the entire hallway was spacious, the doors which were available near the walls were far from one another, the hallway instead looking like its very own grand guest room.

Doors were stapled from the very ends of the floor, all around in a cubic manner. In the middle of the room stood all sorts of decorations- from black office chairs that circled around a single round table, a few utopian paintings from the very end of the floor (which are close to the barred staircase leading to the fifth floor), and a few unknown machinery splattered across the spacious room. There were machines that were seated right next to a few doors, then a few splattered messily about. The machines varied in size and structure- some being small, some being large, others being black and rectangular, others being beige and a round shape.

It was overall quite the foreign sight. It was something that Minori never would've expected to see. It was as if he were locked inside of a laboratory that was built for the rich and beyond.

"This is… interesting."

Minori smiled towards Kamui. That was all the pseudologist himself could think of at the moment.

"Huh, makes me wonder what the fifth floor will be like," Rin murmurs to herself, looking at her surroundings.

"Well!" Kamui rubbed his hands together. "Let's investigate then."

"Sure."

The group split easily, having walked their own pathways. Minori frowned, deciding where to start first. He eyed the first room that was in front of him. From that room he could spot another door that was to the right side, then another that was to the back where Minori was standing. The man frowned.

 _There's only three rooms… Interesting._

It might not be something that was important in the grand scale of what was needed to be noted, but nonetheless Minori figured that it hold some significance. Still, he didn't know what that could link to, so he paid it no thought any longer and headed to the closest door.

He opened the door, hearing the door creak with a metallic, eerie sound. An even colder breeze touched his face as he headed inside, the lights flickering on within a step inside.

A simple office room.

A spacious, spacious office room.

As always, the walls and ceiling were white. The rug on the bottom was a royal red color, contrasting the blandness of the room. At the back of the room stood a bonsai shelf, the plants healthily standing proud and confident on the wooden plates. In front of the shelf were the wooden desk and comforting, rolling office chair. To the sides of the room were wooden shelves, both containing nothing but potted plants, a few folders and binders, and even a small picture frame of Monokuma arrogantly puffing his chest out.

A disgusting picture, but Minori decided to not think much about it. His attention was focused on the binders around the room, him turning left and grabbing the one-inched gray binder from the top shelf.

Opening it, the man was more than saddened to see that there was nothing hidden inside of the binder. The folders contained nothing but emptiness and air.

Minori grabbed ahold of the rest of the binders, from the red one to the pink. Opening each one carefully and with precision, the pseudologist was led to sighing in disappointment for most of his time.

Well, that is, until he opened the last one he could find- the half-inched white binder.

The pseudologist opened the binder, eyes widening to find himself eyeing a single sheet of paper inside of the object. He wasn't disappointed in the slightest though, curiosity piqued as he noticed that the sheet of paper contained a numerous amount of wording spread throughout.

The moment Minori dropped the binder to the ground and trapped his eyes straight to the wordings on the paper, his mouth fell agape. The words on top of the paper had told him everything he had needed to know.

 _This is… This is about Kakuma…_

Minori felt his heartstrings tugging at him. He held his breath as he began to read through each word carefully, hands shaking.

["Kakuma Arakaki:

To our expectation, the individual believes that assuming the role as a double agent will contribute to the other individuals and to himself. The individual continues to listen to what Monokuma tells him, and as expected it has costed that individual's life. This death was deliberately timed however as the individual had attempted to end Minori Watanabe's life. It was contrary to our expectations as sadly the individual had not told the others instead. If we had019283764t78392019587t589842031439582463580495241-9487526y94820531-….."]

Minori frowned, heart beating erratically as the strings of numbers rendered him speechless. That was the cherry on top, for what he had already read so far had broken him. He had no idea on what to think.

 _What does this mean?_ The pseudologist cupped his chin, thinking hard to himself. The paper was slightly crumpled in his hand. _Who's talking here? Is it the mastermind? Who…_

 _Maybe this is a red herring. Monokuma couldn't have deliberately left it here… or would he? The end was blocked out for a reason, I would believe…_

The pseudologist took another look at the paper, biting into his lips.

 _But… Kakuma's death had been timed? What… and it was because of me? Why? Does it matter if I die to the mastermind…? What…_

The pseudologist felt his stomach churning. His head suddenly ached, mind rolling around a certain question-

-if what he was now was his true self, or a lie.

 _No, no, calm down. You don't know anything. The mastermind and Monokuma must treat us as special toys to them… That could be possible._

 _Still, this points to Kakuma's death having been deliberately timed. He was made to die at Ryoichi's hands._

Minori then frowned, tapping his foot.

 _Then that means Monokuma telling Kakuma that I'm the mastermind is meant to make Kakuma take action… though that action was to make everyone lose their trust in me. Why?_

The pseudologist slowly bent down to grab the binder, placing it back neatly to the shelf.

 _Then again… If Monokuma and the mastermind are trying to play with our entire personality and mindset, then it would make sense if he wanted to experiment with our group dynamics._

Minori sighed. He stuffed the paper into his pocket, now walking outside of the room. He heard the door creaking open as he stepped out, eyes widening as he almost bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry." The pseudologist smiled awkwardly. He looked down to find Kaniza, the woman flustered as she eyed him blankly. A worried look escaped his face as he noticed that the raven was silent."Uh… Are you alright?"

Kaniza jumped. "O-oh, right! S-sorry."

Minori frowned, crossing his arms. He couldn't help but eye the woman's pale face, bags under her eyes. "You don't want to rest more?"

"No, I-I'm fine." The astrophotographer awkwardly smiled, though it was superficial and lacking. "I-I want to help you all out."

The pseudologist bit into his lips. "You should at least rest a little bit more. If you're tired, you could just tell us that you need to rest. We won't bother you if you don't."

She shook her head. "No, that's fine… I-If Sagiso can move, then so can I."

"Well…" Minori wasn't sure what to say, eyeing the raven. "If you feel like you can continue, then do so."

"Mhm…" She was silent for a moment, now playing with her locks of hair and looking straight at Minori. "Uh…"

The pseudologist curiously glanced at her.

"A-Actually… do you know if…" Kaniza shook her head, averting her gaze. A murmur escaped her breath, "Never mind. I-It's selfish of me to think this…"

Minori frowned. He eyed the woman who quickly dashed away from him, the raven ending up meeting Saori who spoke to her softly. He couldn't help but worry, watching Kaniza follow the body broker.

 _What did she want to tell me?_

Minori sighed. There wasn't an answer ringing inside of his head.

 _Oh well. It shouldn't be that important. I'll ask her again later though._

The pseudologist now continued his journey, well, he was until he remembered that there was a machine right next to the door he had came from. He took a look at the machinery, interested as he inspected it carefully.

The machine was gray, a dull color of gray. It was relevant relatively small and rectangular, not even halfway the size of the metal door frame. There were a few buttons to be seen that were colored dully in different shades of gray, buttons small and large from the top. There were nothing else to be seen around the corners, the sides holding nothing in particular.

"Oh, Minori."

Minori looked back to find Fumio, the scholar eyeing him for a moment before his attention was caught on the machinery. The pseudologist smiled. "Hello."

"Uhuh." Fumio bent down next to the man, taking the time to eye the machine himself. He could feel the coldness of the metal in his fingers. "Do you know what this does, Minori?"

The man shook his head. "No. Maybe if we push those buttons on top, but I'm not sure if this machine is working right now."

Fumio thought to himself, then slowly moving his hand over. He pressed down into a button.

Nothing.

"Hm, doesn't seem like it works," the scholar sighed. "How unfortunate…"

Minori shrugged. "Well, let's see if the other buttons work."

Press. Press. Press.

Yes, as expected, nothing had happened within those very moments. Nothing had happened at all.

"Hm… Are these just for show then?" Minori questioned, raising a brow as he slowly stood back up. "That does seem unlikely though."

Fumio frowned. "Uh, maybe Monokuma turned this machine off for a purpose?"

"I couldn't think of what could this machine be used for though." The pseudologist frowned, letting out a small sigh. "We'll figure it out later, hopefully."

"Mhm…" Fumio looked at the man. "Have you checked the other rooms yet?"

The man shook his head. "Only this room, which was the office room. Have you?"

Fumio shook his head in return. "Not necessarily. I only checked the outside of this floor here, given that there's a numerous amount of machines and whatnot."

"Ah, I see." Minori smiled awkwardly at the man. "I'm going to check the other two rooms. You want to join me?"

Fumio nodded his head slowly. "Sure."

Content with what he heard, Minori gestured Fumio to follow him. The duo walked over to the next room, the pseudologist creaking the door opened. The duo walked inside, feeling the much more colder air hit their faces.

Minori first noticed Sheina and Rin who were together, the duo speaking to one another and observing the room. The next thing Minori noticed was the extravagance of the room.

The room was merely the color of beige, the diamond-patterned carpet on the ground a royal red and green. There was a small machine to the back of the room which was almost hidden from the tables and white chairs lined up across the room. To the left side of the very back stood two parallel hooks that held an iron disk, large enough to cover about most of a single-sized bed.

The purpose for such an object? Minori figured that it had something to do with numerous amounts of lightbulbs (which were vastly different from one another) on top, the iron disk looking as if it would swing to each one.

"Hello," Rin greeted, having looked to the pseudologist and scholar.

"Hello," Fumio said in return, polite in his tone. "Uh, are you and Sheina currently exploring this room?"

"Yeah, we just came in here," Sheina replied, a smile on her lips. "I honestly didn't expect this place to look so pretty… and the lightbulbs on top too. There's like hundreds of them! It's like the Gods are shining down upon us with good fortune and safety."

"Mhm." Minori eyed the machine in display. He noticed four buttons- one red, one blue, one yellow, and one green. "What do these do?"

"Oh, we were just talking about it." The egyptologist turned to eye the machine. "We were about to press them and see what they do."

"Yeah." Rin let out a small scoff. "Hopefully pressing them won't kill us."

Sheina laughed awkwardly. "Yeah…"

The jeweler frowned as she eyed Sheina. She only meant it as a joke. A sigh. She began pressing into the first button closest to her- the red one.

The room suddenly began to change, an almost glittery and flashy effect happening before their very eyes. The room had a sudden makeover, and it was obvious. Somehow, someway, everything in the room had changed.

The lightbulbs on top had disappeared, instead having transformed into a ray of bright light and clouds. It was unusual and rare of a sight. For a hundred lightbulbs to suddenly transform into that of a painter's mural of the Sun and skies, it was just foreign.

The walls around the room were even more foreign and strange. Instead of the walls being their peaceful color of beige, they were instead decorated with artistic designs and paintings. They were realistic, almost eye-boggling. The designs around the room were medieval, a castle to be seen in the distance with markets and horses around the room. There was a small stream that connected from the kingdom to a smaller village, painted over across the room.

It was beautiful. The murals were simply beautiful.

"Wait." Rin suddenly frowned. She was eyeing Minori. "What are you wearing?"

"What?" Minori couldn't help but shake his head, his attention now on Rin as well. He even noticed the same looks on Fumio and Sheina. "Why are you all wearing that?"

Everyone's eyes widened. The same thought having escaped their heads, the Ultimates immediately took a look at themselves.

It wasn't the room that only changed, but the Ultimates' clothes as well.

Medieval clothing. It was a strange sight to see.

Minori noticed instantly that the clothes he were wearing was that of a plague doctor's, the blackness and flowy aspect of the robe telling him so. Despite the mask being non-existent on his face, it was obvious that he were to mark the dead.

Fumio was wearing that of a crusader's outfit, wearing the armor and the red cross apparent on the whiteness. The man was eyeing himself awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to his appearance.

Rin, on the other hand, was wearing that of a thief's outfit. The black hood over her head and the dirtiness of her attire told everyone so- she was that of a thief. Rin seemed a bit shocked by her outwear, eyes darting back and forth from one side of her outfit to another. She seemed a bit embarrassed, silent.

Sheina was wearing that of a princess' outfit. It was a mixture of black and gold, the designs that of flowers and crosses. It was beautiful to the woman who gasped at her outfit, eyes brightening instantly without fail. The smile across her face told everyone so- that Sheina loved her outfit.

"Is this some sort of simulation?" Rin asked, a bit annoyed as she pulled on her black hood. "I really didn't expect this at all. I seriously thought the buttons meant something more… extreme."

"I like it!" Sheina cried, uncaring as she twirled around and around. "It looks pretty on me!"

"Yeah, it does," Rin said, deadpanning. She took a look at herself again. She bit into her lips. "This is ironic…"

Minori looked at the woman. "Ironic?"

"A figure of speech." Rin waved her hand about. A slight blush was on her face. "Can we press the next one? It's getting hot in this."

"Aw…" Sheina pouted. "But I like my dress. Maybe we could bring Saori here as well…"

The jeweler shook her head, turning to the scholar. "Just change it, please."

Fumio took those words as a demand, instantly pressing into the blue button.

The entire room changed within an instant, and with that room changed the clothes of the Ultimates as well.

The room was now entirely green, trees and grass painted into the walls. There were rocks and bushes everywhere to be seen. The ceiling above was now completely blue and sunny, the lights serving as the sunlight.

It was a jungle. It was most likely a jungle or forest.

"Oh my god."

Minori's eyes widened as he looked down at himself.

 _What the hell?_

The pseudologist instantly realized that something was off.

He found himself completely covered in fur, that of a small bunny. It wasn't a costume or anything though. No, it was that completely of him being a bunny. He couldn't help but laugh painfully to himself, sighing at how the room judged him for their liking.

 _I didn't expect this sort of thing to happen either though._

Minori took a look at the others.

Fumio seemed completely flustered at this point, him only being able to be known from his position. He was a scarlet macaw, wings flapping to and fro.

Rin, on the other hand, was that of a sloth. She seemed a bit annoyed more than anything, a grunt apparent on her lips.

Sheina herself was confused. She had become that of a leopard, and although extravagant with her fur and whatnot, she seemed more than willing to switch rooms now.

And so Minori had done so. He was curious as to why Monokuma would build a machine as such, but decided to test out the next one. He pressed into the yellow button.

Like always, the room changed.

The walls were suddenly painted with towering buildings, skyscrapers which seemed to reach far into the stratosphere. Busy roads were seen, stoplights and crowds everywhere. There was the cement ground, and the lights above were nonexistent. There was nothing to be seen but clouds and a gray sky. A horrible, chilly setting.

Minori suddenly found himself back to normal. Well, he was normal except for the clothes he were wearing.

 _A school uniform?_

Minori took a look at his clothes, finding himself wearing a usual school uniform. The uniform was clean and tidy, beautifully sewed and designed. His pants were black as well as his top, the buttons a silvery color. The shoes he were wearing were a dark brown color, socks white. The white collar he was wearing under his black blazer had a red tie around, a royal red color.

 _Oh. This is…_

Minori spotted a badge on the side of his blazer, near where a breast pocket would be. He noticed a golden badge which had a picture of an academy, then reading the letters which read the word, 'Ultimate'.

 _I'm guessing… This is a school uniform from an Ultimates-filled school._

The pseudologist thought to himself, pondering. He vaguely recalls something about a school, but his memory was at a blank. He held no knowledge of anything based around his school.

 _All I can know now is… Wherever we are is definitely not where I attended._

Minori sighed, head aching. He hated how he doesn't remember anything, and so he decided to eye the rest of the people inside the room.

Rin and Sheina were wearing their respective female uniforms, their long black shirts down to their knees and the sailor shirt around them. The duo seemed to be wearing the same uniform, their badges alike.

Fumio, on the other hand, had a different uniform. His uniform seemed more laidback, a simple white dress shirt on him and his pants patterned with red and black. His badge was completely different from the rest, his being silver in comparison to Minori's gold and the women's embroidery. Still, as Minori observed, the badge still had the name 'Ultimate' to it.

"Huh." That was all Rin could say, eyeing her clothes. "This is weird."

"I never knew I would look good in this," Sheina said, complimenting herself with a pleased smile. She seemed to blush a moment later, her mind now revolving about something. Most likely it was about someone considering how she began to blush even harder and smile.

"Hm…" Fumio turned to Minori. "What do you think this means?"

"I'm not sure," the pseudologist answered, baffled. "Our uniforms seem to vary, but it could just be Monokuma's way of making this room more 'interesting'. If there is a purpose… then I'm guessing these uniforms pertain to us personally on some level?"

"Huh?" Fumio frowned. "Uh, well, I don't remember anything though…"

"Me neither, and that's worrying."

Though it was mainly suspicious. Minori turned to the women who were engaging in small talk. They seemed bothered by their outfits as well.

Rin walked over to the machine. "I'll change it now," she called out, then pressing the last button.

The room changed, and now everything was back to normal.

Everything was back to normal. Everyone was back to normal with their clothing, the room was back to normal- basically, everything was now the same.

"Well, that was an interesting experience," the jeweler said, stoic in her tone. She looked about done with everything, a sigh escaping her lips. "Does Monokuma expect us to engage in roleplay or something?"

"He'll never see me do that," the pseudologist commented with a small snort. He couldn't help but gag at the idea at Monokuma forcing them to roleplay, let alone act out plays. If anything, he did not want the bear to even see him try. He knew the bear would laugh at him, after all, Monokuma always wanted to be entertained.

Sheina blushed. "I would like to see everyone else here though."

Fumio eyed the machine with interest. He was observing it from left to right, thinking to himself and murmuring under his breath. "... I wonder if everyone checked this…"

Minori himself was curious. He wondered what the others would look like in relation to the different amount of simulations in the room, but at the same time he told himself not to bother. There was no purpose for this room other than to act.

The pseudologist sighed. He gestured to Fumio and the others that he would leave, and the others acknowledged him back in return. Fumio quickly ran to his side as Minori walked out.

"Anything in mind?" The man asked, eyeing Fumio who shook his head.

"I can't think of anything at the moment that's concrete," he quietly admitted.

Minori smiled. "That's fine."

The pseudologist decided to look at the machine close to the door anyways.

It was a cylinder-shaped machine, a different array of metallic parts having built it up. Copper, iron- a numerous amount had built this object up. There wasn't any type of metal which dominated over the other metals. No, it was simply a clutter of metals.

There was a simple red button on top of the cylinder, right at the top. It was bright and bold, red which screamed danger at the duo. Minori couldn't help but wonder if pressing the button would be safe, stomach tightening.

"Have you tried pressing the button?" The pseudologist asked, eyeing Fumio.

The scholar quickly averted his gaze, avoiding Minori's attention. "I didn't. It didn't look safe to me."

"Hm, alright."

 _I'll just ask the others then._

Minori headed over to the last room, Fumio walking besides him. The man opened the metal door, walking inside.

As always, the cold air had touched his skin. It stuck to his face as headed inside, the first thing he noticed was how the room was small and spacious. The walls were simply white, however the bottom was a pastel yellow color. In the middle of the room stood a wooden desk, then a large, gray printer on top. The printer seemed to be wireless, no wires to be seen. A numerous amount of paper was to be seen as well as a photocopy area. To the left of the simple copy printer seemed to be a 3D printer stapled to the side, the cubic look of the side telling it so. Overall, it was a printer used for both 3D and 2D printing.

"Hm…" Minori observed the printer with interest. He eyed the power button and pressed it, the engines turning. Both printers had turned on, a _ding!_ noise to be heard. The pseudologist tapped into the object. "Interesting. I wonder if we can print something here."

"I definitely think so," Fumio said, observing the object himself. "It's working perfectly."

"But how would we print?" Minori asked. "Our MonoPads don't have a print option."

"Hm… Oh!" The scholar smiled happily at his suddenly epiphany. "Maybe the computer room in the first floor?"

"If they work."

The scholar frowned. "The computer from the last floor? The cryptic one, I mean."

"Oh, that." Minori recalled back to the dim-lighted room. He remembered a voice that was covered in static. It had made him shiver. "I don't think so, but we could check it later."

"Mhm."

Seeing as there was nothing else inside of the room, the duo headed back outside to roam into the main area where the rest of the Ultimates stood. People were observing the area around them, the machines on display catching their attention.

Minori walked over towards Saori. The body broker was talking to Kamui, then Kaniza being shown sitting down on a nearby office chair.

"Hey," the pseudologist greeted, waving at the woman.

Saori nodded her head in return which caused Kamui, Sagiso, and Kaniza to notice him instantly.

"Minori…" Kaniza seemed a bit nervous, fingers fiddling with one another. It seemed like the woman had recalled back to earlier, the raven biting into her lips.

Minori felt his stomach churning. Though as obvious as it was, Kaniza had wanted to tell him something. Something was in her mind and it was bothering him. He gestured Saori over, moving close to her ear. "Did Kaniza ask you something?"

"What?" Saori frowned. She glanced at Kaniza for a moment before beginning to walk a step back, gesturing Minori over. The duo walked over to the side of the room, Kamui now fixated on Fumio and Sagiso. Saori cleared her throat, however her voice was hushed. "If you're worried, then don't be. It's not about you."

Minori frowned, crossing his arms. "I would hope so. I don't remember offending her or anything. What is this about?"

"Well…" The body broker thought for a moment. "If Kaniza tried to ask you, then I suppose it's okay for me to tell you then."

The pseudologist waited patiently.

"It's about Rin." Saori sighed. "Kaniza's worried that Rin hates her. She's been worried about it for a while now."

"Rin?" Minori pursed his lips. "No. Why should Kaniza worry about that? If Rin hated her, then I think it would've been obvious."

The woman frowned. "That's what I thought as well." She let out another soft sigh, idly toying with her hands. "I think Kaniza's afraid of us hating her. She doesn't want us to abandon her."

"Ah, I see…" Minori recalled back to Rin and Kaniza's interactions. He did notice that the jeweler seemed annoyed by how Kaniza acted before, but he never saw much other than pure annoyance. If anything, Rin simply hated the optimism thrown back and forth, not Kaniza as a person.

Saori wrinkled her nose. "After losing Nezumi, I believe Kaniza's afraid of losing us now, and not only through murder, but mentally."

 _Makes sense. And given that Rin did look annoyed at Kaniza before, I'm guessing Kaniza's afraid of her._

The pseudologist smiled softly, eyeing Saori. "I understand. I'll try to talk to Rin about what she thinks about Kaniza later then."

"Oh, really?" Saori's eyes widened. "I didn't mean to demand that."

"No, I know that." Minori chuckled. "I don't want us to cause a misunderstanding between one another, that's all."

"I see." Saori smiled softly. "Thank you then."

Minori threw the woman a thumbs-up, and so the duo walked back to where Kamui and the others stood. Kamui seemed to be discussing about the machinery with the others, pondering with his expression hardened.

"Minori." Kamui eyed the man, having seen him through his peripheral view. "Have you seen these machines yet?"

The pseudologist frowned, taking a look at the machines around the main area. "Not yet. I was about to."

The mortician nodded. "Most of them don't seem to be working except for this one."

Minori walked closer to the scene, the Ultimates having surrounded a machine in a circle. The machine was a black color, flat and cubic. There were all sorts of buttons to be seen over the machine- all white, round, and small. On the top of the machine seemed to be a code, that written in the binary.

It read, "0110110001101001011000100110010101110010011101000110000101110011".

Well, whatever it read was unknown, for the group held no knowledge of such a thing.

"What is this supposed to do?" The pseudologist asked, curious.

Sagiso hummed. "We're not sure about that yet. Apparently this acts as a projector, however we do not have a videotape or disc that will play anything informational to us."

Fumio tilted his head. "Maybe in the storage room?"

"Maybe…"

Everyone was silent. They didn't know at all.

"Hm, well, is that all then?"

The mortician cupped his chin. "I… I suppose so. Most of the machines here do not work and the rooms didn't seem to hold much information. We need to decipher what to do with all of these and see if we can use them though."

Sagiso raised a brow. "Maybe Seiga would know?"

"Did he even check this place?" Saori asked, curious. "He'll probably look around this place, but probably at night. I think he doesn't want to be near us nor risk it."

"I suppose so…" Fumio was saddened.

"Well!" Kamui clapped his hands together. "I suppose we can head back down now."

Saori nodded. "I'll find the others and tell them to head downstairs then."

Kamui smiled as everyone began heading back downstairs. Sagiso handed her crutches to Kaniza as Minori carried her downstairs, Fumio and Kamui following suit. The group headed straight into the dining room, and within moments the others came inside.

Everyone had seated themselves easily. Kamui and Saori announced that they would be cooking food now and left into the kitchen. In the meantime, everyone had decided to talk about what they had found.

Everyone were on the same level of the basics. The simulation room seemed to hold of most importance at the moment. Sheina was busy squealing over the idea of heading over to the room with Saori while others wondered about its purpose.

The machines were of next importance. People wondered if the printers can be used for anything, Fumio connecting it to the computers found in the first and third floors. Everyone were suspect of it, but figured they should try nonetheless sooner or later.

The machine that was last talked about seemed to hold significance as well. It was suggested that the projector must be important, and everyone had agreed on that. Why, though, that was the question.

Food came in sooner than expected. Steak and mashed potatoes. Everyone thanked Kamui and Saori before eating, in the meantime also discussing. Fumio, though, had ran over to hand a bowl of food to Seiga before coming back.

When the conversation transitioned into the office room, Minori quickly interjected and reported his findings. The baffled looks on everyone's faces had increased by the second as he threw what he found into the middle of the dinner table.

Moments passed before anyone was able to say anything. They were merely shocked and unsure of what to say before a cough escaped the group.

"I am sure this isn't Monokuma's doing then," Sagiso said, frowning. "The mastermind is not doing this either."

"What makes you say that?" Saori asked.

The psychogeographer pursed her lips, her auburn locks of hair flowing side to side. "They're making it sound like Kakuma is an experimental subject. The use of 'our' also suggests that we're not against only Monokuma and the mastermind, but a group of people. I am hypothesizing that we're being watched by a group of individuals."

"Scientists. Researchers." Kamui shuddered. "That's creepy. Are we seen as test subjects?"

"It could be written by the mastermind though," Rin said, frowning. "I do believe the mastermind is reporting this to others though."

"Possibly…" Sheina's face was pale. She turned her body. "What do you think, Saori?"

Saori bit into her lips, obviously deep in thought. Her eyes scanned over the letter for another second. "... I'm worried about the mention of Minori's name there."

 _Right._

"M-Minori…" Kaniza worriedly threw him a look.

Minori subtly frowned, however he quickly threw on an awkward smile. "Yes, that is worrying. It seems to point that I'm of value to whoever is watching us."

"It is." Rin frowned. "Well, other than that mention of Minori's name, it's obvious that these people watching us have purposely led Kakuma off."

"That's horrible." Sheina's eyes began to tear. "I don't really want to say this, but… I really do wish for the Gods to punish these people harshly."

"This is unfair." Kaniza was pursing her lips, hands cupped and tightening around one another. "This is not right."

Fumio raised a hand. "What if this letter is nothing more than a red herring?"

"Hm…" Minori cupped his chin. "Maybe, but it seems unlikely."

"I know that." Fumio fiddled with his fingers. He was looking down at his plate. "Everything seems to be pointing to you though as suspicious."

The pseudologist's eyes widened. "I… I know that."

The man couldn't help but notice the unsteadiness in Fumio's expression. It was subtle, but it was slow enough for him to notice it. Minori couldn't help but wonder- was something wrong?

"You do seem to be treated as valuable in comparison to Kakuma here," Kamui said, adding into the conversation. "But that is only one example and one letter. Who knows what people think of us?"

"If people are watching over us…" Sheina hugged her arms. "Then how are we going to stop them?"

Silence rang through the crowd.

"O-okay, it's not clear that people are watching us," Kamui began, trying to ease the tension immediately. "Maybe the mastermind is the one who is writing the letter and sent a fax or email to their coworkers about this situation."

"I still believe that one of us being the mastermind is uncanny," the egyptologist admitted sheepishly, laughing. Her cheeks were a bright pink.

"We don't even know if the people who are watching us do want us to solve this entire mystery," Sagiso mused, steady in her gaze. "Monokuma rambles on about 'entertainment', after all."

Minori frowned. "True…"

"We'll investigate more into this matter tomorrow." Kamui rubbed his hands together. "For now, let's eat. We seem to come to a stop here."

Kaniza nodded her head slowly. She picked up a piece of her steak and bit into it. "Y-yeah…"

And almost immediately did everyone follow Kamui's words. They all finished their foods within minutes, everyone having left the area after cleaning up after themselves.

Minori waved to Kamui and Saori who were cleaning the dishes before heading out quickly, running over to Rin.

"Huh?" Rin looked back, eyeing the pseudologist. "What? You want to ask me something?"

Minori nodded. He took a look around the area. "Yeah, can I speak to you for a bit? I just want to hear your opinion on something."

"Yeah?" Rin crossed her arms. "What's wrong?"

Minori gestured the jeweler over to a corner. "Well," he began, his voice a bit quiet, "It's about Kaniza. Do you hate her?"

"What?" The woman's eyes widened. "Where did that come from?"

The pseudologist let out an awkward chuckle. "Well… Kaniza has been wondering about it, and I wanted to ask you what you thought."

"That's…" Rin frowned, suddenly averting her gaze. "Idiot…"

Minori awkwardly waited.

"I don't hate her." Rin was blunt, straightforward in what she said. "Sure, I know I acted like I hated her before, but that was because of the optimism. I hated anything that sounded overly positive. That's all. I don't hate her at all…"

"That's what I thought." Minori crossed his arms, a relieved sigh escaping his lips.

"She couldn't come to ask me herself?"

The pseudologist bit into his lips. "No… If anything, she's afraid of us hating her."

"I…" Rin sighed. "I guess that makes sense. I guess the same could be said about me."

Minori perked at her words. "What does that mean?"

"Right…" The jeweler suddenly looked straight into Minori's eyes, expression steady and hardened. "I have to tell you all something. I've been hiding it for a long time, and I don't want to do it anymore."

"O-okay." Minori was thrown off, shocked by the sudden words spewing out of the woman's mouth. "I-I'm guessing you want to tell us tomorrow?"

"Y…" Rin hesitated for a second. "Yes, I do. I just… I just think that this isn't the time for us to hide ourselves in fear of being judged. I admit that I'm annoyed that Kaniza didn't tell me this herself, but… I think that this made me realize that I've been hiding myself from you all. I haven't been truthful at all."

Minori had no idea of what the woman was talking about nor why she was acting so suddenly, but stayed silent and nodded his head.

"I'll… I'll tell you all about it tomorrow."

"Y-yeah."

Rin backed off from the man, now walking away from the scene. Minori couldn't help but hold into his scarf, eyeing Rin who disappeared within seconds.

… _That was sudden._

Minori wondered about what had happened, but sighed. He decided to shrug it off and go into his room. As always, the man had dressed himself for sleep and cleaned up.

The lights closed, and Minori rolled himself to the bed.

He stared up at the dark ceiling. He couldn't see anything but darkness.

What he had just discovered today was more than enough to overwhelm him. It was aching his head.

 _Especially that letter… Actually, everything about the fourth floor screams suspicious to me._

 _What is happening? What exactly is Monokuma and the mastermind planning to do with us?_

Minori wasn't sure, and so he closed his eyes again.

His eyes closed, and yet he could hear a voice ringing inside of his head.

* * *

Well, this chapter was a bit longer than I had intended it to be, but I hope it is to your liking~ Hopefully you'll have an idea of what is happening, or not. Anyways, I'm sorry (as always) for not posting chapters as fast as I did before! School and life is in the way of that, haha.

... Well, guess I'm off! See you in the next chapter!


	33. Chapter 4 - Part 1, Part B

Hello! I am finally here with the next part for this chapter! Sorry to have kept you all waiting. I'm hoping you will all enjoy this in exchange for me taking so long to post this part up, oops.

 **Ziggymia123:** "Don't worry, I tend to miss mostly everything whenever I read, so I'm sure you got more than I would've if I was a reader~ Haha, glad you liked that room! It seems to be considered to people here~ Yes, we shall imagine everyone else's costumes, sooner or later. Yes, good thought, good thought. Continue thinking and theorizing so I can potentially destroy them... or cry if you're right, haha. Yes, Minori has younger siblings! Hm, one does have to wonder what his little secret is, haha. Aw, glad you enjoyed this! Hopefully you will like this chapter!"

 **dashunterman:** "Haha, you think? Well, let us see if you are right, my dear friend."

 **PainX65:** "Don't worry. I love you, my dude~ Keep slaying them~"

 **liammarklh88:** "Aww, thanks! I'm just waiting now for a flock of heartwarming reviews that make me cry when I actually ever finish this story, haha. Pfft, I totally forgot about that case XD Oops, well, that's an unintentional thing right there! Nice job for catching on that and making me see it. Haha, aren't you glad Kaniza's still alive and well? I'm still tempted to have everyone die randomly, lol. Rin is a good person, I like her. Yes, so many cute bonds. Haha, hopefully the mindfucks and twists aren't too obvious. Fumio will always be best boy now. Aw, thank you!"

 **ToonGuy:** "Of course! I'll most likely post the third SYOC when I finish this one, haha. Flashbacks will always be ominous. Fumio is a precious boy. Aw, glad you're enjoying Sheina and Saori's little bond. We seriously just need to call forth a personal protection squad for each character alive here. Yes, sterile, what a great vocabulary word. Rip Kakuma can't escape suffering. One must wonder what the fuck is happening in this story anymore. Yes, the girls are precious. Aww, thanks! You have a good day too!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Weirdness in a bad way, yes. Haha, thanks! Good luck as well!"

 **TheLlamaLord:** "Nice to see you again! Yes, Rin needs to be proactive. Fumio is a sweet boy, yes. I think at this point everyone's tired of the constant teasing and just wants Minori's secret to be spilled. Welp, only one could tell if they think Seiga's good or not. We need some bonding! Oof, hopefully Kamui's not dead. Or will, depends if you want him dead. Let us see~"

 **Guest:** "Lol, that's my friend right there! XD Yeet, my friend, yeet!"

* * *

Minori found himself looking at the mirror, eyebrows furrowed. Through the reflection of the mirror he saw Monokuma, the bear watching him from behind and sitting down on the toilet seat.

The pseudologist quickly wiped the water off of his face, tidying the bangs messily hanging from his face. He turned over to the bear, crossing his arms and sarcastically smiling at him.

"Oh my, isn't it nice to see you," the man began, greeting the bear with a cynical yet tired tone of voice. "What do you want this time?"

Monokuma kicked his feet to and fro, smiling as he slowly met Minori's eyes. "Just wanted to congratulate you for waking up early, first of all. I didn't want to scream my ass off if you were still cuddling your pillow."

"So, you would've bothered me whether or not I was still asleep." Minori sighed. He honestly shouldn't be surprised at this point. "So, what exactly do you want with me? Do you want me to give my opinion on something, or are you here to taunt me?"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Minnie." The headmaster snickered teasingly, amused. "I'm only here to speak to you about the shit's that's been happening these past few days."

"And that is…?"

"Your whole theory on me twisting your cute little personalities up."

Minori's eyes widened. He didn't expect the bear to speak on the topic so suddenly nor that easily, but he quickly regained composure and cleared his throat. "What? Are you confirming it or not?"

"What do you think?" Monokuma eyed the man for a moment. It was silent. The bear grinned, taking the lead to continue speaking. "I'm just here to warn you that shit's been going haywire, that's all. Don't get too frightened if your little 'friends' start becoming more stupider or ruder. I mean, it's not that big of a change other than slight tweaking, but still."

"What?" Minori frowned. "Why are you even telling me this? I'm shocked that you're confirming this."

"Me talking about this means nothing. Who knows? It could all be an elaborate ruse to throw you down the wrong track." Monokuma snickered. "Besides, I love you."

Minori deadpanned.

"Aw, how rude! That was a genuine confession!" The bear reeled his head back, swooning. He immediately stopped after a second passed. "But to be honest, I'm telling you this because you are special to me."

Minori scoffed, rolling his eyes. "That means so much coming from you."

"Doesn't it~?" The bear grinned. "Upupupu, I'm glad you think so. I'm only here to talk to you because I care about you, y'know?"

The pseudologist slowly nodded his head. "And what about the others?"

"Not as much as you!" Monokuma continued to smile, amused. The disgust on Minori's face meant much to him. "You're here as our 'main character', after all."

"That…" The man's expression hardened. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. "That doesn't make sense."

"Oh, but of course it does!" Monokuma stood up from the toilet seat, attempting to reach Minori eye-to-eye. "You just don't remember it. That's perfectly normal. Everyone forgets shit here since we're all just normal little shitheads. It's fine~"

Minori bit into his lips. "Why are you doing this to us? Twisting our personalities and our memories… Why?"

"Pfft, I didn't even confirm shit." Monokuma shook his head, clicking his tongue while wagging a finger around. He was clearly mocking the pseudologist. "You're jumping to conclusions. That's not good, Minnie~ What if you end up hurting everyone else with your strange little theories, hm?"

Minori raised a brow. "I doubt that."

"Ugh, you're so persistent. That would be adorable if it weren't how annoying it actually is in reality!" Monokuma began scratching his head violently, almost tearing himself apart. He jumped off from the toilet seat and turned towards the door. "Anyways, all I wanted to tell you was that you little shitheads are probably gonna act like you're in your menstruated state, so bye for now! I'm gonna report to the others that it's morning."

And just as quickly as the bear had appeared, the more quickly had he disappeared.

Minori was left unable to speak, frozen in place. He was baffled by what Monokuma had said.

 _What the hell._

Minori couldn't help but taste something bitter in his mouth. It was bitter. Too bitter. It was too bitter for him to even swallow.

The taste that Monokuma brought was just too bitter.

 _Why does he always talk to me? He's messing with me. He's definitely doing this to rile me up._

The pseudologist released a deep breath of air.

 _I really do wonder if he 'pampers' everyone else with this sort of treatment._

Minori didn't know. He would have to ask the others.

Well, he would want to ask the others, but he strangely felt nervous about it. It was as if he suddenly thought about betrayal and distrust, and that had overwhelmed days of trust he built with the Ultimates.

 _Why?_

He didn't know. His heart was aching. His stomach was churning.

The sound of the bell ringing. The announcement rang throughout the building.

"Hey, my awesome little bastards! It's morning! Wake up before I call the Angel of Death before you!"

Minori had to admit he was surprised that the bear didn't sound tired of continuously announcing the mornings away. He would've figured by now that the poor monochrome bear would groan, throw his head back, and mumble "wake up…" in a slurred voice.

And yet he still hadn't done that, surprisingly.

 _Well, that really doesn't matter though. What matters is what he just told me._

Minori looked back at the mirror. He thought for a moment, pondering.

Another bell was ringing. Static was heard, abruptly interrupting Minori from his train of thoughts.

"Also- fuck, that hurts! … Uh, anyways, please report to the fucking auditorium immediately! I'm really proud of what I have cooked up for you shitheads! You know what time it is… fuck, stupid microphone…"

Static, and then silence.

Although Minori would laugh at the implication that Monokuma had hit himself on his microphone, the implication that overrode that one held much more greater meaning.

 _The motive._

The pseudologist bit into his lips. He knew that the bear had prepared a motive, and he knew that it would've come sooner or later.

Still, that doesn't mean that he wouldn't wish for the opposite to happen.

 _Dammit. What's it going to be this time?_

Minori could feel his heart beating. It was beating at an erratic pace as always, longing for escape. His stomach continued to churn as always as well, the cold sweat that trickled down his face screaming for him to do something.

He knew he couldn't escape though. All he can do was hope he could plot something against Monokuma with his friends. That was all he can ever hope to do about this accursed motive.

 _Well, I have no time to waste. I better get going before Monokuma starts complaining about me being late._

Minori quickly gathered himself and walked towards the door, opening it and closing it behind him. He made his way over towards the auditorium, walking down the hallways.

The pseudologist was silently walking before noticing a familiar figure. That lavender hair and pink jacket was all too familiar to him.

"Seiga!"

The man froze, Minori quickly running up to him. The pseudologist seemed relieved to have finally encountered the man, his lips curved into a friendly smile.

"How are you?" Minori asked, eyeing Seiga. His eyes had glanced down to the man's bandaged hand, but he didn't comment on that, instead looking up to meet the stunt double's expression-

-that expression of distress.

Minori's eyes widened, having noticed the stunt double paling. He held his breath. He didn't know whether the man wanted him besides him or not. Still, Minori had to make a decision, and so he forced himself to stand still. "Seiga? Are you okay?"

Seiga never once met Minori's gaze. His lips were quivering, yet he slowly began to speak. "You shouldn't be near me."

"What?" Minori frowned, saddened. He didn't understand. "Why? You're still a friend to me, Seiga."

Seiga's expression hardened. "No, Minori, don't. Did you already forget what I did to you and Fumio?"

"T-that won't stop us from wanting to befriend you." Minori forced a kind smile. "You know Fumio's trying to reach out to you, right?"

"Yeah, and he shouldn't be near me."

The pseudologist pursed his lips, eyebrows furrowed. "Why? Just because of what happened during the trial? That didn't matter to Fumio. He still wants to befriend you."

Seiga shook his head. "That doesn't matter to me. Just leave me alone."

Minori frowned. He reached over to Seiga's shoulder. "Hey-"

Seiga immediately slapped the man away, face paling. The stunt double immediately jumped to the front, his wide pink eyes staring down upon the pseudologist.

"I…"

Minori sweated, instantly recognizing the guilt written over Seiga's face. He knew he had to say something. He had to calm the man down. "Yeah, no, it's fine. I shouldn't approach you so aggressively when you've suffered from… that."

Seiga glanced down at his bandaged hand, gritting his teeth. He quickly turned away from Minori. "Sorry. Just… Just don't get near me. Both you and Fumio. All of you."

The pseudologist was unable to say anything, silent as Seiga quickly walked ahead of him.

 _Poor guy…_

Minori bit into his lips. He didn't know what else to say, and so he kept moving, albeit slowly than Seiga. If the man didn't want to be around him, then Minori supposed that he needed space and time.

The man reached the auditorium fairly easily, opening the door and walking inside.

Sagiso was the first to notice the man, the woman making her way over to him. Saori had stayed in her own corner, seeming to be in her own thoughts at the moment.

"Are you feeling better?" Minori asked, smiling as he eyed the psychogeographer.

Sagiso nodded. "I'm fine. How about you?"

"I'm fine." The man chuckled, then taking a look around the room. It seemed like a few people weren't present yet. He looked back to the woman. "Hm… Have you or anyone talked to Monokuma yet?"

"No…" Sagiso furrowed her brows. "I don't remember him talking to me or anyone as far as I heard. Why?"

"Oh." Minori awkwardly smiled. "He tends to talk to me at times."

"Really?" Sagiso's interest was piqued. "What do you two even talk about?"

The pseudologist was uncomfortable. He averted his gaze and cupped his chin. "Well… He mainly just taunts me."

"I'm not surprised." The woman frowned. "He always seems to enjoy insulting us."

The door opened. Kamui had came into the room, then noticing Minori and Sagiso. His smile widened as he hurried over to them.

"Hello," the mortician greeted, bowing his head down as a gesture of welcoming. "Good morning to you both."

"Mhm."

"Same to you too." Minori crossed his arms. He gestured to Sagiso, a small signal to not continue speaking about the subject. The woman immediately followed and was silent, Minori deciding to continue speaking to Kamui. "Are the others behind you?"

Kamui nodded. "I just saw Fumio and Kaniza outside their dorm rooms earlier. I think Rin and Sheina are together too."

Minori smiled. "Oh, that's good."

The mortician smiled back, then noticing Seiga from the corner of his eye. He frowned and turned to Minori. "Uh…"

"Oh." The pseudologist shook his head. "He doesn't want us to be near him. We should give him space."

Kamui looked unsure, hesitant, however he nodded his head and shifted his attention back to Minori. "So, since we're here…"

"Mhm." Minori frowned. "The motive."

The door opened, revealing the rest of the Ultimates who headed inside without a word needed.

Rin looked much more annoyed than ever, nose scrunched and eyebrows furrowed. Sheina was worried, biting harshly down into her lips and toying with her necklace. On one hand Kaniza was pale, walking slowly behind the other women. Fumio, on the other hand, seemed much more calmer as he walked in, however it was obvious he was trying to hide his stress- his face was entirely pale, after all.

Everyone moved closer to one another, in the center of the auditorium in proximity. The only person who steered away from the group was Seiga, the man having his arms folded and eyes directed away from the gazes of his classmates. The rest had stayed huddled together in an attempt to protect and be safe from the danger that was about to come-

-that danger being the motive.

"Hello everybody and welcome to behind the meme!"

Everyone was quickly forced into complete silence as Monokuma jumped from behind the microphone, excited and unaware of the atmosphere as usual. He was grinning happily at the group, paws rubbing together and nose wrinkling to and fro.

"Well, I should've said good morning first." The bear deadpanned. "Oh well. I'm just too excited to announce this motive!"

"Aren't you always?" Rin snarked, frowning at the bear. "You've completely ruined my day."

"What? Because I interrupted your little reveal?" Monokuma rolled his eyes. "Don't worry cupcake, I'm gonna reveal that as well."

"Huh?" The jeweler's eyes widened. "I can reveal it myself. It's not that big of a secret."

"Because you trust them? Minnie and the others?" The monochrome bear smirked, amused from the look on Rin's face. "Trust is so fickle. It makes me cry."

Rin scoffed, eyes glaring straight into the bear's. "I can tell them right now if I want to."

"Nah, nah, we need to make this dramatic." Monokuma laughed. "You don't know anything yet bitch, so let me handle the drama!"

"Why make her secret dramatic?" Minori began, standing up to the bear. "If she willingly spills her secret out to us, then why bother? We won't care if she doesn't care."

Monokuma grinned. "Well, aren't you a hypocrite."

Minori's eyes widened. He immediately went silent, his heart strangely wrapped up in uneasiness and fear. He didn't look to the Ultimates, almost paranoid of their expressions.

"Ha! See, I'm right." The bear smirked, looking down on the pseudologist. "Doesn't help that most of the people here already had their secrets revealed in one way or another!"

Monokuma was immediately pointing to each Ultimate on display, scaring the poor high schoolers who cowered at his taunts.

"Kaniza taking pictures of enemy missile launches!"

The astrophotographer immediately looked away.

"Seiga with his little devotion to his ragtag group!"

The stunt double glanced at the bear for a second, but clicked his tongue and scoffed.

"Sagiso with her little act of rebellion against a poor policeman!"

The psychogeographer steadied her expression, the auburn-haired woman calmly eyeing Monokuma.

"Sheina with her disgusting love for shoujo-ai manga!"

"Wha-?!" Sheina threw the bear a shocked expression, baffled by how he worded himself. "T-that is not disgusting, you fiend!"

"Pfft, whatever, bitch!" Monokuma laughed. He continued to point. "How about you, Kamui? You with your little depression?"

Kamui immediately paled. He threw a look to Minori before eyeing the group. It was obvious that the mortician had only mentioned of his melancholy state to the pseudologist, his brows furrowed instantly once looking back at Monokuma. "Bastard! Are you making light of such a topic?!"

"Wow, you get worked up so easily over death and shit." The bear rolled his eyes.

"This isn't a joke!" Kamui was shaking. "Mocking depression…"

Saori grabbed ahold of the man's arm. "It's alright. He's just trying to get into your head."

"That's…" Kamui's shoulders slouched, the man slowly composing himself. He heaved a deep breath, nodding. "Right. Thank you."

"Aw, boo. You ass." Monokuma threw a look at the body broker, but sighed. His teeth curved to a smile as he looked to the rest of the Ultimates who weren't mentioned yet. "You guys haven't revealed your secrets yet, huh? People don't know much about your guys' pasts or shit."

Fumio jumped at this, hands rubbing one another. "Uh… I-I don't have that big of a secret, so I can reveal it if you want…"

"Nah, just fucking reveal that when you have intimate time with someone. I'm too bored to remember your past and shit." Monokuma turned to Saori. "How about you? Don't you want to reveal yourself to the public?"

Saori bit into her lips. She obviously looked uncomfortable, shaking her head. "I would rather not."

"Same with Minori then. You two should be fuck buddies or something then."

The body broker frowned. "Just get straight to the point, please. You're here to introduce us a new motive, correct?"

Monokuma deadpanned. He stared blankly at Saori before throwing his head back, groaning. "Jesus Christ, you really are no fun! Let me wallow in my greatness, you bitch!"

Everyone was silent, causing the bear to sigh and continue.

"Okay, okay, fine. I really loved what I came up with anyways." The bear's smile appeared back, almost too easily. "You guys have your sexy MonoPads with you, right?"

"Yeah…" Sagiso cautiously grabbed ahold of her device. "Why?"

"Pfft, obviously, the motive's gonna be in there!" Monokuma held his chin up high. Arms were folded and legs were spread open. "Look, my delightful Ultimates! Wallow in your motive!"

Minori held his breath, his heartbeat suddenly freezing in place. In anticipation, the man slowly opened his MonoPad and tapped to the device. Slowly, slowly, he brought himself to the open screen where he found a bright icon at the very top right of the corner- that icon being that of Monokuma's head.

Anxiously, Minori tapped into the icon.

The screen immediately went dark. A few seconds passed before it brightened, the background suddenly a bright red color- almost a rubylike hue. Well, that didn't matter. What mattered instead was what was in front of the background, a wide picture on the left being two swords that were crossed, then to the right a menu bar with the word 'Craft/Voice' in a beautiful golden, cursive font.

"What is this?"

Monokuma grinned. "You guys like it? It's your new motive! Oh, and just to make things clear- no sharing information or looking! I'll fucking have your heads if you cheat."

"Yeah, alright…" Sagiso frowned. "But what exactly is this motive? This is…"

"Puhuhuhu, you guys are so stupid." The bear was snickering, amused at the Ultimates' lack of comprehension. He puffed his chest out, standing proud and tall. "Don't worry. Daddy here will explain everything."

Everyone stayed silent, begging for information.

Monokuma smirked. "The new motive I have presented you cute little Ultimates is… Well! It's the usage of your imagination! It's to see how creative you bastards are, only with a few limitations!"

The bear spun around and around, almost a bit too ecstatic. "And those limitations are the color of the background and the picture of the weapon you have on screen!"

"What…?" Kaniza gulped, her face pale. "W-what does that mean?"

"Lemme get to it! Sheesh, you impatient little children!" Monokuma sighed, shaking his head. It was almost as if he was a disappointed father. "The weapons you have in your devices should be self-explanatory. Whatever is shown on screen is the type of weapon that you could make and only make. Trying to craft anything else is futile."

Minori bit into his lips, glancing at his screen. To see the swords crossed on display made him shudder. He did not want to think about holding a weapon at all, let alone make one.

"Wait." The pseudologist frowned. "How do you create a weapon anyways? This looks more like a virtual game than anything else."

"Your mind, Minnie dearie." The monochrome bear stared into Minori's eyes, almost mockingly. "The human brain is capable of many things. It's scary, really. To think about what a mere simpleminded human can come up with is scary!"

"T-that's possible?" Fumio looked surprised, eyes blinking. "I find it hard to believe that a weapon could be crafted simply from us using our mind…"

Monokuma laughed. "Pfft, like you're one to talk! You fucking overturned the second trial's votes! That's uncalled for in my world!"

The scholar bit into his lips, unsure of what else to say.

"Anyways!" The bear suddenly lost focus on Fumio, suddenly pointing down at the group. "You can either craft the weapon by using your mind or by manually clicking in the menu bar, but once you craft a weapon that's it! You can only make something once before nothing works! Your options on how you want your weapon to be is limited, but not too much. I hope I didn't nerf your little options too much."

Minori slowly turned his attention back to the MonoPad, eyeing the menu bar on display. Looking down from the cursive, the man found himself eyeing a few blank lines. He clicked into the first one, suddenly a list of colors to be seen. The rest seemed to align from the length of the weapon from the shape and whatnot. Quite elaborate, but like Monokuma said, a bit limited.

"That's not the only limitation you have though." The bear chuckled. "You see the color of the background? Well, the color of the background determines how powerful your weapon is!"

"Really?" Saori was eyeing her MonoPad curiously, disgust in her eyes.

Monokuma nodded. "Yup! Crafting a weapon with your background being red will cause instantaneous death! Blue's pretty normal in the normal world's standards, and then green's the slowest of the slow! Slower than a fucking snail I tell you!"

Minori gulped, shivering.

"Sucks for the people who got green as their goddamn background!" Monokuma then crossed his arms. "So? Whatcha think? Pretty cool, right?"

"Like hell it is," Seiga snorted from a distance. He was cooly glaring at the bear, arms folded and expression hardened.

"T-this is futile." Kaniza was cupping her hands, shaking. "N-nobody would dare to kill someone… This motive won't work."

"You think?" The bear chuckled. "You never know. Humans aren't exactly the most simplest beings in the world. They're pretty goddamn complex and weird."

Silence. Monokuma had a point, and they hated to admit that.

"This motive will definitely work. I know it." The bear's smile was uncanny. It somehow, strangely felt like there was something hidden."My motives always work. We always make sure of it."

… _There he goes again, using the plural… Who exactly is 'we'...? Who's helping Monokuma? Who's backing him up?_

"So, we got that settled? Don't show your little screen to anyone unless you want to die, and fucking believe me when I say that you don't want to die by _my_ hands."

Everyone knew that. They already knew that.

"Anyways, time for Rin's secret!" Monokuma jumped down to the ground, meeting the Ultimates. He walked over to Rin and pointed to her. A chuckle escaped his lips. "Well, now that I think about it, it's not as juicy as some other people's secrets, but whatever~"

Rin frowned. "Stop making a big deal out of it. No one will care that I'm-"

"Nope! You ain't saying it, I am!"

The jeweler scoffed, annoyed. She glared deathly at the monochrome bear.

"So, what's the big secret?" Monokuma wrinkled his non existent brows, nudging the Ultimates teasingly. "What is it? What is it?"

Kamui groaned. "Monokuma, please. Stop stalling us already."

"Okay, fine!" Monokuma threw his head back, letting out a long, exaggerated sigh. "The secret is that Rin's not only the Ultimate Jeweler. She's also the Ultimate Gemstone Thief."

"Huh?"

Sheina blinked. "Wait, what?"

Monokuma grinned. "What? Doesn't ring a bell?" He chuckled as he noticed the blank looks on everyone's faces. "Rin's the Wind Whisperer. The one who steals from museums and shit like the Phantom Thief."

Sagiso's eyes widened. A lightbulb had flickered on top of her head as she whipped her eyes to Rin. "Oh! I've heard about you before. You've been everywhere on the news."

"Wait." Kamui was baffled. "So you're both a jeweler and a jewelry thief?"

"Yeah…" Rin bit into her lips. "Sorry. I didn't mean to hide that talent of mine from you all. I thought you guys would've been cautious around someone who lives under two names… Especially since the police are also looking for me."

"Of course we wouldn't care!" Sheina wrapped her arms around the woman, Rin suddenly caught off guard as her eyes widened. "You're a dear friend of our's. I think we should know you well enough to know you're a good person."

The astrophotographer gulped, murmuring under her breath. "I-I agree."

The woman froze, suddenly turning to Kaniza. "Oh, uh… Thanks…"

Rin's eyes followed Kaniza's. They shared a moment of eye contact, but within seconds their faces became red and they quickly broke their gaze afterwards.

Minori couldn't help but smile a little, eyes looking to Saori who smiled back at him. It was obvious the duo were both thinking of the same thing-

-bonds were continuing to grow.

"Blech!" Monokuma gagged, clutching his stomach. "Ew! Friendship! Bonds! I actually should've stayed out of this and let Rin talk! Fucking hell!"

Rin couldn't help but wryly grin as she eyed Monokuma. "What? Are you annoyed they didn't turn their backs on me?"

"Nah, not really. I always see this shit nowadays." The bear shrugged. "Just wanted to see if I'd get something different."

The jeweler shrugged, a bit playful in her movement. "Well, that doesn't sound suspicious at all."

"Hmph." Monokuma pouted. "Anyways, that's pretty much all I have to announce. I'm still a bit busy today since the fuckers back home don't exactly know what the fuck to do to fix their mistakes. Rookies these days. The fucking professionals are busy tending to something else, bastards…"

Minori frowned, hearing the bear. He couldn't help but speak loudly, catching the attention of the others. "You're working under an organization, aren't you?"

Monokuma turned to the pseudologist. "Huh? And what makes you think that, Minnie?"

"The fact that you've been using 'we' and the fact that something's being done to us." The white-haired man took a step forward, heart beating. "You've done something to us, but why? What are you doing? Who are you working under?"

"Aww, like I'd actually tell you anything." The bear immediately jumped back to the pedestal, landing quite gracefully atop. "It's called hinting, Minnie. Foreshadowing. To entertain not only myself, but to stimulate the human brain- that's the only thing that I hope for."

 _Stimulate the human brain…?_

"Entertainment is what we all truly want. That's why we hate being in total darkness, total silence- solitude. If we're alone in a truly soundproof room we'd go crazy. It's just how the human brain functions."

Minori wasn't sure of what to say. He couldn't help but wonder if he had heard of those words before, mind suddenly hazy.

Monokuma grinned, having completely silenced the group.

"Well!" The bear threw his paw up. "I'm gonna get going! I'm sure you're all hungry, so I'll leave you to it! Ta-ta, my beary cute Ultimates!"

And that was it. The bear had left, disappearing without a trace.

Minori frowned. He was only left with more questions.

"What a waste of time," Saori grumbled, shaking her head. Her attention was shifted to Kamui. "We should go back to cooking as soon as possible."

"Right…" Kamui closed his MonoPad, slowly shoving the device into his pocket. "The rice should be cooked at least."

Sagiso glanced at the duo. "Do you need any help?"

"No, no." Kamui waved a finger around. "You and Kaniza are resting. We don't want you two to over exert yourselves."

The psychogeographer sighed. "Alright, alright."

Kamui and Saori quickly left the auditorium, moving over to the dining room. The duo seemed to take over the role of chefs for the meantime.

Fumio was silent. He was silent, yet his breathing as were slightly off. They were heavy for some reason.

"Fumio?" Minori noticed the uneasiness in the scholar's face. The pseudologist couldn't help but walk over to the man. "Fumio? What's wrong?"

Fumio was silent. He was pale, cold sweat trickling down from his forehead.

Minori slowly reached for the scholar's shoulder. "Hey, Fumio-"

Fumio immediately fell to the ground, not a moment passing before he fell entirely unconscious.

"H-huh?" Minori froze. His heart jumped. He quickly bent down and grabbed the man. "Fumio!"

"W-what happened?" Kaniza was shaking, rubbing over to Fumio. She put her hand to his forehead. "W-what? H-he's not sick though…"

Sagiso paled as she eyed Fumio. Worry was entirely written over her face. "He doesn't seem to be well. Take him to his room to rest."

Sheina was rubbing her hands together, eyes closed tightly. "Please let this be nothing more than out of tiredness, Gods."

Rin bit into her lips. "Fumio… What the hell?"

The door swung open, then slamming closed.

Minori's eyes widened as he noticed that Seiga was missing from stage. He was the one who had ran off.

 _Seiga… Why?_

The pseudologist was hurt. He honestly wished that the stunt double would've at least tried to care for Fumio, but he didn't. He had left the room instead.

"Minori, can you help carry Fumio there?"

The pseudologist looked over to Sagiso, the woman staring intensely at him. Minori instantly nodded and grabbed ahold of Fumio, throwing him softly over his back in a piggyback style.

"I'll meet you at the dining room," Minori said, eyeing the group. "Bye."

The group nodded, watching Minori who left the area. Minori slowly made his way over to the dorm rooms, forcing Fumio's door opened and heading inside.

He laid Fumio comfortably on the bed, making sure the blankets were wrapped around him. He rested Fumio's head on the pillow. He watched him for a moment.

 _Fumio… What happened?_

Minori couldn't help but recall what he had talked about with Monokuma.

 _Does that have something to do with this? Did something happen to Fumio in particular?_

He wasn't sure. He didn't know yet.

… _Well, at least Fumio looks fine. He doesn't look sick or anything._

A few minutes passed. Seeing that the scholar seemed to be fine for the moment, Minori was content for the meantime. He walked. He closed the door behind him and left to the dining room.

Everyone was present inside the room, that is, alone for Seiga and Fumio. Minori was saddened by this, however took his seat as he smelled Kamui and Saori's food from the kitchen. The aroma was killing his stomach.

"How is he?" Sagiso asked, expression that of overwhelming worry. "He's not hurt or sick, right?"

Minori shook his head. "He'll be fine. He doesn't look unhealthy."

"Why did he faint though?" Rin furrowed her brows. "Was it because of Monokuma? It wasn't because of me, right?"

"I doubt he would faint over your secret," Sheina said, letting out a playful giggle.

Kaniza gulped. "H-hopefully Fumio's fine. I don't want to see him hurt…"

"He'll definitely be fine." Rin tossed Kaniza an awkward smile. "Just… W-well, just don't worry too much about it."

"Ah." Kaniza's eyes widened. A small smile crept to her lips as she eyed Rin. "R-right."

"I'm surprised Seiga didn't come to check on Fumio though," the jeweler began, disgust apparent on her face. "I know those two aren't exactly on good terms, but still. I would've thought he'd at least care a little bit."

The astrophotographer held her breath. "Uh, well, Seiga's been avoiding us though…"

"True." Rin wrinkled her nose. "Does he really need to feel the need to avoid us? We don't hate him, especially since he saved us back at the trial."

Minori nodded his head slowly. "Right."

"Well, it's fine." Sagiso had her arms crossed. "He's still a friend to us no matter what he does."

Sheina grinned. "Maybe we should prepare something for him? To make him feel more welcomed here?"

The psychogeographer's eyes widened. "Hm? Like what?"

"Um…" The egyptologist pursed her lips. Her eyes brightened as she snapped her fingers. "Maybe we could invite him to dance with us in a ballroom-like fashion?"

"Huh?" Sagiso was shocked. "What does that mean, Sheina?"

Sheina's cheeks were a bit red. There was definitely something she was thinking about inside of her mind, the woman flustering about. "Well, we can make the auditorium look like a ballroom with a few decorations here and there! We can play some music there and have a little dance session. Doesn't Seiga like dancing?"

"Oh." Minori's eyes widened. He recalled back to the party that Seiga had hosted- the man had spent hours dancing and singing in the game room. The pseudologist smiled. "I think that's a good idea, but we need to convince Seiga."

"How about our clothes?" Rin asked, curious.

Sheina rubbed her hands together, excited. "Maybe we can use the virtual simulator room! Hopefully once we changed the room's setting we'd be able to keep our clothes!"

The jeweler immediately sweatdropped. "Uh, I look more like a thief in that medieval setting, just saying."

Sagiso let out a small giggle. "Well, I think it's a wonderful idea. This could help relieve us of our stress and hopefully keep morale high. We still have to focus on figuring out how to escape from this place and stop Monokuma though."

"Ah, I know that." Sheina blushed. "I just want to see you all happy and… well, girls in dresses are cute."

Minori was not surprised at all.

 _I'm guessing she just wants to see Saori in a dress._

"I like the idea though," Minori said, interjecting into the conversation. "I think if we look around, we might be able to find some dresses and suits befitting this special occasion. If not, we can try making our own clothes."

Rin raised a brow. "You think? Well, I'm not going to argue against the idea, especially since Seiga and Fumio are down in the dumps right now."

Sheina nodded her head violently. "Right, and investigating into this whole mystery is exhausting. We could definitely relieve ourselves from this stress and especially after the devil Monokuma himself gave us a motive."

"Oh, you're planning something?"

The group looked back, finding Kamui and Saori who walked in, the dishes and drinks on a silver platter. The duo gave everyone a smile as they setted up the table, preparing the dishes and drinks around.

"I like the idea," the mortician said, having finished setting up the table. He took a seat down next to Minori, moving his hands over to grab ahold of his food.

Saori nodded. "I'm fine with it, as long as we prioritize our investigation in the fourth floor."

"Of course!" Sheina smiled widely. "I'll plan this out!"

And with that idea settled, everyone began to eat their food. A friendly and peaceful atmosphere with looming darkness. It was the same daily routine. Everyone ate and spoke to rid of that tenseful atmosphere, and afterwards everyone left to their bidding.

"I'll bring Seiga's and Fumio's food now."

Minori watched Saori who left the dining room, the man's attention now focused to whoever's left. Rin had decided to help Kamui wash the dishes. From the distance, he could see the duo engaging in small talk, Kamui smiling at Rin who laughed at a joke of his. They seemed friendlier and more closer than Minori expected.

 _I guess I don't pay that much attention to people's relationships._

Sheina had left the dining room without struggle. She seemed almost a bit too excited to plan out the entire occasion, eyes sparkling in delight and body trembling. Well, Kaniza had chased after the woman. Minori could only assume Kaniza wanted to make sure Sheina wouldn't cause trouble.

 _Hm… that leaves…_

Minori turned around to find Sagiso. She was staring at him, and within seconds the pseudologist instantly realized what she wanted. "You want to investigate the fourth floor right now too, huh?"

Sagiso nodded. She looked down at her foot, then to her crutches. "Yeah… That's right. I really hate to bother you. I'm proving to be more of a burden than I thought."

"You're not a burden." Minori placed his finger to Sagiso's lips, teasing her with a smile. "Don't say that."

"You know I was only joking," Sagiso replied, smiling back at the pseudologist. She grabbed ahold of his hand and softly moved it aside. "Geez, Minori."

The white-haired man playfully laughed. "I know, I know. Are you ready to investigate now? Do you need anything here first?"

"I'm fine." Sagiso sighed, rolling her eyes. "I should be asking you that. I could still see a few bags under your eyes."

"Oh!" Minori quickly rubbed his eyes, trying to rid of the bags. It would've obviously never worked, but nonetheless he tried anyways. "Well, guess we're both ready to go."

The auburn-haired woman chuckled. "Mhm."

"Alright." Minori moves over to help Sagiso up, handing over her crutches. The duo made their way over towards the staircase before Minori motioned to the woman who cautiously threw herself on his back.

"Leave the crutches here." Sagiso eyed the man. "You can pick up later. It'll be easier to run back up and down."

The pseudologist's eyes widened. "Oh, right. Smart."

Minori places the crutches to the side, lining them up along the wall. Making sure they won't fall, he began carrying Sagiso up to the fourth floor.

Once the duo reached the fourth floor, Minori walked over into the hallways to sit Sagiso down into a comfortable seat. She thanked him as he quickly headed downstairs to grab her crutches, moving back up and handing it to the woman.

"Thank you," Sagiso said, smiling. She slowly got up from her seat, adjusting her arms over the objects.

Minori tapped his chin. "Hm, do you know what exactly we should investigate? Anything in particular?"

"Ah, I do have a few ideas." The woman frowned. "I was hoping to ask the others to help me investigate, but Sheina and Kaniza are busy working on the ball while Seiga and Fumio aren't available. I wanted us to check the printer again. There's been something that's bothering me."

"Really?" The pseudologist raised a brow. "What?"

Sagiso nodded. She motioned the pseudologist to follow, the duo heading over to the spacious room that held the two printers inside. Her focus was on the 3D one, eyes scanning it closely. She stopped once she noticed something on display. "Oh! Here."

Minori, curious, walked over to take a look. He found a numerous amount of zeros and ones in display on the tiny screen. Instantly did the man recognize that it was binomial code. "Huh. That's interesting. I didn't see this before."

"I saw it when I was investigating with Kamui last night," the woman admitted. "We were going to tell you two, however the code disappeared within seconds."

"Hm…" The man frowned. "What do you think this means?"

Sagiso eyed the code for a second, then looking to the pseudologist. "Maybe something's being printed? Either in the computer lab in the first floor or the room in the third floor."

The white-haired Ultimate pursed his lips. "Should I check?"

"Yes, I think that's a good idea." The auburn-haired woman tapped her fingers to her crutches, curious. "Hm… Just check if there's anything that's downloading in the third or first floor."

"Mhm." Minori was about to leave the room, however he frowned as he looked back to the psychogeographer. "Will you be fine here?"

"I'll be fine." Sagiso smiled. "I doubt anyone's up here right now. I won't die that easily, Minori."

The man blushed. "I-I wasn't implying that… Okay then."

He waved to the woman and headed outside, first heading over to the third floor. He made his way into the spacious, dark room. There, he found the only thing that was in display- the creepy, eerie computer.

He gulped. He eyed it for a moment. The screen was black, nothing to be seen. His eyes scanned the keyboard. He slowly brought his fingers over and pressed down, pointer finger locked to the space bar.

A flash.

Minori let out a yelp, quickly covering his eyes. The bright light had almost blinded him as he brought his arms over his eyes, heart beating erratically. He was shocked as the light disappeared, the man slowly bringing down his arms.

["Downloading! Downloading!"]

The words were flashing in red and black. He could see a loading bar in the middle of the screen, progressing slowly but steadily.

[0%... 10% … 17%...]

The man couldn't help but purse his lips, holding his breath.

 _Why is something being downloaded here anyways? Did someone come up here? The mastermind? Monokuma…?_

[29%... 38%... 43%...]

Minori didn't know. He didn't know why something was being downloaded. He didn't know if someone had wanted to download something or if the computer had downloaded that specific something itself. He didn't know, and all he could do was watch as the progress bar continued to rise up until a hundred.

[78%... 89%... 100%!]

[File successfully downloaded! Now printing…]

Minori frowned. He watched the computer screen for a few seconds, watching as the 'Now printing…' continued to pop in bold words, jumping at the man.

[Finished printing! Thank you for your time!]

And that was it. The computer immediately went black again.

Minori was still for a few seconds. He needed to recall what had just happened, eyes then snapping wide as he finally registered what happened. He quickly made his way back to the fourth floor, heading over to Sagiso.

He opened the door, finding Sagiso whose eyebrows were scrunched, furrowed. Her entire expression was that of complete bafflement and curiosity. He looked further to find that something had been printed on the three-dimensional printer.

"What is it?" Minori asked, softly closing the door behind him. He moved close to the psychogeographer, standing to her left. Emerald green eyes followed Sagiso's. "That's…"

Sagiso nodded, grabbing ahold of the object and showing it closer to the man.

It was a key. More specifically- a monochrome, bear-shaped, plastic key.

Sagiso eyed Minori cautiously. "What do you think this is for?"

The pseudologist frowned. "I'm not exactly sure. We should tell Kamui and the others about this."

"Mhm…" The auburn-haired woman cupped her chin, then nodding her head and handing the pseudologist the key. "We should tell them as soon as possible. I'm sure most of them aren't busy at the moment."

"Hm, alright." Minori stuffed the key into his pocket. "Is there nothing else you want to investigate here?"

"I don't think so…" The woman pursed her lips, tapping her foot. "The printer here was the only thing that was concerning me. I don't believe that the machines here are working either nor is there anything of notice here at the moment."

"True, but we should check nonetheless."

"Alright."

And like the man said, the duo continued investigating around the fourth floor. About a few minutes were spent investigating in each room and area, the duo making certain that there was nothing new or of concern.

An hour or so passed.

Nothing. Like Sagiso said, there was nothing else that seemed to be of concern. The machines were not working and there wasn't anything new to take note of.

Investigation halted, the duo headed their way back down the stairs and into the first floor. Minori handed the woman her crutches as they walked to the dining room, hoping there was someone inside to report to.

To their relief, someone was inside of the room. It was even the exact person they were looking for as well.

Kamui was eyeing the dining room for a moment, surveying it. A frown escaped his lips before he noticed the duo, his lips curving into a smile. "Hello there. Do you need anything?"

Sagiso nodded. "Minori and I searched the fourth floor, particularly the printers."

The mortician's eyes widened. "Oh. I was going to investigate the place myself, but I suppose you two already did it."

Minori shrugged. "I mean, that doesn't mean you can't still investigate."

"I know." Kamui chuckled. "I'll probably ask Saori or Rin to help investigate with me later."

"Why're you still here?" Sagiso asked, curious. "Are you looking for something?"

"I would've thought you'd be happy you found me so easily." The man chuckled a bit more, however sighed and crossed his arms. "I'm simply wondering about what I can do to persuade Seiga to join us. Sheina seems excited to plan the occasion, so I don't want to see her sad if Seiga doesn't come."

"Come on, Seiga can't be that of an asshole." Minori smiled jokingly. "I'm sure Seiga will come. He might not talk to us at the event though."

"True…" Kamui bit into his lips. "Hopefully we aren't a bother to Seiga. I know he doesn't want to speak to us right now."

"We'll see." The pseudologist tapped his chin.

"Mhm." The mortician frowned. "So, what have you two found? I'm certain you came to look for me because you found something."

Sagiso nodded her head instantly. "Yes, it's about the printer."

"Oh, the one we looked at last night?" Kamui's eyes widened. "What did you find?"

Minori reached into his pocket, taking out the bear-shaped key. He handed it to the mortician who surveyed it curiously, closely.

"Hm… This is interesting…" Kamui murmured underneath his breath, thinking to himself. "It does concern me that something like this had been printed though."

"Agreed." Minori frowned. "I feel like this was printed on purpose."

"But for what?" Sagiso asked. "If Monokuma printed this out for a reason, and that reason is to give it to us- then why?"

The pseudologist sighed. "Maybe a red herring?"

"Well, we're not sure. We have to see it for ourselves… Do you know where it can be used?" Sagiso suddenly asked the mortician, biting into her lips.

Kamui thought for a moment. "Hm… Oh!" He smiled at the duo. "Maybe the MonoLottery room! Remember, there was a door we couldn't access."

"Oh, that's right!" Minori's eyes widened. "But, I thought the door needed an ID, not a key? Seiga would've picklocked it if so, right?"

Sagiso frowned. "Maybe the ID was a lie. Monokuma disguised the idea that the door needed a key instead."

"To throw us off?" Minori raised a brow. "If we found out sooner, especially when everyone was… alive, then wouldn't that mean-?"

"We're not sure." The auburn-haired woman heaved a deep breath. "We need to see for ourselves."

"True." Kamui crossed his arms. "Let's look for the others before opening it. We should be together."

"Mhm." Minori nodded. "Of course."

Everyone quickly separated, calling forth everyone else who was available. It didn't take too long though, for mostly everyone had been roaming around the first floor. It was within minutes did everyone crowd the dining room, waiting for the announcement.

"So, what's wrong?" Rin asked, curious. She was eyeing Kamui. "You said that you and the others found something."

"We did. Sagiso and Minori found this in the fourth floor." Kamui placed the key in the middle of the room. "We believe that this key will open the door in the MonoLottery room."

"Woah." The jeweler's eyes widened. "It's been a while since I've heard anyone mention that room."

"I almost forgot about that door too," Sheina admitted, shocked.

"Ah, w-wait." Kaniza pursed her lips. Her expression was wary. "I-isn't the door supposed to be open using an ID card?"

"It could be a disguise," Kamui calmly stated, crossing his arms. "We should investigate the door again."

"I have no problems with it," Saori mused. "I'm more than willing to try anything as long as it helps our case against Monokuma."

"Mhm!" The egyptologist threw her arms up, instantly agreeing with what the woman said. "Exactly!"

"The 3D printer had printed that, for your information," Minori mused, making sure to inform them of what they might need. "It was printed from the computer in the third floor."

"Really?" Saori furrowed her brows. "Why?"

"We're not sure," the pseudologist admitted. "It might have been printed on purpose as either a red herring or for… well, possibly for Monokuma to dare us to try."

"I don't see the point in not checking it out at least," Sagiso said, expression steady and calm. "Even if it's nothing more than a lie, we should make sure it's a lie."

"True…" Saori crossed her arms. "This is a lead nonetheless."

Rin nodded. "Let's go then."

The group went, standing up from their seats. Kamui led the way, gesturing the group to follow him into the lottery room. The door opened, and the group made their way inside.

It almost hit like nostalgia, but in a bad way.

Minori could hear the same eerie carnival music. The mess around the room was the same, stagnant. The toys and tools over the room looked similar to how he last saw it. Monokuma had left the room alone in its mercy.

Creepy. It was definitely creepy.

Minori walked through the mess, following Kamui to the door-

-the man instantly recognized that something was off.

If the lottery room itself wasn't different, then Minori swore that the monochrome door was.

Something was off about the door. It wasn't the same. Instead of it being a simple half-white half-black door, it was a tile of black and white. The door was almost similar to that of a checkerboard, contrasting that of what Minori remembered. Even the handle itself was different. What Minori would've assumed was where the identification card was supposed to be swiped and identified, it was gone. It was now a simple iron handle with a keyhole. A bear-shaped keyhole.

 _What the hell? Was what was shown last time nothing more than a disguise? Or… is this one the disguise?_

Minori didn't know. He was completely lost.

Kamui eyed the door for a second, then grabbing his key and inserting it. It fitted in perfectly, relieving the man and the Ultimates. A breath of stressed air released, the mortician slowly turned his wrist.

 _Click!_

The door was unlocked. The click- the sound of the door clicking- made the Ultimates know for sure that the door had been unlocked. It was ready to be explored.

Kamui turned the handle. Slowly, slowly, the door creaked open.

Darkness. The mortician reached over to turn the lights on.

 _Flick!_

It was instantaneous. The moment the lights were opened, shock immediately escaped the Ultimates' faces.

Inside of the room, surrounding the walls were shelves. Empty, empty shelves that hardly contained anything alone for a few binders here and there. Folders, papers- they were scattered over the pink, almost bloodlike room.

"There's more… stuff here…" Rin managed to say, baffled as she slowly walked inside. "I guess there's more information here about our situation."

"Whatever is in here must be important if it's secured in this room," Sagiso said, eyes surveying the area.

The room was slightly spacious alone for the shelves, in the back of the room being an office desk and rolling chair. There was a small table in the middle of the room, healthy white and red roses to be seen in a glass vase. On the ground was velvet red carpet, exquisitely detailed in checkers and diamonds. On the ceiling were carefully crafted bear-shaped lights, then a chandelier in the middle. An exquisite, exquisite room.

"I wonder if Monokuma hangs out here," Sheina murmured, curious. She walked slowly to the middle of the room, her focus on the roses in display. "They look like they have been watered recently…"

Kaniza reached over for the binder nearby, tiptoeing to grab it from the top shelf. She brought it down and opened it, blinking. "Oh…" The woman slowly flipped through the pieces of paper. "Uh, I-I found the maps detailing each room."

"Hm, not that important." Saori headed over to find the files, grabbing ahold of them and skimming through them. Her brows furrowed after a minute, the woman slowly stopping in her tracks as her hands were openly grasping at the papers. "This… this is interesting."

"Saori?" Kamui moved over to the body broker. "What's wrong?"

Saori turned to the mortician, the rest of the Ultimates immediately flocking over. "Here. Look at these."

Minori leaned in, taking a look at the files that Saori showed in front of her face. He scanned through it slowly, reading each word carefully. Word for word, the man began to pale, realizing what was being read.

They were documents about the class trials.

More specifically, documents about what had happened between the Ultimates in each class trial.

Class Trial 1. Class Trial 2. Class Trial 3.

All three class trials have been documented.

Each victim and killer have been documented, their motives and causes of death explained in full detail. From how red Haruko's eyes were during and before death to how long it took for Fuwari to burn to death… Everything, just about everything was in full, explicit detail. It was almost uncanny. No, it was too uncanny.

There were details not only on the deaths, but how the class trials played out. In full details and even quotations from the Ultimates, there were documents that detailed on how the teenagers solved the case.

Too detailed. They were too detailed and specific.

From how Asami paled when she was caught to how Kamui moped when he was found… from how Ryoichi freaked out in the second class trial… from how Seiga continuously pressured Minori and Fumio…

It was too uncanny. Someone had been documenting the class trials.

Was it Monokuma? Was it the mastermind?

No one knew.

What was even worse was that there were pictures. Pictures of the dead bodies, the executions… the gore.

There were pictures of the Ultimates' grief over solving the case. From how Rin broke down in tears from killing Fuwari to how Amyto jumped into Asami's arms when the knight was caught- yes, there were pictures of everything. Everything was being documented into history.

And no, it was not only the Ultimates, but even Monokuma himself.

There were even pictures of Monokuma on the documents. There the Ultimates could spot how the bear looked like during the class trials. Those expressions of sadism and amusement… those obnoxious and exquisite poses… yes, the bear was on full display.

So, no, it wasn't Monokuma who had documented the class trials. If there weren't any drones nor cameras around the room, then it wasn't Monokuma.

Maybe it was? Maybe it wasn't?

Honestly, the Ultimates didn't know.

They were stuck in complete shock over the documents.

They were at a complete loss for what to do, what to say, what to do, what to say, what to...

No.

They just couldn't believe they were being documented.

Minori gulped. His mind rolled back to what he found on Kakuma.

The wedding planner had been documented individually. He was being treated like a subject, a lab rat.

It made Minori shudder. It made him queasy. It made him wary.

It made him wonder-

-who was watching them, acting as the God of this world?

* * *

Oof, and that was the end of this part! Hope you all enjoyed it! Chapter 4's filled with a lot of things, but hopefully I could manage writing this to my liking while juggling school and exams. School is ruining my life, haha. Stress continues to overwhelm my brain, but don't worry. I'm sure I can manage the stress that's building up inside of me- wow, I sound so poetic, lol.

Anyways, if you didn't know, I have posted the FTEs poll for this story! Please go vote for who you want to see in the FTEs~

That's all I have. Ahem, well, see you in the next part! Good luck and be safe!


	34. Chapter 4 - Part 1, Part C

Hello, and welcome to the next part of this chapter! I hope you're all well and healthy! Flu season will soon come, so hopefully you and I won't become sick! I'll cry if I'm sick, haha. Anyways, enough about me, let's get to the story!

 **Sparkquill:** "I'm sad as well, but oh well~"

 **liammarklh88:** "Aww, thank you! You are too nice! Haha, hopefully I do not disappoint you when this story is finished. Oh my gosh, Minori has made a new friend in Monokuma! I'm so proud of him. Hm... Seiga... Hm, I wonder? Upupu, Monokuma will always find a way~ Pfft, I'm glad Rin's becoming more and more as a favorite to people. If Fumio dies, I think everyone will riot against me. XD Danganronpa does love their creepiness factor, mm yeah. Best parents are the best. It's alright, only we would know what will happen in a party~ Ooh, that sounds so mindfucking that I love it. Of course!"

 **TheLlamaLord:** "More interesting is a good sign, I hope. Ah, many interesting thoughts over that topic. Makes you wonder whether Minori is the mastermind or not, or if Monokuma's screwing with us. It's alright, Fumio won't die, maybe. Rin and Kamui should be accomplice buddies. XD"

 **ToonGuy:** "Haha, alright. Well, at least Minori's not the only one suspected of being the mastermind, haha. Seiga is definitely an interesting character, mhm. Haha, we need some good ol' ships in this~ Ships which are hinted at, official, or dead- upupupu. Kamui doesn't deserve hate. Totally not, upupupu. Yes, definitely. Glad you liked the ending~ Aw, thanks a lot!"

 **Ziggymia123:** "Minori is important because he's the main character, duh. Haha, glad to see that you're suspecting Minori as always. Upupupu, don't worry, Monokuma always finds a way to tempt someone. The ones I want dead are my exams. Well, we can only see when someone actually tries to get out a weapon of some sort. Aw, but I want the Ultimates to dance like professional dancers XD Totally doesn't seem that important since everyone doesn't care. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter~"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Let's make Saori wear one of those really extravagant dresses! Sinister chapters are the best. What I like more than sinister chapters are chapters where someone's dead, upupupupu."

 **FruitlessKitty74:** "Aw, thank you! You're too kind."

 **dashunterman:** "Definitely a twist. One must wonder- what does this all mean, upupupu."

 **limenightsky:** "Ooh, interesting thoughts. Definitely something to think about.

 **Emma2448:** "Haha, glad you seem to like this story so far! I love your reviews, haha. Also, glad you're a fan of Heathers as well, upupupu."

* * *

Minori yawned, stretching his arms out. He had a few minutes left before Monokuma announced the morning off, the pseudologist standing in front of a door.

More specifically, it was Fumio's door. Minori has found himself worrying for the poor scholar, and so without even realizing it Minori had woke up early with the purpose to check on him.

 _Hopefully he's fine. Geez, I hope he's not sick or anything…_

Minori's heartbeat was throbbing at a slight faster pace than normal. His stomach was churning.

 _Both him and Seiga. I hope those two are fine. I'm not sure if Seiga would want to be bothered by me so early in the morning though._

Minori took a quick look to the side, Seiga's door further away. He sighed as he recalled what happened between him and the stunt double.

 _I'll have to talk to him eventually though. He deserves to know what's being discussed between me and the rest as well anyways._

The pseudologist quickly composed himself, rubbing his hands together. Adjusting his scarf as well, the man stood up straight.

He now knocked on the door, patient.

A few seconds passed. Slowly, the door creaked open.

"M-Minori?"

Minori's eyes widened as he saw the scholar in front of his very eyes, healthy and alive. The pseudologist smiled widely, sighing out of relief. "Fumio!"

"O-oh!" The scholar quickly stepped back, a bit shocked from Minori's sudden outburst. He nervously bowed his head down. "I-I'm sorry. I know I fell unconscious yesterday. Sorry. Did I worry you? I didn't mean to…"

"Why are you apologizing?" Minori frowned. He was eyeing Fumio who awkwardly averted his gaze. "If anything, I should be apologizing for not noticing your health sooner."

"I'm not sick though…" Fumio murmured under his breath. He was rubbing his hands together, expression hardened. "I don't know what happened to me. Sorry…"

"Enough about that. All that matters is that you look fine." The pseudologist smiled, relaxed and at ease. "How are you though, more specifically? Does anything hurt?"

Fumio observed his body, face hanging down. He blinked for a couple of seconds before shaking his head. "I'm fine. Uh, I'm just a bit sleepy and stiff."

"Certainly." Minori nodded his head. "You're not feeling any pain? Headaches, or anything?"

"No, I'm fine." The scholar scratched his head. Silence loomed in between the duo, and Fumio felt like he had to speak. He quickly stepped forth. "Uh… So, did anything happen yesterday? Other than the motive?"

"Oh!" The pseudologist jumped at this. He had almost forgotten about informing the scholar of the situation so quickly. If anything, he wanted to discuss it to the others and allow them to fuss over Fumio a little before moving into the darker topic. He eyed the scholar and awkwardly smiled. "We'll talk about it during breakfast, but the gist of things is that we opened the door inside the MonoLottery room."

"W-what?" Fumio's eyes widened. "R-really? That's… how?"

"The key was made using the 3D printer in the fourth floor," the white-haired man began, explaining, "the key… I don't know how or why, but it was being downloaded and printed from the third floor, where the computer is. We were able to use it in the MonoLottery door since the ID scan was nothing more than a disguise. Or… well, the door changed completely."

Fumio furrowed his brows. "What does that mean? The door's appearance just changed?"

"Mhm." Minori heaved a breath of air- stuffy air, to be more precise. "It's different than when we last saw it. We're not sure why, but the most important thing was what was found inside of the room."

The pseudologist studied Fumio's expression. The scholar was wary, allowing Minori to continue. "We found documents that detailed everything about the class trials we've been in."

Fumio was silent.

"What?"

Minori frowned. "What we found was files that explained everything about what happened in each trial. There's not only words though, but pictures as well. Not only us either, but Monokuma as well. Monokuma didn't take those pictures… that is, unless he put up cameras in the courtroom beforehand."

"I doubt that," Fumio answered, wary. "Uh, but why would there be documents about the class trials? If Monokuma set up cameras, then wouldn't he have recorded us instead of taking pictures."

"True." The white-haired Ultimate crossed his arms. "Hm… well, we'll discuss this with Kamui and the others."

Monokuma's voice echoed throughout the school.

"Morning, bitches! Get up!"

Minori smiled, awkwardly noting how the bear had talked in a stereotypical country girl voice. He shook the thought off his head and looked back to Fumio. "Are you well enough to be with us at breakfast?"

The scholar frowned. He looked down, eyeing himself. He took a look at his clothes, then the complexion of his skin. "I should be fine," he slowly answered, speaking softly.

"Mhm." Minori chuckled. "Let's go then."

Fumio bit into his lips, nodding. He followed Minori out, the duo heading over to the dining hall.

The door opened, and instantly the group rose with relief and happiness to meet the scholar.

"Fumio!" Kamui clapped his hands together, joyful at the man's appearance. "How are you?"

"Are you fine?" Sagiso wanted to walk over to the scholar, but stayed still in her seat. "You're not hurt anywhere are you? Mentally or physically?"

"H-hopefully you're well!" Kaniza smiled warmly at the scholar.

Saori nodded her head, having already prepared the table. "Please take a seat."

Fumio blushed. He was completely caught off guard by everyone's sudden care and affection. "I-I'm fine."

"You better." Rin rolled her eyes, however it was more playful than menacing. Her playful grin told it so, after all. "If you die, I'll never forgive you."

"The Gods will be damned if you die!" Sheina huffed her cheeks up, standing proud and tall. "You're a precious friend to us. It's not fair for you to die when you're so young. All of us deserves long, healthy lives."

Minori nodded. "It's unfair that Monokuma's ending our lives so shortly."

"Of course…" Sagiso heaved a breath of air, sighing. "So, what happened, Fumio? Were you not feeling well yesterday?"

"I… I don't know." Fumio awkwardly smiled, averting his gaze. "I think I wasn't feeling well yesterday. That's all… Maybe I haven't slept well, and stress had gotten to me."

It was sudden. If Minori hadn't noticed it before, he noticed it now. A sudden spark inside of his head that told him-

-The scholar's lying.

Minori gulped, forcing his expression to stay steady and calm as he watched Fumio walking over to his seat. He watched the Ultimates converse with their friend, and the pseudologist knew better than to accuse Fumio so suddenly- and, that is, especially when the scholar had just fainted yesterday.

The pseudologist went to his own seat, letting out a small sigh as he reached for his food. His stomach grumbled in lust and greed, the pseudologist blushing slightly from the noises. He quickly shoved an egg roll into his mouth to appease his appetite.

Sheina eyed the scholar, sipping into a glass of water. "So, did Minori already tell you about the situation?"

"Ah, the door in the MonoLottery room?" Fumio nodded his head slowly. "He did."

Kamui released a small sigh. "That's good. The documents found on the class trials are our biggest clue so far to what is happening, nonetheless this idea on our very own personality changing."

"I don't get the point of Monokuma having change our personalities nor our cognitive abilities," Sagiso mused, frowning as she bit into her egg roll. "Other than entertainment, there's no reason to even have a personality tweaker to begin with."

Rin raised a brow. "Because Monokuma said that our personalities can change and that he's 'fixing' it."

"W-Why would he need to fix it though?" Kaniza gulped. "Wouldn't he have worked with people who wouldn't make these mistakes?"

"Oh! Good point." Sheina's eyes widened. "Actually, now that I think about it, Monokuma's always meticulous with his motives so far. So, he prioritizes the motives more than us?"

Saori frowned. "I honestly don't think he prioritizes the motives more than us. We have to be kept here and at least in decent condition in order for him to even continue giving us motives."

"O-oh!" The egyptologist blushed, a bit embarrassed she was wrong. "Of course."

"I hate how we can't share what we have in our MonoPads," Rin moped, shaking her head. "It's either not tell anyone and worry, or tell someone and die. This is frustrating."

"I doubt anyone would kill over such an insane motive," Kamui assured, smiling sweetly at the woman. The jeweler looked a bit flustered as she nodded her head, the mortician continuing to speak in the meantime. His attention turned to the group. "We're working together to stop Monokuma, after all. We know better than to let him change our perspective on murder."

"Besides, we have a ball set up!" Sheina threw her hands into the air, suddenly as excited as a small toddler. Her eyes were sparkling almost. "We'll definitely try to deter Monokuma from making us sin!"

"Ball?" Fumio's eyes widened.

"Oh, right." Minori awkwardly scratched his head. He forgot to tell the scholar about it. Well, not only Fumio, but Seiga as well, although- "We're planning to host a ball to brighten up Seiga's mood. We're trying to get him to open up to us."

The pseudologist's heart dropped as he said the stunt double's name. He couldn't help but think to himself, almost completely zoning out of what everyone around him was saying.

 _Seiga is avoiding us for a reason though. It's not that he's mad at any of us, but that he feels like this option is necessary. Why though…?_

Complicated. Everything was beginning to become more and more complicated. It almost clouded his judgment. It almost made his head ache. It was like he couldn't think properly- gather his own thoughts and feelings.

 _I feel like throwing up. My entire head's screaming at me. Why? Why, why, why?_

The pseudologist suddenly felt chills running down his spine. His vision was slowly beginning to blur.

 _Why? I don't remember eating anything bad. I slept at the same time I usually slept. I'm not tired or anything. Why? Why? Why, why, why, why?_

Something flashed inside of his head. It flashed too quickly. Something familiar. Something that should be familiar. Something that he should've remembered.

He can't remember. He doesn't know. He doesn't know what he was supposed to remember.

 _What was it? What was it? What the fuck am I supposed to remember? I should know… I can't remember-!_

"Minori."

Minori snapped back to reality. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead as he looked ahead, Sagiso staring at him. Her expression was completely that of concern and worry, eyebrows scrunched and nose wrinkled.

"Minori," she began, her voice soft and caring, "Are you alright? You look pale."

Everyone was staring at him.

Minori quickly waved his hands around, shaking his head. He forced a playful smile as his cheeks flushed red, embarrassed. "I'm fine! Please don't worry about me. I just disgusted myself from thinking about a hypothetical situation, that's all."

Sagiso released a breath, relieved. She smiled at the man. "Is that so? Please don't trouble yourself with such thoughts. I was worried you were feeling ill."

"No, I'm not sick or anything," the pseudologist laughed, then teasing the woman, "You're such a worrywart, Sagiso."

Sagiso grinned playfully in return. "You rather have me worry about you than not though."

"Don't worry Minori~" Sheina clapped her hands together. "The Gods will purify you of any negative thoughts you might have."

"Of course." Minori nodded his head. "Sorry for worrying you all."

"You don't need to apologize." Kamui chuckled, handing Minori another cup of water. "It's in human nature for us to worry about one another."

The pseudologist took ahold the glass, thanking the mortician for the kind gesture. "Alright."

"Anyways, as soon as everything's prepared, we can start the ball." Sheina held her chin up high. "We'll need to find a way to convince Seiga to join though."

Saori nodded. "Yeah, that's our main issue. We can possibly sew or improvise on our clothing and decorations, but Seiga's a different matter."

"We have to persuade him." Rin crossed her arms. "I don't know how we're going to do that though."

Kamui frowned, cupping his chin. "We'll have to pester him then."

"He's definitely going to be annoyed," Kaniza murmured, tapping her fingers on her glass. "I'm worried about him though…"

"We all are." Sagiso let out a sigh. "He's not someone we can just ignore. Whether you hate him or he hates us, we should at least still care for one another."

"Right." Rin nodded. "Besides, he's the focal point of the party anyways. He has to be with us."

"We can help persuade him together," Kamui said, coming to a warm conclusion. "We can each do it in our free time once we are done investigating or setting up the ball for the day."

Kaniza slowly bobbed her head, twirling her locks of hair around. "I'm fine with that."

"Alright!" Kamui smiled widely. "Then that's the plan."

Content with how the conversation ended, the group slowly finished their food. They ate their meals happily while conversing in small talk with one another, and so the atmosphere stayed slightly positive.

Everyone began to scatter.

Minori turned to Fumio. "Do you want to investigate the door in the MonoLottery?"

"Oh, yeah." Fumio nodded his head quickly. He finished drinking down his cup of water before standing up. "I want to see the place myself."

"Mhm. Of course." Minori headed over to the door. "Let's go then. Maybe you'll find something."

The duo made their way over to the MonoLottery room, walking in a normal pace. The pseudologist opened the door, the upbeat carnival music playing beautifully in the background. He watched Fumio who ducked his head and walked inside, Minori quickly following suit.

"Oh, Minori! Fumio!"

"Hey."

"Hello."

Minori smiled, instantly noticing Sheina who was searching around the room, rummaging through the shelves. She seemed concentrated in her work, eyes squinting and expression focused the moment she looked away from the duo. Completely, completely engrossed in her work. The woman held her breath as her hands scanned through the shelves, moving past each object.

The egyptologist pursed her lips, moving a few objects to the left and right. Arranging them for a few seconds, her eyes suddenly widened. An audible gasp escaped her lips. A small smile creeped as she quickly reached into the shelf. She turned around to meet Minori and Fumio, the duo observing her with interest.

"The Gods must be shining down upon me," the woman began, her expression bright and almost childishly excitable. She brought her object close to her chest, giggling. "I might be able to make the dresses and suits after all!"

"Oh!" Minori noticed the object close to the woman's chest. It was a measuring tape. "You can take our measurements then."

"Well, I'm not exactly an expert in sewing though." Sheina awkwardly scratched her head. She then immediately shook and confidently held herself high. "A challenge is a challenge though! I saw a few fabrics and clothes lying around here though as well as few extra pieces of clothing. I think if I iron them or adjust the clothing's size to our measurements then we should be good…"

The pseudologist nodded. "Maybe you can ask Rin? I have a feeling she's the meticulous type."

"Is she?" Sheina tilted her head. "I might take you up on that then. I'll have to ask her later though. She's busy investigating the top floor with Kamui right now."

Fumio awkwardly cupped his hands. "So… You're going to take everyone's measurements?"

"I mean, it'll help me make sure that your clothes will fit you. I'll probably ask for Rin's help when she's done though." Sheina chuckled. "I still need some help sewing from her… Well, or anyone's. Do you two know how to sew?"

Fumio shook his head quickly, shaking his hands around. "I-I'm sorry. I don't, sorry."

"That's fine!" Sheina smiled widely. She turned to Minori. "How about you?"

Minori smiled shyly, turning his head away. "Not really. My sister's the one who knows how to sew. I only know how to sew tears, though I tend to prick my fingers a lot with the needle."

"Aw, that's sweet of you!" Sheina clapped her hands together, nodding happily. "You sound like such a great brother."

Minori hummed in response, expression somewhat unnerving. His unsteady expression only lasted for a millisecond, for he quickly hid it with a calm smile.

 _I wonder how Fūma and Suiko are doing…_

Minori turned to Sheina, breaking himself from his thought. "Are you going to be looking for decorations here then?"

"Mhm. This place has a lot of stuff." Sheina snickered. She then eyed Minori, then Fumio. A moment passed before her eyes widened. "Oh! I suppose I could get started with measurements now. I'm pretty sure I have a grasp on how this works. If not, well, let the Gods shine on me."

"Oh." Minori awkwardly smiled. "You want to take our measurements now?"

Sheina nodded. She grabbed ahold of a ragged notebook and studded pencil from the shelf. "Mhm, if that's fine with you. I'm pretty sure you don't have to take off your clothes, only your jacket and scarf at least."

"Yeah, I'm fine with that."

Sheina turned to Fumio. "How about you?"

"O-oh! Uh…" Fumio found himself taking a step back, face paling. His hands were up to his head, almost in a defensive stance. His expression was slightly that of fear. "I-I'm fine. I'm not comfortable with it, so, uh… I can measure myself and tell you."

The woman raised a brow. "Would you rather have me measure you without Minori seeing then?"

The scholar immediately shook his head. "No, it's not that. I'm just uncomfortable with the idea…"

The egyptologist was instantly worried, tilting her head. "Are you sure? Are you not comfortable with me measuring you? You could ask Kamui or Minori then."

"N-no, I'm fine." Fumio forced a small smile. "I'll measure myself."

Sheina was a bit disappointed, but nonetheless nodded her head. "That's fine. I can hand you the measuring tape later then." She turned to the pseudologist. "I'll take your measurements now. It shouldn't take that long, I hope. I know you and Fumio are busy."

"It's fine, it's fine." The pseudologist reassured the woman, smiling as he unwrapped his scarf and took off his coat. He handed them to Fumio who hugged the pieces of clothing, the warmth making him sleepy. Minori rolled his eyes as he noticed the scholar, then looking to Sheina. "Uh, height's first, right?"

Sheina tapped her chin with her pencil. "Yeah, doesn't matter which order it is. If anything, the Gods will guide me."

"Mhm."

Humming his approval, Minori made his way over to the corner, pinning himself against the wall. He made sure his two feet were right close to one another, heels right at the back.

The egyptologist smiled. She didn't advise him to readjust his position or stance, so Minori only assumed his current state was fine. He watched the woman silently as she began measuring him, the man stepping into the metal as she rolled the yellow tape up to the top of his head.

Her brows furrowed as she eyed the numbers on top. Murmuring the numerals under her lips, she brought down the roll of tape and quickly began jotting the information down.

Minori grabbed the roll of tape, twirling it around as he looked at the woman. "I think the wingspan is next?"

"Is it?" Sheina thought for a moment. Her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh! Right, I completely forgot about that."

Minori sighed.

The pseudologist wasn't sure how experienced the woman was in sewing, but he honestly couldn't judge. He wasn't someone who partook in sewing, and neither was Sheina. If anything, Suiko was the one who can sew.

Brushing his white locks of hair back, the pseudologist let out a breath of air. They had finished just recently, Sheina now focused on jotting down the last of the information. She scribbled with a whistle before turning to Minori.

"Thank you!" The woman cried, smiling widely. "The Gods are surely on your side."

"Mhm."

Minori glanced around the room for his clothes. He deadpanned as he realized that Fumio must've took it with him. The pseudologist eyed the door which was opened.

 _Seems like Fumio's already investigating._

The man made his way into the door, creaking it opened. Fumio whipped his head back, fear apparent on his face before it immediately changed to relief. The scholar was currently reading the documents from the shelves.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Minori awkwardly chuckled, slowly heading over to Fumio. "I see you're reading the files right now."

"Ah, here you go." Fumio handed back Minori's coat and scarf. "These documents make me feel uneasy… It doesn't sound like something Monokuma would do, at all. I wouldn't think that he'd document our trials, at least, not like this."

"Yeah, that's what I think." Minori frowned, buttoning up his coat. He could feel the fabric run against his skin kindly, fluffy and warm. "We suspect that Monokuma's allies are doing this. He always mentioned 'them', not himself nor the mastermind."

"Hm…" Fumio's expression hardened. "I would've countered that he could be doing that to be vague, but with how he words things related to himself and the 'higher entity', then also how these files are documented… I see your point now."

"Yeah." Minori held his breath, having adjusted the scarf around his neck. He almost melted in the warmth of his clothes, snuggling himself up. "Have you found anything suspicious in those files?"

Fumio stared at the documents. He switched through each page. Page after page, minutes passed before he slowly shook his head. "No… I don't see anything."

Minori didn't know why, but the sudden urge to suspect Fumio came to his head. It was biting at him almost eagerly, like a disease. "Are you sure?"

"Y-yes, I am." The scholar looked at Minori, however he quickly averted his gaze after a second. It wa obvious the shorter man was offended by the accusation. "Uh… Maybe there's something that was missed in the room though."

"Ah, right." Minori resorted to smiling, throwing out a warm chuckle. "Of course. Just wanted to see if you knew anything else that I could've missed in the documents."

 _What the hell. What's the use in pressing Fumio in this subject?_

The man inwardly sighed, forcing himself to steady. He wondered if something was wrong with him- no, he already knew that. He already knew that, and it was definitely someone's doing.

 _Although…_

Minori silently observed Fumio, the scholar placing back the documents on the shelves. He could see the uneasiness in the scholar's face. He could see it almost too clearly, clearer than he's ever seen a lie.

 _Fumio's lying about his mental state, for starters. Is there something else to this?_

The pseudologist frowned. A sudden conclusion ran through his head.

 _Is it similar to what happened to me? If so, then did he remember something? If not, then what?_

Minori continued to think to himself. A few questions were ringing inside of his head. A few, few questions that circled over his head, over and over and over again.

… _Or is it something like Seiga's case? Seiga's clearly avoiding us, and it definitely has something to do with his… Personality…_

 _Personality. It's definitely Monokuma's doing._

Minori held his breath. He looked at Fumio, suddenly crossing his arms. "Can I ask you something?"

The scholar jumped. "W-what?"

"What do you think?" Minori pointed a finger. "The possibility that Seiga's avoiding us not because he's mad, but because he doesn't want to hurt us?"

"Huh?" The scholar was unsteady. "Uh… Does this have to do with Monokuma?"

"That's my theory." The pseudologist nodded. "Seiga's constantly moody because of Monokuma and his allies. They are changing his personality."

"That… That does make sense." Fumio awkwardly murmured under his breath, "But wouldn't this make it difficult for him to open back up to us? If he's avoiding us for our sake…"

"I understand that, however I'm sure Sheina won't allow it."

Minori smiled softly.

"Seiga's not the type to let this get to him, at least for too long. I'm sure he'll open up to us."

"You sure?" Fumio worriedly cupped his hands, rubbing them. "I… I mean, I do want him to be fine, but we shouldn't persuade him if he doesn't want to. It might make him even more agitated."

"Possibly." The pseudologist sighed. "It's either one or the other. Sheina and the others are willing to risk that though, so I'm more than willing to help them."

That was a lie. Minori wasn't sure when he'd be able to even meet Seiga. The man was doing everything in his power to not speak to the pseudologist.

"Hopefully." Fumio smiled softly in return. "I want to see him with us…"

Minori read his expression. That was genuine.

"I agree," the white-haired man continued, walking over to the other side of the room. "I'm sure he wants to stop Monokuma as much as we do."

Fumio massaged his hands, idle. "Hopefully Sheina and the others can convince him."

"Mhm…You-"

The pseudologist stopped.

 _Why am I interrogating Fumio like this? He's not suspicious._

"Minori?"

Minori quickly rummaged through the area, however- like last time- he met emptiness. There was nothing special inside of the room. Nothing new, nothing of importance. There was nothing to note at all.

Fumio looked a bit worried, but hearing nothing from the pseudologist he began to investigate around the room as well. He searched to and fro, scanning each tiny area with concentration. Focused, yet his efforts were in vain. Unexpectedly, nothing was to be found.

"Well…" Minori turned to the man and smiled. He awkwardly scratched his head. "You didn't find anything, huh?"

"No…" Fumio sighed sadly. "Sorry."

"It's fine. If none of us found anything other than the documents yesterday, then it should've made sense that you wouldn't find anything." The pseudologist assured the scholar sweetly, trying to make his tone as soft as possible. "Don't fret about it. There might be more to find elsewhere anyways."

"Mhm…" The scholar nodded. "Like the printing room in the fourth floor."

"Ah, that and the computer in the third floor." Minori bit into his lips. "It must be connected to either Monokuma, or whoever he works with."

"Hm…" Fumio was uneasy. "I know there's a purpose in making us see these files, but I'm still not sure what."

"To make us uneasy, or to help us simply to provide them a challenge." Minori smirked dryly. "Entertainment is a huge factor to Monokuma, but I'm not sure if it's the same with his allies. I can't believe that they're messing up our personalities on accident."

"Maybe they are though. It's not like Monokuma needs a highly trained group…" The scholar gulped. "Maybe Monokuma is saying that on purpose to throw us off?"

"Yeah, that's a possibility." The pseudologist sighed, kicking nothing but thin air. He leaned against the wall idly. "We won't know for sure. We have to investigate further. We don't have enough evidence. Well, we have more than before, but not enough to be conclusive."

Fumio sighed. "All we know is that our personalities are being altered, and what is found in the fourth floor and this room."

Minori looked down at his feet, wondering what to say. He had nothing in mind, and so he went with a simple, "Yeah."

Fumio bit into his lips, hesitantly watching the pseudologist. "Uh… Are you planning to check the fourth floor again?"

"Probably." Minori tapped his foot on the ground. Tap. Tap. Tap. It was in a rhythm. "I'm not sure if there's going to be anything new, but it's always good to check. Are you planning to investigate?"

"I will." Fumio nodded his head. "I want to make sure we didn't miss anything."

"Good point." The pseudologist hummed. "Maybe we should check the other floors again in that case, especially the third one."

The scholar tilted his head. "Maybe there's something in the storage room?"

"Hm, maybe." Minori smiled softly, pleased with the idea. "We should tell Kamui and the others to help investigate as well then, although I'm sure everyone has an idea of where specifically to investigate."

"Kamui and Saori are busy now too," Fumio mused. "They're taking the leader roles right now."

"Of course we can help them. They don't have to be our crutches." Minori stood back straight, walking over to the door. "Are you going to investigate now? I'm thinking of looking for the others to see how they're doing."

"Mhm." Fumio himself made his way over to the door, close to Minori. "I'm going to investigate the third and fourth floors now. I don't want to waste time."

"Alright." Minori smiled. "I'll see you soon then."

Fumio smiled back. If anything, he was overjoyed from those casual, friendly words. "Yes, you too."

With that settled, Minori and Fumio walked their separate ways. Fumio left to investigate, moving up the stairs. Minori himself knew he should investigate, however his investigation solely relied on how the others are doing and their mental state.

 _We do have to make sure we're fine. I don't want to see anyone stressed out so much._

Minori took a few mental notes in his head as he walked into the hallways.

Fumio was definitely healthy and fine. He wasn't sick nor pale, however the white-haired man did take note that the poor scholar seemed to be hiding something. Whether it was his health or his own mental shifts, Minori didn't know. He'd have to read Fumio, then slowly make his way into asking him. He didn't want to scare or lose the man, after all.

Or maybe Minori was afraid of losing Fumio himself? He didn't know.

Minori had already seen Sheina. She seemed bouncy and energetic as he had first saw her, albeit toned down and more 'normal'. She was excited to raise the moods of others, and the pseudologist was simply happy that someone was willing to host an entire party for one person.

That led Minori's thoughts to run into Seiga. The pseudologist wasn't sure how the stunt double was doing. He wanted to help Seiga, but at the same time he didn't. He wanted to appease to his own worries, but at the same time he wanted to appease to Seiga's. He didn't know if Seiga would appreciate such a gesture from the group, and so Minori was left somewhat conflicted.

Minori sighed as he walked further down the hallways. He allowed his train of thoughts to move him, and soon the man found himself walking into the laundry room.

Door opening, the man found himself staring at Saori. The woman was currently washing a plentiful amount of clothes, the pieces of cloth moving around and around in the washing machine. She was watching the process with an indifferent face, kicking her legs out in her seat.

"Hello," Minori began, moving over to Saori's sight, "You're washing clothes right now, I assume?"

Saori eyed the man, nodding her head. "I am. I'm currently washing the girls' clothes right now."

"Oh!" Minori's eyes widened. He immediately noticed the bag of clothes to the side- the plentiful amount of male clothing. "You're washing everyone's clothes, Saori?"

"I am." Saori let out a small smile, pleased. "I figured it's a way for me to not only distract myself from all this stress, but as a way to show my gratitude to you all."

The pseudologist was curious. "Gratitude?"

"Yes, that's right." The woman chuckled softly. "I wouldn't know where I'd be without you and the others always trying to lift the others off of their feet. I really do appreciate what all of us are doing right now. Even going so far as to teach out to Seiga, even when he doesn't want to reach back to us… I really do appreciate what we're doing."

Minori smiled, touched by what the woman said. He took a seat down. "How are you doing so far?"

"I'm well." Saori cupped her hands together. "I'm going to help Sheina out after this and then cook with Kamui, so I suppose you can call this my break time."

Minori chuckled. "Do you need any help?"

"No, I'm fine," the woman calmly spoke. "I might rest straight after eating dinner with everyone though. My head hurts a bit."

The white-haired man frowned, eyebrows burrowed. "Do you need medicine?"

"I'm fine." Saori sighed, pulling back her locks of dark brown hair. Her locks slightly swayed back and forth down her shoulders. "I'll rest afterwards."

Minori nodded. "Certainly. I don't want to see you tired."

"I just need enough sleep, and then I should be fine for the next day." Saori then turned to the man. "So, what're you doing here?"

"Ah." Minori awkwardly smiled. "I'm just checking up on everyone. I want to make sure you guys are fine and well-rested."

"Hm, I see. How thoughtful of you." Saori thought for a moment. The sound of the washing machine working continued to echo throughout the room. "Do you want to talk for a bit?"

The pseudologist perked his head up. "Sure, I don't mind. It's a good way for us to relieve ourselves of stress for a bit."

Saori chuckled. "That was my intent."

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Saori?**

 _ **You already said yes, moron!**_ / Nah, let's not.

* * *

 **Minori:** So, Saori, I want to know a bit more about you.

 **Saori:** Ah, yes. We haven't really talked to each other as much as we have talked to others, unfortunately.

 **Minori:** Mhm, but better now than never, correct?

 **Saori:** Of course. What did you want to know?

 **Minori:** Hm… Well, I suppose, for starters, what are your hobbies?

 **Saori:** Hobbies?

 **Minori:** Well, it's a good conversation starter though.

 **Saori:** It is.

 **Saori:** Hm… Well, traveling is a beloved hobby of mine.

 **Minori:** Oh! You like to travel? Have you been to many places then?

 **Saori:** Ah, that. Yes, you could put it that way. I have.

 **Minori:** … _She's hiding something. I shouldn't pry much into it though. I might intrude._

 **Minori:** Interesting. I never had the opportunity to travel much. My siblings and I do prefer to run outdoors and walk around the neighborhood, but we never had the time to actually travel. I'm jealous of you, in a way.

 **Saori:** Really? You shouldn't be. I'm sure you and your family will be able to travel in the future. I suppose you were all caught up in some business.

 **Minori:** Mhm…

 **Minori:** Well, what else do you like? Other than traveling, that is.

 **Saori:** Hm, well… I do like to play the guitar.

 **Minori:** Oh, wow! Really?! That's so cool!

 **Saori:** Y-you seem really pleased to hear that.

 **Minori:** I do?

 **Minori:** O-oh! Yes, silly me. I really do want to learn how to play musical instruments, but I never had the time to, so hearing you say that you can play the guitar made me happy for me.

 **Saori:** I see. I'm sure I'm not that good at it though.

 **Minori:** Are you sure? Maybe you can play a song for me.

 **Saori:** Aren't you sneaky. You just want to see me play for yourself.

 **Minori:** Well, I can't lie about that. I'm certain you're good at playing the guitar. At least better than me.

 **Saori:** You really do seem to be more devoted to musical instruments.

 **Saori:** Hm… I suppose I could play a song for you. We do have the music room in the third floor.

 **Minori:** We can push that aside though. I'm sure you're busy right now.

 **Saori:** Ah, most certainly. I can play you something the next time we meet.

 **Minori:** Mhm. I'm fine with that.

 **Saori:** Alright, then we'll do this next time.

 **Minori:** That's great! I can't wait.

* * *

 **Saori Arai's Profile Card 1/1**

 **Note:** Saori has a few hobbies such as traveling and playing the guitar. She seems to be hiding something that pertains to her hobby for traveling, however she and Minori planned to have her play the guitar the next time they meet.

* * *

With the duo having finished their conversation, Minori stood up from his seat. He figured that the woman didn't want to be bothered much, hearing the washing machine whir in its completion.

"I'll look for the others," the pseudologist said, eyeing Saori who walked over to the machine. "I'll see you soon."

Saori smiled, slowly nodding her head. "Same to you then."

Content with what he had spoke about with the woman, the man left the room. He made a mental note about his plans with Saori for next time, then continuing his search around the school.

Minori searched around the first floor. There seemed to be nobody in the area, only noting Sheina who was busy setting up the sewing machine and Saori, the one he had talked to previously. He frowned, concluding that everyone else was in the upper floors.

He walked up to the second floor. He noticed the gymnasium, biting into his lips. He wondered if anyone would even bother to try roaming inside again, beautifully polished or not.

The pseudologist continued around. He looked into the cafe, finding Kaniza and Rin. The jeweler seemed to be speaking to the astrophotographer, a bit embarrassed as Kaniza slowly nodded her head. From the looks of things, it seemed like Rin's continuing to try mending her relationship with the woman. Kaniza seemed more than happy to oblige to her attempts too, the raven smiling as Rin continued to speak.

 _Hm… I'll let them be for now._

Minori silently passed through the area, making certain that they wouldn't catch him in the spot. He made his way down the hallways and searched quickly from door to door.

He entered into the swimming pool. He shuddered to himself as he slowly looked around the area. There was nobody to be seen.

A sigh. Minori closed the door back, his heartbeat slowly becoming normal again. He hated how anxious he felt when he entered into the swimming pool. He hated it as much as he hated how strange his mind was behaving, if not more. He just hated how he felt like he wasn't 'himself'.

Or maybe he was 'himself' and he's throwing all the blame onto Monokuma. Maybe he was under the confirmation bias that Monokuma was in fault of everything, and so Minori's behavior right now can be justified by saying that Monokuma was at fault.

The pseudologist bit into his lips, shaking his head. He silently walked to the third floor.

As always, the floor looked as eerie as ever. The dim-lighted hallways did nothing to soothe Minori, and remembering what had just happened in the area recently made him shiver.

He continued his search for the other Ultimates, looking around each room for anything special in particular.

There wasn't anything special, however Minori did make his way into the room that held the computer. He wanted to make sure he didn't miss anything.

The computer was silent, blank. There was nothing to be seen in the area. Even when Minori had touched the screen and keyboard multiple times, nothing was working.

 _How was this activated then? Is Monokuma running something on this that forbids anyone else from freely using this?_

Minori didn't know, but he was unable to do anything now and walked outside of the room.

"Ouch!"

Minori ended up bumping into somebody. He stumbled back as he tried to comprehend what just happened, eyes then widening as he noticed Sagiso who was on the ground.

"Shit." Minori quickly bent down to Sagiso, the psychogeographer rubbing her forehead. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Sagiso continued to rub her forehead. Her eyes were directed to her cast though as she followed Minori's gaze. She frowned and reached over to pinch his nose. "I'm fine. There's a reason why I fell backwards and I'm not kneeling instead."

"I guess…" The pseudologist sniffed. "Why're you up here?"

"To investigate." Sagiso smiled playfully. "I was able to get up here myself. It took a while, but I did it."

Minori sighed. "Geez, as long as you're not hurt."

"I'm already hurt." Sagiso pointed to her cast, but shoved it aside as Minori helped her up. She hummed to herself as she immediately stared at the man, teasing him. "What're you doing?"

"Just checking everyone," Minori answered. "I wanted to make sure everyone's fine."

"That's sweet of you. I was planning on doing that after my investigation." The woman chuckled. "Everyone's doing well so far, correct?"

"They do. Everyone's working hard." The pseudologist smiled. "Have you found anything special yet?"

Sagiso shook her head. "Nothing in particular. I'm still trying to reason why we have been captured in the first place though."

"Why?" Minori frowned. "That's because we're Ultimates."

"True." The woman sighed. She adjusted her position, the grip on her crutches changing slightly. "I'm just wondering if Monokuma captured all of us for a specific reason, or if he chose us out of random."

Minori crossed his arms, pondering. "Well… Most likely randomly. I don't see a similarity between all of us… At least, I myself don't see one."

"I talked to Kamui about this earlier since he was in this floor when I came up." Sagiso pursed her lips. "He said that either possibilities work. If we don't remember anything about what happened to us, then there's a likely possibility that Monokuma doesn't want us to know why we were kidnapped."

The pseudologist raised a brow. "Or it's just for him to make sure we wouldn't have a clue to where exactly we are."

"That is a possibility." The psychogeographer smiled. "We'd have to find more clues. A shame that investigating into this entire mess is difficult."

The man groaned. "Yeah."

Sagiso nodded. "Anyways, I'll stay here to investigate a bit more. You're going to talk to the others, right?"

Minori chuckled. "I will. I'll be heading up, so if you need help going back, then just call for me."

"Like I need it. You should call for me if you need help with anything," the woman playfully snorted, rolling her eyes. Her playfulness disappeared after a second, her smile now relaxed and genuine. "Good luck."

Minori smiled back in return, waving to her before leaving. He walked straight upstairs and into the next floor.

The same sterile look, the same eerie atmosphere, the same polished smell- everything looked the same as always.

Well, almost entirely. If it weren't for the familiar figure at the end of the hallways, everything looked the same.

"Kamui?" Minori called out, noticing the man's long, black hair and unbuttoned jacket. He couldn't call his name out completely confidently though, the man's posture bent over. The pseudologist quickly ran over to the man's side.

The mortician was now in full view, Minori grabbing ahold of his shoulders and turning him towards him. "Oh." Kamui's eyes widened. "Minori."

"Are you alright?" The pseudologist asked. He instantly noticed the pale color on the brown-eyed man's face.

"I'm fine. My head was hurting a while ago." Kamui sighed, slowly standing up straight. "It's fine now."

Minori's stomach began to grow queasy, heart aching without reason. "Are… Are you sure?"

"Please don't worry about that." Kamui laughed. "You tend to worry about people a lot. I do admire how you and the others constantly care for one another, but I assure you that we can all take care of ourselves."

"Right…"

 _But if I think about it… Isn't something off with how most of us have been acting as of yet? It wasn't like last time when our moods were coming out of nowhere. No one has been acting too strangely other than Seiga so far… If our personalities are being altered right now, then does this have to do with our heads hurting?_

… _No, that can't be it. Fumio fainted and is still the same, albeit lying about something. I'm not sure about Seiga, but Saori hasn't changed at all and Kamui looks the same right now…_

 _And I'm-_

Minori inwardly frowned, having immediately shook his head. He didn't know, but he couldn't bother to waste time. At the moment, he was supposed to be focusing on his own mission. "Anyways, Kamui, how are you? What are you doing right now?"

"I'm assuming you're checking on everyone." Kamui smiled kindly. "I am doing fine. I am looking around the floor for any clues, just like the rest of us. I haven't found anything in particular that was suspicious, however I have talked to Sagiso about our current location."

"Ah, right. She told me about that."

"Did she now?" The man turned to gaze at Minori. "We should talk about this with the others. I believe it is important for us to figure out why Monokuma chose us and how much of our minds are being altered and changed. We do not remember anything other than our backstories and our current selves, and that is worrying. There is a gap in between our background and the present. There is nothing that we remembered centering around Monokuma or anyone akin to his hostility."

"True. I don't recall anyone who stands at that bastard's level." The pseudologist tapped his chin. He observed Kamui who smiled softly, inwardly noting the mortician's stress in his eyes. "Ahem. Well, we can talk about this later. Let's talk for a bit. I know you must be tired right now."

"Hm…" Kamui watched Minori for a moment, then sighing. "You have a point. We never really talked much about the 'trivial' topics."

"See?" Minori pointed at the mortician, playfully grinning. "Exactly my point!"

Kamui and Minori moved over to the couches, the duo taking their seats. Minori adjusted his seat comfortably as he looked to the side, eyeing Kamui who smiled sheepishly at him.

"So…" The mortician coughed. "Shall we start?"

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Kamui?**

 _ **Yes, because Kamui's the best!**_ / No, let's not, alright?

* * *

Minori chuckled. "Of course!"

 **Minori:** So, Kamui, we should get to know each other a little bit more. We talked a bit about your talent and values, but I want to know more about you overall.

 **Kamui:** Overall? I'm assuming you want to learn about my individual interests.

 **Minori:** Mhm, that's right. Do you have any particular interests or hobbies?

 **Kamui:** Well, I do love performing funeral services.

 **Minori:** Uh, other than that.

 **Kamui:** Oh.

 **Kamui:** Other than that, I do quite enjoy reading and writing.

 **Minori:** Oh, writing? Interesting! So you write.

 **Kamui:** It's nothing special though.

 **Minori:** Aw, don't be like that! Not everyone can write as a hobby. It takes time and effort, nonetheless a lot of planning and creativity. So, what do you write? I'm curious.

 **Kamui:** It's nothing to brag about. Merely the ideas that an amateur author would have. I like to put my ideas down on paper, that's all.

 **Minori:** Mhm, but I still find it a special talent that cannot describe everyone in general. Writing takes a lot of work.

 **Kamui:** It does, and that is why I prefer to read books instead.

 **Minori:** What sort of books do you like to read then? Do you have any preference?

 **Kamui:** Well, I do prefer to read fantasy books. The horror genre is not something I am very much keen with.

 **Minori:** Interesting. Despite being someone who associates themselves with the dead, you seem very sensitive to the horrors that the human mind can come up with. You're more 'cuter' than people would've expected you to be, I bet.

 **Kamui:** M-Minori!

 **Minori:** I was only joking. I can't stereotype people and consider that to completely be their personality and character. I know you're much more than a man who loves to connect with the dead.

 **Minori:** Hm… although fantasy stories… Oh! I'm assuming you like writing fantasies then.

 **Kamui:** Ah, w-well… Yes, that is correct.

 **Minori:** I knew it. You should show me one of your stories- uh, of course, if you are alright with it, Kamui.

 **Kamui:** Hm, possibly. We would have to get out of here though.

 **Minori:** Yes, of course. Hopefully.

* * *

 **Kamui Setsushi's Profile Card: 2/2**

 **Note:** Kamui's hobbies include reading and writing stories. He dislikes horror and loves fantasy, which does lead into his liking to write in the fantasy genre.

* * *

"That was a pleasant conversation," Kamui began, smiling. He stretched his arms out, bending his back over. "I feel less stressed now. My head doesn't seem to hurt anymore. I can't feel anything."

"Having an idle conversation or distraction always help relieve stress, if not at least a little." Minori chuckled. "I'm glad you're fine."

The mortician smiled in return. "Mhm. I quite enjoyed our conversation."

Minori nodded. "Of course, I enjoyed it as well. Now you can continue investigating with a fresh state of mind, right?"

"Yes, that's true." Kamui chuckled. "Thank you. I'll investigate the area for a second time. You can go ahead. I assume you still want to check on the others anyways, correct?"

Minori smiled happily. "Yes, I'll see you later."

The mortician waved to the pseudologist before leaving, Minori left to his lonesome. The pseudologist waited for a moment, calming himself down before making his way back downstairs. Step by step, he walked down each step and noticed Fumio. The man was talking to Sagiso, however their voices were hushed and almost worryingly toned.

 _Strange._

Minori was silent, stopping in his tracks. He stayed still in order to not distract the duo, silently listening to their conversation- or, well, what he can hear.

"... no, but if so…"

"But if… then… anything, right?"

"... believe so. So… trust…?"

"I do. He's… that."

"... true."

Fumio and Sagiso finished their discussion without fail, their expressions filled in a mixture of confidence and doubt. One emotion overwhelmed the other and then the other overwhelmed that one- it was a never ending cycle.

Fumio walked over to the side, sighing. He could feel Sagiso's gaze upon him. "I'm sure it'll be fine," he said, his voice suddenly louder. "We'll figure something out."

"I know that." Sagiso has replied when Minori slowly creeped down the stairs. She was unable to see him, her attention focused on the scholar. "I'm just worried."

Fumio sighed. "Yeah…"

The conversation having completely ended, Minori walked down into their line of sight.

"Hey there," the pseudologist began, smiling sweetly, "You're done investigating, Fumio?"

"Oh!" Fumio almost jumped at the man's presence. "Yes, I'm done. I was going to go down to rest before meeting Sagiso."

Sagiso nodded her head. "That's right. You talked to Kamui?"

"Mhm." The white-haired man chuckled. "He seems fine. We talked for a bit. He's still investigating right now though."

The psychogeographer smiled. "He's hardworking. I admire that."

"I know right?" Minori chuckled. "We all are though. I know we don't want to be stuck here with Monokuma forever, losing people."

"Of course not." Sagiso nodded slowly.

"So…" Fumio eyed the pseudologist cautiously. "Are you going to go back down?"

"Mhm." Minori turned to Fumio. "I'm probably going to help Saori out today with dinner. She's doing a lot, so I think she and Kamui would want that."

"That's sweet of you." The auburn-haired woman chuckled. "I'm sure Kamui and Saori will appreciate the help."

The pseudologist scratched his head, softly sighing. "Yeah, especially since Saori's busy helping Sheina and washing our clothes, and Kamui's investigating still."

"Aw, they're too sweet." Sagiso's expression became more melancholic. "If I wasn't injured, I'd be able to help them more."

"It's fine though." Minori smiled. "You're already doing a lot for us."

"I agree." Fumio smiled as well, small and softly. "Are you going to head down now, Sagiso?"

"Ah, yes." The psychogeographer eyed her crutches. "I suppose so. I have nothing else to do here anyways."

"Right." Minori moved closer to the woman. "Do you need help down?"

"No, I'm fine!" Sagiso giggled. "Don't worry about me."

Minori chuckled playfully. "Alright then. Let's go."

Minori gestured Fumio to walk in front, the pseudologist then behind Sagiso who began her way down the floors and into the staircases. Slowly and cautiously were the trio able to reach their destination, finally hitting the ground of the first floor within minutes.

"Oh, hey!"

Sheina had a bundle of party supplies in her hands. Kaniza and Rin were behind her, holding their own bundles as well.

"We're decorating the auditorium right now," Rin said, speaking clearly and without hesitation. She was carrying a bag of balloons in her hands. "We just made a detour to fetch ourselves a snack before continuing to decorate."

"Mhm." Kaniza smiled awkwardly at Minori's group. "Uh, it'll take a while to finish the decorations and set up the music. The radio and CDs Sheina found in the lottery room were working fine too, so we have a lot to choose from!"

"Now all we have to do is convince our guest, Seiga…" Sheina frowned, cupping and rubbing her chin. "Hm, how should we do this?"

Fumio gulped. His face was slightly pale at the mention of Seiga's name. "Uh… M-maybe I can go persuade him?"

"I don't think Seiga will be convinced by you," Rin said, frowning. "He was the one who was adamant on throwing shade at you, and even Minori."

Minori glanced over to Fumio, reading his expression.

' _Better now than never though.'_

Minori inwardly sighed. He figured that the scholar would be stubborn enough to pursue Seiga regardless of his rejections. The pseudologist himself had felt that way, but his mind was in conflict- Fumio's wasn't.

"I think it's better if I go with Fumio and help him persuade Seiga regardless."

Kaniza's eyes widened. "M-Minnie! Are you sure? Seiga's…"

"I know that. I wanted to leave him alone, but, well…" Minori forced a confident smile. "I'm sure Seiga wants to be with us no matter what. There's a reason he's been avoiding us, and I know if it was about his dislike for Fumio and I then he wouldn't be avoiding us. He's the type of person who stick to his opinions openly and without fail."

"E-exactly." Fumio nodded his head rapidly. "There's something wrong with him. I-I don't think he's avoiding us because he hates us…"

"I mean…" Kaniza worriedly eyed the scholar. "Are you sure? I can't stop you, but, uh, he does dislike you…"

"Don't worry about that." Minori smiled. "I'm sure Seiga doesn't mean harm."

"You're too optimistic." Rin sighed, scratching her head. "I can't complain since we have to confront Seiga sooner or later, but… Please be cautious about him."

"I know."

 _I already know that. Seiga told me to leave him alone, and I wanted to heed his words. I'm going against that now, and I have to face the consequences of it._

Minori glanced over to Sagiso. "You're fine with this, right?"

"You don't need my permission," Sagiso answered, smiling. It was obvious, however, that she was hesitant in her reply. "I can't stop you. Just please be careful, like what Rin said."

The pseudologist slowly nodded his head. "Mhm." He turned to Fumio. "Let's go."

Sheina cupped her hands. "Thanks. If it doesn't work, then just tell me. I'll try convincing him if you two couldn't."

"Yeah, I know." Minori turned to the woman. "If you're see or are going to meet Saori or Kamui, can you please tell them that I'll be there? I want to help them out later. I'm sure talking to Seiga won't take long, but just a heads up."

The egyptologist smiled. "Uhuh! Of course."

"Oh, that's good." Kaniza nodded excitedly. "I-I'm going to help Saori and Kamui out as well. I'm feeling a bit better."

Rin sighed. "Maybe we should all take turns cooking? Okay, except for Seiga and Sagiso… self-explanatory."

"Sorry." Sagiso was saddened.

"I'm not dissing you," the jeweler said, smiling awkwardly. "It's fine. You and Kaniza were usually the ones who cooked our food."

"Y-Yeah, I'm going to continue that." Kaniza clapped her hands together. "As long as I make everyone happy, then we should be good! Right, Rin?"

"Just because we reconciled you're already like this?" Rin rolled her eyes, albeit playfully. "Sheesh…"

"Don't be like that!" Sheina grinned at the woman. "You should be happy about that. If we weren't so sweet like the Gods created us to be then we wouldn't have been so accepting of you being a jewelry thief."

"Ah, yeah." Rin awkwardly scratched her head. "Thank you for that."

"There's nothing wrong with being a thief." Kaniza smiled softly. "Nezumi was a thief, and he was never someone with bad intentions. He wouldn't have done what he did if he was someone bad. You're the same, Rin. You're kind and sweet just like everyone else."

"Exactly." Sagiso adjusted her position, making sure to face the jeweler. "I don't see why Monokuma would try to villainize you."

"He wants 'entertainment'." Rin sighed. "He loves to dramatize everything."

"Well… That doesn't matter." Sheina laughed, holding her chin up high. "What matters is that we're going to bring him down!"

Sagiso smiled. "Of course."

"Glad to see you all are fine." Minori chuckled, then turning to Fumio. "Alright, let's go now."

Fumio nodded and followed Minori down the hallways. The duo made their way towards the dormitories, slowly stopping in front of the stunt double's door. Silence loomed throughout the area. Minori shared a glance with Fumio.

 _Well… here goes nothing._

Minori knocked on the door.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Now, he waited.

A few seconds passed. There was no response.

"Shit." Minori cussed underneath his breath. "He doesn't want to open it."

Fumio shook his head. "Maybe if we bothered him long enough he'll open?"

Minori smiled. The idea had crossed his head, but he honestly felt bad for annoying Seiga. "Good idea."

He brought his fist to the door, and continued to pound on it.

A few more seconds passed. A few seconds turned into a few minutes.

Minori sighed inwardly to himself. He could feel his knuckles burning from pounding on the door. He wondered if he should quit sooner or later, but-

-the door opened.

The door was opened slightly, but it was nonetheless opened. "What? You've never been this nosy before- Oh."

In front of Minori and Fumio was Seiga. As expected, the stunt double looked irritated, brows furrowed and nose wrinkled. He was glaring at the duo, expression clearly stating his want to be left alone.

"Uh, h-hello!" Fumio was the first to respond, bowing his head. "Y-You actually opened the door."

Minori quickly followed suit. "Ahem. It is nice to see you again."

Seiga stayed from inside the room, only his eyes peeking out. "What do you two need? I'm busy."

"Uh…" The pseudologist awkwardly scratches his head. "Well, I was wondering if you heard of what Sheina's been planning."

"What does that have to do with me?" Seiga frowned. "Fuck off. I told you guys that I shouldn't be near you."

"Why?" Fumio clutched his hands. He worriedly looked up at the man. "It's not because you hate us, right?"

"W-what? No, fuck no." The stunt double looked stunned at this claim, slightly pale. His fingers curled tightly around the door. "I'm not that fucking petty. I just want to be left alone. If I did hate you, then I wouldn't be hiding right now."

Fumio gulped. "Y-yes, I see…"

Seiga sighed. "Just leave me alone. I told you I didn't want to be near you."

"Wait." Minori quickly grabbed ahold of the door, forcing Seiga to keep still. "Just listen to what Sheina's planning."

"Why…?" Seiga bit into his lips. "Minori, just fuck off. I'm not-"

"I know you're doing this because you feel like you're going to hurt us." Minori noticed the stunt double freezing in place. "We're not that weak that what you say will hurt us, so just please stay here for a minute and listen to us, alright? I was adamant on leaving you alone, but… I think what Sheina's planning will help you out."

"... What is she even planning?" Seiga asked, soft. "The hell are you talking about?"

The pseudologist smiled awkwardly. "We're going to host a ballroom party. You're supposed to be our guest of honor."

"Huh?" Seiga's eyes widened. "What?"

"Sheina planned this to lift your spirits our spirits up. It's mainly for you though." Minori crossed his arms. "We want you to be there when it starts."

"Why?" The man was shocked. "No way. There's no way I can go."

"Why not?" Minori frowned, eyeing Seiga cautiously. "You're not going to hurt us. We're not going to ostracize you either. We know that what you say is not going to hurt us in the slightest."

The stunt double bit into his lips. He averted his gaze, eyes glistening in pain. Minori could even see the man's bandaged hand scratching at the back around his neck- a stance that detailed his anxious state.

Minori shook his head. "Put it this way. Is there anything else that can harm us more than Monokuma? He's a much more bigger threat than you. If we can fight against Monokuma, then we can stand next to you."

"But…" Seiga narrowed his eyes. "That's…"

"Seiga." Fumio suddenly grabbed ahold of the door. "It's only one day. Please… We don't like seeing you like this."

The stunt double shook his head, realizing that the scholar was eyeing his hand. He quickly hid it from sight and dryly laughed. "You're only doing this because you pity me. Don't treat me like I'm fucking pathetic. I know you don't want to see me in all honesty, and I can't blame you-"

"No, that's not it!"

Seiga was shut into silence.

"I-I mean…" Fumio gulped, turning away. "You're a friend… No matter what you do, y-you're still someone precious to us. It's obvious that you're only hiding because you think of us the same way."

Seiga was silent, leading the scholar to continue. "You think of us as friends, and we think of you in the same manner. That's why it worries us when you suddenly closed yourself from us. It's… That's not right."

The stunt double averted his gaze. "You don't even know me that well."

"I-I at least know you well enough to know that it is likely Monokuma's messing with you."

Seiga was still, unable to counter the man. He closed his eyes before slowly speaking, "Yeah, and you think a party will help me?"

"I-it can lift your spirits." Fumio pursed his lips. "Please, I'm sure it'll help you."

"... You're so adamant on inviting such a goddamn person like me." The stunt double wryly smiled. He looked towards Minori. "I might if everyone's alright with it."

"O-oh!" Minori's eyes widened. "Really?"

Seiga scoffed. "It's a maybe, not a yes."

"Better than a no though!" Minori smiled widely. He clapped his hands together. "Great, then I'll tell Sheina and the others."

Fumio smiled sweetly. "I'll see you there soon then."

"Mhm… Sure then."

Nothing else to be said, Seiga slowly closed the door shut. A click was heard.

Minori quickly turned to Fumio, pleased with the results. "That went better than I expected."

"I-it did, huh?" Fumio nodded in response. "Hopefully he'll be at the party though."

"Most likely he will." The pseudologist chuckled. "I'm sure Sheina or the others will knock on his door when the time comes."

The scholar couldn't help but laugh. "Poor Seiga then."

"Alright, you should take a rest." Minori gestured Fumio to the door. "I'm going to head over to the dining hall early to help Saori and the others."

"Oh yeah. I forgot." Fumio awkwardly smiled. "I should rest for a bit. I'll see you then."

Minori and Fumio made their separate ways, and the pseudologist happily walked over towards the dining hall.

As expected, Saori and Kamui were inside of the kitchen. Kaniza was inside as well, helping the duo out with an excited smile. The trio all noticed Minori heading their way, and they greeted him warmly.

"Oh, why're you here?" Kamui asked, curious. "Do you need something?"

Minori laughed. "No, no. I'm here to help."

"Oh!" Kamui blushed, covering his mouth. "Please excuse me if I sounded rude!"

The pseudologist rolled his eyes. "You're fine."

And like the man had said, he helped Saori and the others cook dinner. The group told Minori what they would be making. From Hawaiian-styled barbeque to tonkotsu ramen to stir-fried vegetables, everyone worked hard to make the food. Ingredients were put into place to place, and within hours everything had been cooked.

Soon afterwards was dinner. Everyone happily reported (unfortunately, Seiga was the exception) and thanked the chefs. As always, everyone ate into their food and did their own thing, talking happily and reporting their findings.

Their findings were small to nothing. Only mere questions were brought up and possible answers to be said.

The only good piece of news that was brought were Seiga's words. Sheina was ecstatic over learning that the stunt double might come, and everyone else were more than happy to just hear that Seiga actually took the time to talk to Minori and Fumio. It was a piece of news that brightened the atmosphere. Small news that doesn't compare to escape or the destruction of Monokuma, but big enough to turn the Ultimates' frowns upside down.

Nonetheless, everyone was still serious about what was happening. Conversations were delightful and relaxed. Everyone was happy for Seiga, but other than that- what else is there to talk about other than escape and freedom?

Minori sipped slowly into the broth of his ramen. He listened silently to everyone around him.

Sheina told everyone about her progress. She seemed to have everyone's measurements, or, well, at least most of it. She would have to come up with the suits and dresses, and Saori easily accepted the offer to help her.

Kamui and Sagiso told the group about what they discussed beforehand. Everyone wasn't sure on what to think. What exactly was Monokuma planning? No one was sure, and like the duo said, they would have to look for more information.

Overall, what had been talked about was mainly on how escape can be possible, Monokuma's motives, etc.

How exactly will they do things? They weren't sure, but they have to do it. They can't falter now. They have to continue investigating and speculating.

Minori looked down at his bowl, having realized that he finished sipping into the broth.

Empty.

He wondered. If he was able to fill this bowl with word vomit and emotions, continuing to speak and speak and throw those words into the bowl, maybe he'd hit the lottery ticket and be able to come to an epiphany on what exactly is happening around him.

* * *

... And that's the end of this part! Things will get more exciting once the actual death comes out because, well, don't we love some good ol' murder and trial? We're getting closer and closer there, so don't worry! It won't take long...

Anyways, I have posted up my poll on my profile about who you think will die in this chapter! Please do vote on their if you want~

Also, last thing! Time for me to advertise! Please go check out Lupus Overkill's SYOC story called **Danganronpa: Back and Forth**! They are accepting characters as of this moment and are a really good writer, I assure you! Also, if you haven't already, please go check out TheRoseShadow21's new SYOC story which is called **And So It Begins**! They're a really good writer and are open for submission!

That's all I have for now, so goodbye! Until the next part!


	35. Chapter 4 - Part 1, Part D

Hello, and I am back with another Disparity chapter! I hope I didn't keep you all waiting~ We're nearing closer and closer to death, after all.

 **liammarklh88:** "Aww, thanks! Everyone will flip if Fumio is in danger, I bet. Shall you hope for Sheina's death then, haha. Glad you liked their relationship. They'll be great friends~ Hehe, I wonder how much Saori is hiding. Kamui is all of us, haha. The ship is still strong I see. Poor Seiga! I will kill them all. Aww, thanks."

 **Ziggymia123:** "Yes, yes. Yes, I wonder what that conversation was about~ I believe in you, Zigs. You can do it! Haha, well, let's see what happens. Murder will come sooner or later anyways. Thank you!"

 **ToonGuy:** "Yeah! Let's see if Minori's overanalyzing or not XD Don't worry, more drama will come soon. Pfft, nice. Saori is our talented girl~ Keke, let's see. Aw, glad you like Kamui! Let's pray for the future! Thanks!"

 **TheLlamaLord:** "Definitely they're hiding something. Hm, that's an interesting theory, definitely. I do wonder about that too. Well, we would never know until we get to that point."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "It will be so cute! Pfft, let's give Seiga a fairy godmother then! Yes, of course~"

 **FruitlessKitty74:** "Haha, every character in any murder mystery should know that! Interesting ideas and thoughts, let us see if you're right when the murder comes."

* * *

As always, and as routinely as ever, the morning announcement sounded off.

"Morning! It's a bright day outside- Wait, you can't go outside. Uh… Shit, disregard what I said! Just have a good morning!"

Monokuma sounded like he cared, but Minori knew the bear did that on purpose. He wanted to annoy the Ultimates, after all, and what better way to torture them than to remind them of the outside world?

 _Monster._

Minori grimaced at the thought of Monokuma, looking at his reflection. He noticed there the eye bags that were underneath his eyes- they weren't detailed and dark, but they weren't too subtle either. These eye bags of his came from the amount of work he had done yesterday- he knew that. He didn't expect to look so tired just from one day's continuous stress of hard work, but he knew now. He slept and woke up the same time too.

 _Oh well… They'll go away in a day or so, hopefully._

Buttons were buttoned one by one, and soon Minori had wore his coat. He looked over to the side and grabbed ahold of his scarf, wrapping it around him. He was about to slightly tightened its grip around him when-

Knock! Knock! Knock!

There was a knocking on the door.

Minori quickly threw the scarf's flaps wherever seemed most fit, rushing over to open the door. He turned the knob slightly, the door creaking as it opened.

"Oh!" The pseudologist's lips curved into a smile. "Sagiso, good morning. Are you here to greet me a good morning, hm?"

"You're teasing me." Sagiso rolled her eyes, her smile, however, wide. She then brought a hand to Minori's face, fingers caressing the bags underneath his eyes. "Sheesh, take better care of yourself. You look nicer without them."

"I think everyone does," Minori openly retorted, joking happily. He gently grabbed ahold of Sagiso's hand and moved it to her chest. "You should care more about yourself."

"Pfft, doesn't mean I can't care about you." The psychogeographer snorted, playful in her tone. She kept her hands to herself though and continued speaking. "Uh, are you doing anything today?"

"I mean, not really." Minori frowned. "Other than investigate and meet up with the others, I basically roam around and look for something to do. Why?"

Sagiso's smile turned all the more sweeter, expression completely heartfelt. "Because I want to spend time with you."

"W-what?" Minori's cheeks were slightly red. However, he quickly hid his embarrassment by smiling teasingly, chuckling. "Do you want to be with me that much?"

"I mean, of course. I feel comfortable around you. You're someone I trust." The auburn-haired woman averted her gaze, a bit anxious as she slowly threw back her locks of hair. "It's funny, isn't it? You're a pseudologist, and yet I trust you the most out of everyone here. I should be suspecting you of lying to me all the time."

"Please don't do that." Minori awkwardly smiled. "But it's the same with me towards you. I feel comfortable around you."

"I'm glad you feel that way. I would've punched you if you didn't."

The pseudologist's eyes widened. "Please, I doubt you would even try to do that."

Sagiso laughed. "Ahem. I did tell you I punched a policeman once, right?"

"But he was an asshole." The man deadpanned. "Wait, right?"

"Ssh, doesn't matter. That's all in the past." Sagiso clapped her hands together, making a loud noise that echoed into the air. "Anyways, you're free tonight, right?"

"I am." Minori nodded. "What're you planning?"

"Just a time for us to be together and to talk about stuff that, y'know, teenagers talk about." The woman giggled softly. "I haven't tried the pastries in the cafe yet, so maybe we can eat there?"

"Oh! Me neither." Minori's lips curved to a smile. "We should hang out there then."

"Great, I'm not the only one then." Sagiso grinned playfully. "Alright, then we'll hang out at the cafe after dinner?"

The pseudologist nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"It is a plan." Sagiso rolled her eyes. "Anyways, maybe by the time dinner comes, Sheina, Rin, and Saori finished making the dresses. I can show off to you."

Minori snorted. "Pfft, don't be a show off."

"Aw, don't be such a killjoy." Sagiso laughed, then nodding her head. "Alright, let's go to breakfast now. I'm sure everyone's mostly there waiting for us."

"Alright, alright."

Minori nodded, following Sagiso down the hallways. He made sure to watch over her, making sure she wouldn't trip or tire herself out. She was fine, though, using her crutches always too easily and with ease. Minori smiled softly to himself.

 _I really feel bad for making her injured. It's my fault she has that injury. Sigh…_

Minori quickly continued as Sagiso made her way to the door. He moved in front to open it, creaking it opened.

"Hello-"

Thud!

Minori's eyes widened as he quickly charged inside, Sagiso calling his name from behind as he saw the scene in front of his view.

Fumio was on the ground, having lost balance and tripping himself. He was grabbing ahold of his head, wincing in pain.

"Ow…"

"Fumio!" The pseudologist ran over to the scholar, worry overwhelming his entire face. He quickly looked around the area. Nothing seemed to have been broken or hurt- only Fumio. "What happened?"

"I-it's nothing." Fumio forced a small smile, still grabbing ahold of his forehead. He moved slightly away from the pseudologist. "M-my head just hurts, that's all."

Minori shook his head, moving closer to Fumio. "I don't think you could fall just from hurting your head. Did you sleep for long? Did you fall on something? What happened?"

"N-no, I'm fine." Fumio gulped, face paling. "Don't worry about me."

Minori frowned. "Do you have a fever? You really did a lot of work yesterday when you just recovered."

Fumio's eyes widened. He gulped as he nervously stared at the man. "I-it's fine."

"Are you sure?" The pseudologist asked, worry in his face. "I'll help you up at least."

Fumio flinched at those words. He awkwardly smiled at Minori- an awkward, awkward smile. He slowly grabbed ahold of the nearest object and used it as support to stand, albeit weakly and shakily. "No… I can stand up myself."

The scholar slowly moved up, however his grip suddenly loosened. A noise was made abruptly as Fumio fell.

Minori grabbed ahold of the man, shaking his head. His grip on Fumio's shoulders were firm. "You can't support yourself. Here, I'll take you to your room-"

"Don't touch me!"

The pseudologist's eyes widened, unable to say anything as he was suddenly shoved aside.

"I-I…" Fumio paled, staring almost bloodshot at the man. He realized this though, and quickly averted his gaze. His entire body was shaking. Sweat was trickling down his face as he quickly stood up, shakily. "I'm sorry…"

Minori gulped. He instantly realized his mistake, and overwhelming guilt took over his body. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you didn't like being touched-"

"N-no, it's fine. It's fine. I-I'm sorry." Fumio's tone was meek, frightened. He was like a helpless prey. "Y-you didn't know. It's fine. I-I'll…"

The scholar froze. He was at a loss for words.

Minori's breathings were long and deep. "F-Fumio?"

"Hey, what's going on?"

Fumio's eyes widened at the voice of Kamui. He could hear footsteps beginning to approach him and the pseudologist, and the scholar couldn't handle this. He quickly ran out of the dining hall, running through Sagiso whose eyes widened.

"H-huh? Fumio, hey!"

Minori gritted his teeth. He was unable to do anything as Kamui began chasing after him, Sagiso following suit despite her injury. Minori was stuck, frozen in place.

"Minori?" Saori slowly walked over to the man. She had tossed aside the utensils to the table. "What happened?"

He couldn't hear her. No, the only thing he could hear was the voice inside of his head.

 _You're a fucking idiot, Minori. It should've been obvious that Fumio would've fallen into a panic over that._

It should've been obvious. He knew that. He knew that, but yet he knew it all too late.

 _The hints were there. There was a reason why Fumio didn't want to be measured by Sheina. Even then, you should've known already that Fumio was susceptible to falling into panic attacks! You're his friend! That should've been so obvious!_

 _Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why the fuck are you focusing on Fumio being a fucking liar when you're the goddamn liar?!_

Minori found himself on the verge of tears. His head was beginning to ache again.

 _You're a fucking idiot! Hypocrite!_

 _Everyone's going to die because of your stupid mistakes! It's like those last times where those people died!_

It was hurting him. It was hurting him, hurting him, hurting him.

His head was aching again. Why? His head had been aching so continuously and routinely that it was making him insane. Why was his head hurting?

He didn't know. He didn't know and it was bothering him so much. What was Monokuma doing to him? Was it even Monokuma? He didn't know. He just didn't-

Saori grabbed ahold of his shoulder, forcing Minori back into reality. She was staring at him worriedly, eyebrows burrowed and her lips curved in a frown. "What's wrong? You look pale."

Minori almost jumped at the sudden words, frightened. He, however, forced himself to steady and smiled. "I'm fine."

Saori frowned. "Excuse me…" She murmured and moved her hand to Minori's forehead. It was hot. "You should lie down."

"No, I'm fine." Minori laughed it off, backing away. "I want to eat anyways."

"... Everyone seems to be having headaches as of late." The woman slowly walked back to the table, now setting the utensils and plates down routinely. "It's definitely Monokuma's doing, huh?"

 _Is she trying to comfort me?_

Minori nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, now that you mentioned it, everyone's been feeling a bit ill. You think… You think it has something to do with Monokuma changing us?"

"I wouldn't know. I don't feel strange about myself…" Saori hesitated for a moment. "Well, at least, in my eyes."

Minori averted his gaze, tugging at his scarf. "Monokuma says this is a mistake though."

"Lies," Saori said, "We don't know what Monokuma wants from us. This is his entertainment, but at the same time… Like we said, it's possible he had people configure the 'system' in our brains on 'accident'."

The pseudologist only smiled at this. "True."

"Mhm."

A moment passed. Kaniza and the others came into the mix, the astrophotographer joyfully speaking to Rin and Sheina.

"Hello, the Son of Osiris has arrived!" Sheina triumphantly stood in the middle of the door, blocking Kaniza and Rin's way. She then frowned as she noticed the only few people in the room. "Where are the others?"

Saori turned to Minori, eyeing him with a tense expression.

"Uh…" Minori's stomach was churning. Guilt was continuing to stab him in the heart, yet he shook that off and threw the women an awkward smile. "Kamui and Sagiso are looking for Fumio. He ran out."

"What?" Kaniza's eyes widened. "Why?"

The pseudologist's face hardened. "I tried to help him up when he fell, but I ended up causing him to fall into a panic and he ran away. I'm sorry."

The raven saddened. "Minnie…"

"I'm sure you didn't mean it!" Sheina cried, walking into the room. She pointed abruptly at the man. "You look like you're sorry, so it was a mistake. The Gods will forgive you, so I'm sure Fumio's fine. I don't think he'll be mad at you. You just need to apologize to him."

"Yeah." Minori smiled softly. "I know. I hope Kamui and Sagiso can calm him down."

The egyptologist threw the man a thumbs-up signal. "I'm sure they will."

Saori eyed the group for a moment, then turning around. "I'll set the food down."

Minori watched the body broker who walked back inside the kitchen. He was unsure of whether it was fine to eat food now when a few people were missing. He even wondered if Kamui and the others would be back soon. His mind even rolled to Seiga, and it began to hurt after going over the idea that Seiga's most likely not going to be present.

 _At least Fumio and I were able to talk to him yesterday though. I feel bad for him. I'm sure if he comes to the ball he'll end up a bit more happier…_

That is, unless Monokuma ruined it. There was always an opening for the bear- a way for him to ruin everything. Whether that'd be murder or whatnot, everything came as a result of what Monokuma did.

Was a murder possible to stop? It was, but timing and persuasion were a must.

Then again, Monokuma would never allow a life of tranquility and peace. What he desired was entertainment, and a life of happiness was definitely disgusting in his eyes.

 _That just means we have to figure out this mystery sooner and defeat Monokuma before he has a chance to even blink._

Minori heard the door behind him opening, looking back to find Saori bringing the food down with her. She set them to the middle of the table, the visual image of the food now apparent and vivid in the pseudologist's head. Clam chowder, toasted bread with ham and cheese, bacon, and eggs.

Kaniza gasped in awe at the sight, clapping her hands together. "You never fail to amaze me, Saori."

Saori nodded her head. "I'm glad you think so."

"Of course! Saori is like a queen, after all!" Sheina held her chin up high, almost taking in the nonexistent spotlight shining down on her.

"I guess we should eat," Rin said, moving over to take a seat. "Kamui won't like it if we waited for them. He'll probably say that we're starving ourselves if we waited for them. He hates it when we prioritize him over ourselves, after all."

Kaniza nudged the jeweler. "You sound like you know him completely, Rin~"

Rin's eyes widened and she immediately turned to look away, scoffing. "I just talk to him more than the rest of you do."

"Well, if that's what he's going to say, then we should eat." Minori chuckled, moving over to grab ahold of his drink and food.

Right when Minori took his meal, everyone began grabbing ahold of their own meals. Breakfast had started without the others, and it was a significant difference. Although the women present in the room were speaking energetically and joyfully, the lack of presence from Sagiso and the others saddened Minori. He couldn't help but feel empty inside- it was aching him.

He listened silently to the women's conversations. His head perked up when he heard Sheina talking about the clothing being done soon for the ball, Rin and Saori being her main helpers. Kaniza added that the ballroom's appearance should be done with a few touches, and the egyptologist agreed that the ballroom was supposed to be a tiny bit more elegantly set up.

The ballroom was supposed to take place tomorrow. Minori's mind instantly wandered to Seiga, and he wondered if the stunt double was truly willing to go.

 _He could've been lying… And I wouldn't notice it again._

His thoughts always seemed to poke fun at his worries. They always tried to mess with his head, and he honestly had no idea why. Monokuma was toying with him, and he even wondered if this was truly a mistake, merely done for entertainment, or if he had another purpose in what he was doing.

But, for what purpose? Merely to cause discord?

He wasn't sure.

About half an hour passed until Minori was finished with his food. He moved out of his seat with his dishes, moving to the kitchen and putting them into the sink. He sighed for a second before moving back outside.

"I'm going to go outside," the pseudologist said, reporting to Saori and the others. "I'm going to find Fumio."

"Oh, wait." Rin quickly got out from her seat. "I'll help you."

Minori's eyes widened as he looked at the woman. "Really? I thought you're still eating."

"I'm worried about Fumio and the others, that's all." Rin grabbed ahold of her dishes, quickly running into the kitchen and running back out empty handed. She walked straight at the pseudologist. "It's better to be proactive anyways, so let's go."

"Uh… Alright." Though a bit baffled, Minori headed outside with the woman nonetheless.

The duo walked a few feet away from the room before Rin stopped, leaving Minori to stop in his tracks. He curiously eyed the woman in silence, waiting as she turned to meet his gaze.

"I'll ask this as bluntly as I could," Rin began, frowning. Her arms were crossed. "You already know that something's wrong with Fumio, don't you?"

Minori's eyes widened. He wanted to lie to the woman, but seeing the genuine worry in her eyes, he nodded his head. "Ever since I met him after he fainted. You noticed it too?"

"... It's because I hate people who lie." Rin sighed, shaking her head. "I don't hate you or Fumio though, so don't worry about that. I just hate being worried, that's all."

The pseudologist frowned. "You wanted to come with me to confront me on this?"

"I do." The jeweler bit into her lips. She was staring into the man's eyes, steady. "I've been noticing that you tend to act differently towards him. Even Sagiso noticed it, but she didn't tell you yet, I'm assuming."

"Ah, don't worry about that," Minori said, smiling softly. "Monokuma's just playing games with me. It's nothing, I promise."

"You and Sagiso are always like that. It's annoying." Rin continued to mumble underneath her breath, but then stopped and continued to speak in a loud voice. "It's worrying that Monokuma's messing with us."

"It is," the man said, gloomily, "but I'm sure we'll be able to overcome it. As long as we are aware of our own changes and do not act irrationally on them."

"That's the thing." The woman pursed her lips. "I'm worried about that. I'm not exactly sure to what extent Monokuma is messing with us individually."

The pseudologist frowned. "Even then, I'm sure we can handle it ourselves, or at least have others to stop us. Nothing bad happened yet."

"Maybe." Rin shook her head. "Just… Just take care of yourselves. You, Fumio, and everyone else. You guys always cared for me, and I want to do the same for you."

"That's sweet of you." Minori chuckled, noticing the woman blushing. "You should tell that to Fumio when we find him."

Rin rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Anyways, he might be in his room."

"Possibly. We probably have to look over the entire place though. We can walk and talk while we're looking for him," Minori mused, suggesting to the woman.

"Sure." The woman shrugged. "Works with me. It's your choice though if you want us to walk in silence, or chat like excited teenagers."

Minori playfully laughed. "We are teenagers though."

"Pfft, I already know you and Sagiso have a date together."

"W-what?!"

Rin suddenly turned to the pseudologist and grinned slyly. "What, I was right?"

… _Aw shit! Goddamnit Rin!_

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Rin?**

 _ **Ha, just do it even if she teased you.**_ / Oh my gosh, she got you there.

* * *

Minori sighed, forfeiting as Rin easily flustered him. "Let's just walk and talk."

"Alright." Rin shrugged, idly toying with her hands. "I'm fine with that."

The duo went out to look for Fumio and the others, meanwhile talking in the meantime. They were worried for the scholar and wanted to find him as quickly as possible, but stress can get you only so far. To seem normal was an answer the duo reached, and hopefully that normality will trick their body into functioning normally and without abnormalities.

 **Minori:** So, how are you?

 **Rin:** Pretty much the same as I've always been. How about you?

 **Minori:** Well, I feel not the best, but not the worst.

 **Rin:** Hm, good enough.

 **Minori:** Yeah… So, Rin, can I ask you something about you?

 **Rin:** You can just ask me. We're not strangers.

 **Minori:** True. Uh… Well, I've been wondering why exactly are you a jewelry thief. You're not happy with your life as a jeweler?

 **Rin:** Hm. I shouldn't be surprised you would ask that.

 **Minori:** Ah, sorry. Was that too personal of a question?

 **Rin:** It's fine. I don't mind. I shouldn't hide things from you and the others anyways.

 **Minori:** Yeah… I suppose so.

 **Rin:** Mhm. Well, I didn't enjoy being a jeweler, but I didn't want to openly admit that. I had to keep businesses happy and keep issues hidden under the public eye.

 **Minori:** I can tell.

 **Rin:** … Have you heard of Hoseki Jewels? Or, at least, our business?

 **Minori:** Only from what I coincidentally see in the news. I only hear reporters talking about your new products or promoting your business overall.

 **Rin:** I figured. That's how things around Ultimates get treated anyways.

 **Minori:** Why are you asking me this?

 **Rin:** The business my family runs isn't pure. It's dirty. My parents are underhanded.

 **Minori:** R-really? They…

 **Rin:** They bribe people to buy our jewels. We're not a successful business because everyone loved them, but because a few did and the others were bribed. The jewels were expensive, and since they were so priceless at times they were sold off in order to keep the business running.

 **Minori:** So, you recognized this then.

 **Rin:** I'm basically the only one who did. Everyone else were naive and unaware of what was happening. They're fools.

 **Minori:** I'm… I'm guessing that's why you told me you hated liars? Because of your parents?

 **Rin:** Lying without any good intentions are what I loathe most. You aren't like that, though I admit your talent had rung a small distaste in me.

 **Rin:** But that doesn't mean I completely adore people who look at life so honesty. I enjoy seeing them enjoy life, but if they live so ignorantly and optimistically it annoys me for some reason.

 **Minori:** That makes sense. I could understand that.

 **Rin:** Hm, can you?

 **Minori:** With utmost certainty. Besides, it's not my place to shove my ideals down your throat.

 **Rin:** Pfft, I don't expect you to.

 **Minori:** Yeah.

It looked like Rin wanted to speak more, but her eyes wandered off to target Sheina. The egyptologist was running at the duo, excitement in her eyes.

Rin sighed and threw Minori a wry grin. "Guess we should see what's happening with the psycho."

Minori chuckled. "Alright."

* * *

 **Rin Hoseki's Profile Card: 3/3**

 **Note:** Rin's business does dwindle themselves in dirty work. They bribe people to buy their priceless jewelry which might've held a large hand in their success. It seemed like Rin wanted to say more though.

* * *

The duo stopped as the egyptologist charged straight at them. Her eyes were glittering in excitement, almost victorious to that extent. She clapped her hands together as she stared intensely at the duo. "I did it!"

"Did what?" Minori's eyes then widened with a sudden hit of epiphany. "Oh, did you finish completing the formal wear?"

Sheina rolled her eyes. "I'm the Pharaoh, but alas the Pharaoh is not a turbo engine." She then smiled widely. "I was looking for you two. I finished making your clothes and I wanted to see if they fit you guys correctly."

"Oh, really?" Rin seemed shocked. "Shouldn't our measurements be enough? I already helped you a bit for my dress too."

"You're just shy showing it to me, huh?" Sheina asked, and she winked at the jeweler who scoffed. She laughed. "Don't worry. We'll have to present ourselves anyways at the party. You shouldn't be shy around one person out of the many of us."

"I'm not shy." Rin frowned. "I'm just wondering whether or you not you accurately sewed the clothes."

"I mean, Saori does a better job than me at it," the woman began, scratching her head, "but I can tell you in the Gods' names that I made absolutely certain your dress is as pretty as can be."

The jeweler snickered dryly, slightly amused. "Aw, how sweet."

"Oh, right." Sheina eyed Minori. "Have you found Fumio and the others?"

Minori shook his head. "We were about to go back and check the upper floors."

"Right." The egyptologist cupped her chin, rubbing it with a pondering expression. "I've only seen Kamui going upstairs. I don't think Sagiso would've gone if Kamui wasn't carrying her. I doubt she'd bother Fumio to carry her either."

Minori crossed his arms. "She can carry herself."

Sheina shook her head. "I would've seen her then for sure. I don't think they were already up there since Kamui doesn't seem busy or in a hurry. Maybe they just went back to their rooms?"

"Uh… I'm not sure." The pseudologist's expression hardened. "I should go back to their rooms and knock."

"Maybe if they didn't answer, they don't want to be bothered?" Sheina tapped her chin. "They probably don't want to be bothered right now."

"Oh." The pseudologist's expression saddened. "Is that so?"

"You just want Minori to try on the clothes," Rin mused, sarcastically eyeing Sheina.

"N-no, of course not!" Sheina was shocked at this accusation. Her cheeks were a slight pink hue. "I'm not sure if Fumio wants to be bothered by anyone else. Kamui and Sagiso already talked to him, but we don't know if he wants to be alone by himself or not. I usually think it's better if we give people time alone for themselves."

"I mean…" Minori wasn't sure. "I'll still talk to Fumio, whether now or later. I need to apologize to him. I haven't been treating him well at all."

"I'm sure you'll have time to do so," the egyptologist said. "I'll have to talk to him and the others to try on their clothing later too."

The pseudologist sighed. "I suppose you have a point. It won't take long to try on the clothes anyways."

"Exactly!" Sheina smiled widely. "Let's go then!"

Minori watched Sheina who dragged Rin alongside her. He couldn't help but watch them, quite unsteady in his expression.

 _Sheina sounds slightly offbeat there. More selfish and a bit too intrusive. Monokuma…_

However, he wouldn't know for sure. He wasn't a God. He wasn't a superior being who knew everything about everyone.

Minori didn't feel it, but a mocking smirk had crept up to his lips. He was unable to catch himself from hiding that mischievous smirk of his until a moment later, his thoughts striking something else.

 _If he really was planning to fix this problem that the 'others' created, then we still wouldn't be so strange with our character traits._

The pseudologist hummed softly.

 _Hm, I specifically used the word 'character'... I wonder why._

Minori shook his head, instantly throwing that thought away. His smirk faded from his lips as he quickly ran after Sheina and Rin.

It didn't take long before the trio approached Sheina's dorm room, the egyptologist herself opening the door and beckoning the others inside.

Rin and Minori shared a look with one another, then proceeded.

"Oh, wow."

Minori found himself intrigued by his surroundings, looking around Sheina's room to find a large sewing machine on her glasslike royal table, then the clothes that were made hanging from a thin line of thread that was tied from the top of the closet to the other side of the room. The dresses and suits were all hanging up, though there were a few that were missing- evident by the layers of cloth, fabric, and ribbons messily covering Sheina's bed.

Saori was inside of the room, seeming to be taking a break. She was sitting calmly on a chair nearby to Sheina's bed, the woman partaking in a cup of tea. The warm tea soothed her body well.

"Hello," the body broker greeted, noticing Rin and Minori. She smiled softly their way. "Are you here to try out your formal attire?"

Rin nodded. "Yeah. Sheina's really eager to see us in them."

"I'm just excited for the ball," Sheina admitted with a large grin. She was rubbing her hands together, a snicker escaping her lips in the meantime.

"I mean, you are the one who planned it." Rin smirked wryly. "I'd surely be pissed off if you weren't excited."

"Sounds scary," the egyptologist mused. Sheina then walked over to the side of the room, looking over the articles of clothing. She moved slowly, left to right in a step. A few moments later her lips curved to a wide smile, the woman grabbing ahold of two hangers which held both a suit and dress. "Found it!"

Minori observed the clothing.

The dress that was suited for Rin was a beautiful white gown that reached down to her ankles. The straps on the dress were tied with cute white ribbons, then a larger ribbon tying the waist. The top was even designed in a unique manner-sewn to an interesting floral design. Yes, it was nothing new- it was just a simple, elegant dress.

"We can top this off with some glass slippers," Sheina began, carefully handing the gown to Rin. "We can also braid your hair as well."

Rin raised a brow. "Is that necessary?"

The egyptologist shook her head as she observed Rin. "I mean, it's not, but I'd love to make the atmosphere as 'ballroom' like as possible."

"Fine, then we can do our hair and everything tomorrow," the jeweler grumbled, walking out of the room to go change in the restroom.

Now that Rin had left the scene, Sheina turned her attention to Minori.

"So," she began, smiling happily at him, "you can go change after Rin. Your clothes are over here!"

Sheina held up the clothes instantly, allowing the pseudologist to eye it curiously.

The suit was nothing more than a black tuxedo, equipped with a white collared dress shirt and a black bowtie to go along with the suit. It was neat and clean, no wrinkles to be seen. It was obvious that the suit was in caring hands.

 _Hm, but now that I think about it…_

"Sheina, you never told me you were good at sewing," Minori said, sounding as genuine and curious as possible. He even faked a naive and innocent smile to convince Sheina even further to answer him.

"Oh, me neither." Sheina's answer was surprisingly straightforward. The egyptologist awkwardly laughed. "Even Saori and Rin didn't expect themselves to be good at sewing. Maybe we have a natural talent for it? We were gifted by the Gods, maybe?"

Minori's eyes widened. "So, uh, none of you can sew?"

"Mhm." The woman then frowned. "It's like Seiga and Ryoichi's case. Kaniza told me they never knew much about how to build bombs, and even Seiga admitted he never built one before."

"What…?"

Saori slowly stood up from her seat, walking over to the duo. "You think Monokuma has something to do with this?"

"Seems like it." Minori averted his gaze. "He's messing with us."

 _But why? Is this merely to make us feel a false sense of security? If so, then why? Why is he also limiting or even exaggerating our personalities?_

"It's fine." The pseudologist smiled comfortably to the women. "We'll figure it out soon."

"Of course!" Sheina threw her arms up. "We'll stop Monokuma and get out of here. That accursed bear can't stop us from escaping."

"Is that so?"

Minori couldn't help but doubt it for a second.

"Anyways," Sheina shifted her focus elsewhere, "after this you'll go search for Fumio and the others, right?"

"Yeah." Minori frowned. "Why?"

"Nothing special." Sheina chuckled softly. "I was going to ask Fumio and the others to try their clothes, but they left before I could even see them. I need to make sure I got their measurements right."

The pseudologist adjusted his scarf, idle. "How about Seiga?"

"I'm not sure if he'll want to be around us, but I'll try." The woman smiled sweetly. "I'm sure I'll be able to convince him to at least try on the clothes! You and Fumio already helped convince him, if not slightly. I'll talk to him."

Minori smiled. "Ah, okay."

The door opened. The trio looked back, finding Rin who slowly creaked opened the door from the restroom. She peeked out, cautious. Eyes darted back and forth before the woman was sure of herself. A second passed, and the woman approached the room.

"Ooh, wow!"

Minori crossed his arms as he eyed the jeweler. Sheina in the meantime clapped her hands together, Saori slightly amused at she looked at the woman ahead of her.

Rin was elegant in her gown. She was quite embarrassed over her attire, but it was simply amazing on her. Minori and the others were captivated by how extravagant the woman looked. She was fit to be a princess.

"You look amazing," Sheina began, flocking over to the woman. "You're as beautiful as an Egyptian Goddess!"

"Thanks," Rin murmured, awkwardly scratching her head. "I'm glad you like it."

"Does it fit you well?" The egyptologist asked, now serious. "It's not too loose or tight, right?"

Rin shook her head. "It's fine. It fits me perfectly."

"Really?" Sheina observed the jeweler for a moment. Her expression was steady and unnerving, but after a second her lips curved to a wide smile. "That's great then! I'm glad it fits you well."

Minori chuckled, eyeing the beautifully dressed woman sweetly. "You look pretty in that. It definitely looks nice in you, Rin."

The brunette's eyes widened. She blushed immediately and looked away, mumbling something inaudible under her breath.

"Hehe. Anyways!" The egyptologist immediately turned to Minori's way. "Try on your clothes. I want to see what you look like in that."

The pseudologist's smile turned into an awkward one. He was a bit embarrassed to show himself off to the woman himself, but nonetheless he nodded his head."Uh… sure."

Minori headed over to the restroom, Rin moving to the side as he closed the door behind him. He looked around the area for a moment, then to his clothes. He wondered for a while on how long it took to sew the numerous amounts of fabrics together into this masterpiece, but forfeited after a second later and began to change.

He sighed as he placed his original clothing to the side, then eyeing himself in the mirror. He eyeballed his collar, fixing it a bit before focusing on making his blazer match him symmetrically. He slightly brushed his hair, trying to make himself look more presentable because, well, he wanted to make sure that his appreciation for Sheina's hard work (and of course, Rin and Saori's as well) was obvious. If he looked like he couldn't care less and laughed at his clothes, then he'd only shoot himself in the leg.

 _Still, that doesn't mean I'm completely comfortable showing myself to everyone right before the actual event started… Sheesh, my mind's beginning to hurt me._

The pseudologist quickly shook his head, ridding himself of these thoughts. Forcing himself to not care anymore, the man headed back outside.

The door opened, and the women's eyes focused straight forward.

"Woah, Minori! You look nice!"

Sheina quickly ran over to Minori, eyeing him from top to bottom. Her smile was wide, eyes sparkling in a childish glint. She was clapping her hands happily together.

"Does it look fine?" Minori asked, awkwardly smiling at Sheina. He honestly wasn't sure what else to say, the woman continuing to eyeball him.

"Yeah! You look amazing!" Sheina giggled. "You're definitely going to impress Sagiso, aren't you? She's your special princess, huh?"

"W-wha-?" Minori's face turned instantly red. He instantly regretted taking off his scarf. "Y-you're teasing me."

"I mean, it's not like we don't support it." Rin was smirking at the pseudologist, obviously amused. "You get embarrassed so easily. I find it hilarious… ahem, Minnie."

The pseudologist jumped. "T-that's because you embarrassed me earlier!"

Rin snorted, slyly winking at the man. "I just find it hilarious that you get embarrassed over anyone mentioning about you and Sagiso's relationship."

"Ooh, really?" Sheina curiously eyed Minori. "We should tease you more often then, Minori!"

Minori frowned, awkwardly averting his gaze. "Please don't…"

Saori looked at the pseudologist with a small nod. "Well, besides all the teasing, I think your clothes suit you well. It fits you fine, correct?"

"Ah, yes, it does." The man smiled softly. "Thank you."

"I'm glad then!" Sheina smiled excitably. "Now I just need to finish a few more clothes and then get everyone else to try theirs on!"

Minori's eyes widened. He quickly headed back towards the bathroom door. "Alright, I'll go look for Fumio and the others then."

"Mhm, of course." The egyptologist chuckled. "Make sure you don't wrinkle the clothes when you take it off and put it back on the hanger!"

"I know."

Minori closed the door behind him, Sheina having finished her words. He quickly changed into his clothes, then carefully putting the tuxedo back on the hanger- carefully, carefully. The scarf was wrapped around him comfortably, warming him quite well. Finishing buttoning his coat on, he grabbed his tuxedo and left the bathroom.

He threw Sheina a smile before handing her the clothes. He waved to the women before heading outside, attention now focused on finding Fumio and the others- particularly Fumio though.

Minori first went to Fumio's door. He heaved a deep breath- inhaling in, exhaling out. His fist hung above his chest, a few inches below his chin. Biting into his inner lip, he knocked on the door.

A few seconds passed- those felt like an eternity before the door clicked. Slowly, the door creaked opened, even if it was slightly.

"O-oh!" Fumio's eyes widened the moment he noticed Minori. "H-hello."

Minori's expression softened, lips curving into a smile. "Are Kamui and Sagiso with you right now?"

"N-no." The scholar awkwardly averted his gaze. "They left a few minutes ago. I just came back here."

"I see." Minori stared at the man for a moment, then shaking his head. He bowed his head down. "I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. I wasn't thinking of you. I'm really sorry. I continued to pursue and frighten you without reading your facial cues. That was stupid of me."

"Minori…" Fumio couldn't help but hold his breath. "It's fine… I-I mean, I never told any of you about my trauma. You just wanted to see if I was fine too."

The pseudologist bit into his lips. Even when Fumio sounded as genuine as possible, it was obvious-

-the scholar didn't forgive him.

 _It's because I've been acting weird around him. I'm acting like Fumio's suspicious of something. Damn. Everything's my fault…_

 _Still…_

Minori took a glimpse at Fumio's expression.

 _That doesn't mean he'll avoid me though. He'll try to keep the unity between us as strong as possible._

"Like I said, I'm really sorry about this." The pseudologist worriedly crossed his arms. "Do you need some space? I'm sorry if I'm bothering you right now."

"O-oh, no, of course not!" Fumio awkwardly waved his hands around, sweating. "I'm sorry for running out on you. I just made you worried."

Minori's face saddened. "Why would you feel guilty about it? You're not at fault here."

Fumio bit into his lips, eyes darting back and forth. "But… Minori…"

The pseudologist threw the scholar a sweet smile, shaking his head. He looked at the man with complete comfort, trying to look as genuine as humanly possible. "Fumio, it's fine. I'm at fault here. Don't worry about it."

"I… Uh, I mean…" Fumio's lips curved to a small smile. "O-okay then. Sorry."

"Mhm." Minori clapped his hands together, relieved. "So, how are you? Are you feeling better?"

"Oh!" The scholar almost jumped at the sudden questions. "I-I'm fine. I feel better now. Thank you for asking."

The white-haired man nodded. "That's good to know. Uh… So, do you want to talk for a while? I don't have anything else to do, and, well… I admit I'm still a bit worried about you and I'd still feel bad with a simple apology only."

"O-oh, I see." Fumio hesitated, averting his gaze. He was slowly cupping his hands, moving his fingers around. The scholar was biting into his lips, obviously pondering on the idea. "Sure, if you want to…"

* * *

 **Should I hang out with Fumio?**

 _ **Yes, do it!**_ / No, it's fine, don't.

* * *

"Of course I do," Minori answered, straightforward and quick. "Let's talk in your room then."

Fumio smiled shyly, opening the door wide. He allowed Minori to walk inside and take a seat before he closed the door behind him.

 **Minori:** Hm… So, Fumio.

 **Fumio:** Y-yes?

 **Minori:** Hm… I'm thinking about what questions I want to ask you. I really do want to know more about you.

 **Fumio:** Oh, I see.

 **Minori:** Well, then how about we talk about what you want to talk about. I'm happy from just hearing anything from you, alright?

 **Fumio:** O-oh, really? I don't know what I want to talk about though!

 **Minori:** I mean, just seeing you relaxing around me is enough. Whatever you want is fine by me.

 **Fumio:** Gosh, that's really nice of you… Uh, well, I can tell you a bit about my backstory, seeing as, well, what happened earlier…

 **Minori:** What? Fumio, no, you don't need to if you're not comfortable with it.

 **Fumio:** No, it's fine! Don't worry about me.

 **Minori:** Uh… well, if you say so.

 **Fumio:** Mhm. A-anyways, hm, how should I start?

 **Minori:** I'm fine with anything.

 **Fumio:** Of course. Hm, well… I think I can talk about my teacher.

 **Minori:** Oh, your teacher?

 **Fumio:** Yes, Mr. Sato! Yoichi Sato!

 **Fumio:** A-ah, sorry! I didn't mean to shout!

 **Minori:** _Aw, it's nice to Fumio so happy and relaxed for once. His teacher must've been the source of happiness in his life if Fumio shouted his name out._

 **Minori:** _It makes me feel bad for hurting him…_

 **Minori:** That's fine. Your teacher sounds like a great man if you look so excited.

 **Fumio:** H-he honestly is! I will always consider him as my savior, honestly. He was the one who brought me to where I am now.

 **Fumio:** You can say that he was the one who made me become the Ultimate Scholar. I wasn't doing that well in school before I met him.

 **Minori:** Aw, really? That's so sweet.

 **Fumio:** Hehe… He helped tutor me after school and ever since then I always gotten perfect scores on my exams. I was even able to surpass the intelligent students in class! I was so happy when I first scored higher than them… O-oh, though I'd never boast about it to them, heheh…

 **Minori:** That's really great. Your teacher sounds like an amazing person if he's willing to spend most of his time after school to tutor a student.

 **Fumio:** Y-yes, he is. For him to be able to tutor someone who always causes trouble and has a hard time learning… He's amazing.

 **Minori:** Makes me wonder what he's doing now.

 **Fumio:** Yeah…

 **Fumio:** Ahem! A-anyways, I shouldn't speak more. I'll just get homesick if I speak any longer…

 **Minori:** You can tell me more next time.

 **Fumio:** A-ah, yes, of course.

* * *

 **Fumio Fujiyoshi's Profile Card: 2/2**

 **Note:** Fumio has a teacher that he holds very dearly to him- Yoichi Sato. From what the scholar said, Sato helped tutor him after school. This eventually led to Fumio who, as he said, used to do horribly at school, to constantly score 100% on his exams.

* * *

Minori stood up from his seat, turning to the scholar with a smile. "It was nice to learn a bit more about you."

"R-really?" Fumio's lips curved to a small smile. "I'm glad you're interested…"

"I'll go out now," the pseudologist said, making his way over to the door.

Fumio nodded and jumped down from his seat. "I'll see you out."

Minori headed over to the door, Fumio right behind him. He easily turned the doorknob, causing the door to open. He stepped out as Fumio eyed him, smiling.

"Oh, Minori, Fumio!"

The pseudologist's eyes widened, almost jumping at the sudden voice. He looked back to find Kamui heading towards them, a friendly expression on his face.

"Hello," Fumio greeted, awkwardly eyeing the mortician.

"Pleasure to see you two." Kamui crossed his arms. He suddenly turned to the scholar. "How are you feeling now?"

"I-I'm better now." The scholar blushed, a bit embarrassed by all the attention. "Thank you for asking."

"Mhm." The mortician scratched his head. "Uh, I was going to tell everyone this during dinner, but since you two are here now…"

"Hm?" Minori raised a brow. "What's wrong?"

Kamui chuckled nervously. "Well… It's the printer. It printed something earlier."

"What? Really?" The pseudologist frowned. "What did it print?"

Kamui nodded, reaching into his pockets. It was instant when the mortician suddenly grabbed out a piece of paper, handing it to the white-haired Ultimate.

Minori eyed it carefully, Fumio behind him. It didn't take long before the men saw the words on display.

[Code 2021145 is Unreachable]

"What?" The pseudologist held his breath. A strange feeling of unease and worry overwhelmed him. "What is this?"

"I'm not sure," Kamui began, shaking his head, "I'm assuming this was a message of some sort. I don't know what though or why this was printed."

Fumio raised a brow, expression hardening. "Maybe someone's trying to contact someone? If that person was unreachable, then that's what explains the meaning behind that message."

"I… I don't know." Kamui sighed deeply. "I don't know how the printer works nonetheless."

"Maybe the others would know," Minori suggested, an attempt to lift up the mood of the atmosphere.

"Possibly." The mortician nodded slowly. "I'm hoping Saori or Sagiso would have an idea."

The white-haired man smiled softly. "Mhm."

"Anyways, sorry to have disturbed you two." Kamui grabbed back the paper, shoving it into his pockets. "I'll cook dinner now. Saori must be there already."

"Alright."

Minori watched the mortician who left down the hallways, disappearing from sight. At that time Minori's thoughts began to dwell on what he had just discovered.

 _Hm… [Code 2021145 is Unreachable]..._

 _What could that mean? The code could've been nothing more than a 'code', but for what? … Or maybe the code is meant to represent someone, and whoever tried to contact that someone was obviously unable to._

 _But… If any of the two are the case, then why? And also- how?_

 _Is someone trying to reach out to us? Was this a mere mistake? Another red herring? I don't know._

Minori bit into his lips. He was completely unsure of what was happening, nor what he should be investigating into exactly. What theory is right? What should he do? He didn't have any idea.

"Uh…" Fumio awkwardly cupped his hands. "I'll rest for a bit, Minori."

"Huh? Oh." The pseudologist nodded. "Alright. I'll see you later then."

"Mhm. Bye."

Minori watched Fumio who left and closed the door. As always, the pseudologist was now left alone.

 _Hm… I should check the cafe again since I'm supposed to go there with Sagiso later._

That idea in mind, the pseudologist made his way over to the second floor. He headed over to the cafe, well, that was, when he was certain nobody was inside. He opened the door carefully as he eased his way inside.

The smell of sweet, tasty coffee. It seemed like someone must've brewed a hot drink earlier.

 _Then again, I don't drink much coffee though._

Minori walked over to the counter, checking the coffee bean grinder. He opened the slot- it seemed to be relatively clean. He then checked the sink, frowning a bit once he noticed a lonely cup waiting to be washed. Definitely unhygienic.

The pseudologist sighed as he turned on the faucet, getting to work. It didn't take long to wash the cup though- merely a minute or two. He grabbed a single paper towel from the roll and dried the material, placing it back atop the polished wooden cabinet.

Minori crossed his arms, and he took a look around the general area.

 _Hm… I wonder…_

The pseudologist began checking the pastries on display. They seemed to have been baked this morning, causing Minori to frown a bit (it was obvious that Monokuma was giving them these luxuries). Making sure the pastries looked as tasty and tantalizing as can be, he made his way over to the cabinets and began opening each one up.

He searched and searched before finally finding what he was looking for- a table cloth and mat. He saw an array of table cloths and mats, scanning each one in judgement of their beauty and worth.

He eventually decided on a cloth that was simple yet elegant- a red velvet one. Eyeing the cloth and feeling its texture, Minori was certain of its beauty and carefully laid it flat on the table. He smoothed it out as neatly and evenly as possible, then grabbing two white table mats and placing them to the left and right.

Minori finally finished this off by setting the needed items on the table- the teacups, teapot, floral plates, the butter knives, etc. He assorted each utensil and belonging to the table, and soon he found himself satisfied with his work. He even arranged a perfectly symmetrical origami flower he found from the side into the middle.

He high fived himself for his hard work, pleased.

 _Now let's hope Rin doesn't try to sneak around to find Sagiso and I here later._

Minori even worried that the jeweler would tell the others.

 _Oh, whatever. I could yell at her about it if she did that._

The pseudologist smiled goofily, amused at the thought.

 _Okay, I think I'm done here. I should go down and see if food's ready._

Minori headed outside the cafe, moving down the floor and towards the dining hall. He opened the door and, as expected and usually, people were inside of the room with food ready in hand.

"Hey, Minori!" Kaniza greeted, sweet as she waved at him. "Just in time for the food!"

Sagiso turned to the pseudologist, greeting him with a nod. Her expression had relaxed the moment she met his eyes.

Once Minori took his seat, everyone began to eat. They ate happily into their teriyaki chicken and clam chowder, Sheina declaring in between the meal that she finished everyone's clothes and that they should try it on. Kaniza was more than delighted to hear this, and Kamui smiled at the fact that the party will take place soon- particularly tomorrow, as Sheina and Saori stated.

Saori turned to Fumio. "Are you comfortable changing into your attire and showing it to Sheina later?"

Fumio's eyes widened. "O-oh! That's fine. I'm just showing it, so… I think it's fine."

"Don't overwork yourself though," Kamui cautioned, smiling comfortably at the scholar who toyed with his locket in anxiousness. The mortician frowned afterwards though, face tightened as he held his breath. "That aside, I have some important information to tell you all."

Rin raised a brow, worry slightly crossing her face. "Kamui? What's wrong?"

Kamui reached into his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper- that same paper shown to Fumio and Minori. He laid it in the middle of the table.

Sagiso furrowed her brows. "This is…"

"Woah." Rin whistled. "How cryptic. Monokuma's messing with us, isn't he."

Sagiso leaned towards the paper, scanning it for a while. She slowly looked over to Kamui. "I assume you found this in the printing room."

"Yes. It had printed out of nowhere, similar to when you and Minori found the key that opened the door in the MonoLottery room." The mortician frowned. "I find this certainly worrying, nonetheless peculiar."

"What could it mean though?" Sheina asked, lost. "Should I pray to the Gods to grant I, the Pharaoh, with knowledge?"

Rin deadpanned. "Will that even work?"

"Possibly," the psychogeographer laughed, though it sounded less of a joke and more as a question as time passed by. "I do wonder what this means though. It feels like someone is trying to send a message to someone, but then why here?"

Kamui nodded, almost too quickly at that. "Exactly! I'm not sure about that."

"It might be a mistake." Sheina tapped onto her chin. "Hm… Maybe Monokuma did it as a prank."

Minori shook his head. "Monokuma's an ass, but not that much of an ass."

Fumio toyed with his accessory, unsure of what to add. "Uh…" He frowned. "That code could've been sent out to Monokuma, but he had it sent to the printer to challenge us."

Rin turned to the scholar. "Is that so?"

"We won't know if that's the case. We don't have any way to decode this," Saori said, irritated as she stared at the piece of paper. "There might be books at the library that translates code, so I might go there later."

"I'll help." Kamui crossed his arms and nodded. "It'll take a while to find anything, but it's still something."

"I need to finish setting up the ball in the auditorium," Sheina admitted, scratching her head with an awkward smile.

Kaniza grinned. "Rin and I will help you."

Rin rolled her eyes and huffed, however she was nodding her head as an answer.

The conversation reached a more happy note, and soon everything seemed normal again. Everyone finished their food and placed their dishes to the sink. It didn't take long before everyone began to leave, Kamui and Saori (as always) staying behind to wash the dishes.

Minori and Sagiso were alone as well, inside of the dining hall and across from one another from the table.

"Are you ready?" Sagiso asked, smiling playfully at the pseudologist. "You better have some good conversation starters."

Minori rolled his eyes and chuckled, standing up from his seat. "Or what? You'll punch me?"

"Sounds tantalizing. Don't tempt me."

The duo shared a laugh before Minori gestured Sagiso to come. The woman got off of her seat and followed the man, the duo heading over to the staircase.

"Are you fine carrying yourself up?" Minori asked, turning to eye Sagiso. She gave him a sweet smile, and that told him everything as he slowly made his way up.

The pseudologist made his way up to the next floor, then turning around to eye Sagiso who were only a few steps away from him. She was slow, but she made her way up, and she chuckled happily as Minori nodded.

"I wonder how good the pastries there are," Sagiso began, humming to herself. "Do you think they have a large assortment of pastries to choose from?"

Minori walker over to the door, then opening it. "Most likely."

"Oh, wow." Sagiso stared at the man. She poked at his nose slyly. "Aren't you such a gentleman."

"I know right?" The pseudologist smirked. "I'm the best."

The woman rolled her eyes, letting out a laugh as she walked inside. The moment she did, however, she stopped. Her eyes widened as she looked ahead of her.

Minori chuckled, closing the door behind him. He walked slowly to the decorated table and threw his arms out, eyeing Sagiso.

"So, what do you think?"

Sagiso was speechless. It took moments for her to register Minori's words, attention entirely focused on the simple, yet obviously thoughtful design. She couldn't help but blush a little as she slowly eyed Minori.

"You're such a jerk, Minori," she began, grinning at him. She walked over to poke at the man's chest. "Tsk, tsk. I should've known you would've done something like this."

The pseudologist laughed, grabbing ahold of Sagiso's hand and gesturing her over to take a seat. "What, are you embarrassed?"

"No, just surprised you planned this much." Sagiso chuckled, moving over before grabbing ahold of Minori's scarf. She adjusted it comfortably around the man. "You're so sweet."

Minori blushes a little as the woman finished adjusting the scarf around him. She grinned slyly before heading over to a seat, beckoning the pseudologist to the chair across. He sat down, then staring at her. "You're not full from dinner, right? I can brew tea at least."

Sagiso chuckled, rolling her eyes. "You're not a tea brewer, so I'm assuming you mean taking a tea bag and soaking it in the teapot."

"Of course," Minori snorted. "I'm not a tea god."

"Uhuh." Sagiso smiled. She tapped into her chin and hummed. "Hm… We should try some of the pastries out. We can share if you're not that hungry either."

Minori nodded, standing back from his seat and moving over to the counter. He eyed the pastries on display and motioned Sagiso. "Which one do you want?"

Sagiso squinted. "Anything works. I'm here to try all of them, Minori."

"Yeah, I know."

After hearing what Sagiso had to say, the pseudologist grabbed ahold of a large plate and began grabbing the different assortments of pastries one by one. He took one of each, grabbing each one carefully before walking over to Sagiso and setting the plate down in the middle.

"I'll brew tea as well. Do you prefer any kind of tea?"

Sagiso shrugged. "I'm fine with anything. You can choose."

The man gestured the woman two thumbs-up, grabbing the teapot and walking over to where the coffee machine and array of tea bags were. He opened the container to find a large assortment of tea flavors- in the end, choosing the simple oolong tea. He used the machine to pour hot water into the teapot, and then soaked the tea bag inside. Cautiously, he brought the pot over to the table.

"Wow!" Sagiso exclaimed, a teasing tone in her voice. "You should be my waiter if you're this hardworking to impress me."

"I'm not impressing you. I'm just doing what I always do- make sure you're as fine as can be," Minori replied, using his time to tease the woman in return.

"Mhm. Sure, keep dreaming." The auburn-haired woman took the time to grab ahold of one of the pastries- the creme puff, more specifically. She plopped it into her mouth and bit into it, her eyes suddenly widening and lips curving to a wide smile. "Oh, this tastes good! You should try one."

"Really?" The pseudologist shrugged, taking a piece of chocolate fondue from his plate. "I'm more into this one that I got."

"Aren't you a curious person."

A few minutes passed between the duo trying each of the pastries. They enjoyed each and every one of the pastries, smiling and talking happily with one another. They even enjoyed the tea to go alongside the pastries.

"The ball's tomorrow," the pseudologist began, steering the conversation into a new topic. He was observing Sagiso who eyed him curiously. "Are you excited?"

"I am. I would love for us to solve this entire mess sooner, but we do deserve a break for once." The woman's expression was calm. "It's a shame though. I hate admitting it, but I'm not completely looking forward to the ball."

"Why?" Minori asked, raising a brow.

Sagiso awkwardly averted her gaze. "Well, it's because everyone there will be dancing, right? That's particularly what a ball is about, and my injury forbids me from dancing. I can only eat, stand, and talk. Dancing seems impossible."

The pseudologist's expression softened as he smiled at the woman. "That's not true, Sagiso."

'It is, and it's unfortunate." The woman sighed. "I really wanted to dance with Saori and the others. I know for certain they'll be together to dance."

"Nonsense." Minori reached over to grab Sagiso's hands. He clutched onto them softly. "I'm sure you can dance. We just need to find a way."

The psychogeographer raised a brow, lips curling. "Do you know a way then?"

"Hm, well, how about this?" Minori brought Sagiso up, bringing her carefully to her feet. She eyed the man worriedly as he grinned at her, moving her feet over his. "You're not hurting, right?"

"No, not really." Sagiso nodded. "The gauze forces the pain away from my ankle. I can use my feet to balance myself, but not move them."

"That's good." The pseudologist chuckled. "Just stay like this and let me dance."

Sagiso blushed, but stayed silent with acknowledgement regardless.

Minori threw the woman a loving smile, complete with affection as he held her gently in his arms. He felt her hands on his shoulders as he began moving slowly, stepping in a rhythmic beat. One, two. One, two.

It was awkward at first. His movements were not perfect and were rigid. Sagiso slipped a couple of times from Minori's shoes, but within a few minutes the couple found themselves more comfortable in each other's presence. Minori began moving at a comfortable pace, his steps more daring and flexible. Sagiso began to sway in response to the rhythm, feeling the air breeze through her face. The duo became more and more content with themselves, and soon they found themselves laughing as they smiled at one another.

There was no need for music. There was no need for anything. All the duo cared about was the enjoyment they had in each other's presence.

"Minori, you're such a sweetheart," Sagiso began, hugging the man suddenly. The duo stopped in their tracks as Minori felt the woman's warmth. "You didn't have to do that."

"I didn't want to just let you go like that," Minori replied, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly. "I don't want you to be sad."

"You're… You're just the sweetest person ever." Sagiso blushed, releasing her embrace. Her eyes were glistening in admiration. "I never expected to be treated like this. People usually thought of me as an annoyance because of how nosy I was."

Minori smiled, gently sitting Sagiso down. "You're not. No one thinks of you as an annoyance, and I am completely certain I don't see you like that as well."

"I'm grateful." The woman cupped her hands together. She was staring at the floor. "Once we figure out the mystery behind this entire mess, we can all go home together. You, me, Kaniza, Rin… Everyone. I cannot wait for us to escape from this nightmare."

Minori averted his gaze, silent.

"I trust that we can all get out of here together." The woman's smile was sweeter than ever. She was completely certain of herself. "We'll stop Monokuma and the mastermind, and we can all go home."

The pseudologist couldn't help but simply nod his head.

He didn't mention the obvious idea that one of them were the mastermind. He didn't even mention the recollection of Sagiso's private discussion with Fumio.

 _It's obvious that she doubts that. She-_

No, he couldn't. He didn't want to ruin Sagiso's mood.

"Minori."

Sagiso's face was red.

"Thank you for always being by my side."

"Sagiso…"

 _But that's not true, was it?_

Minori smiled. "You're welcome."

The woman's smile widened. The duo shared a look before they continued to talk, discussing and happily laughing before the clock struck midnight.

And that's the end of this chapter! Inevitably the death will come, and of course it'll end the happiness within the cast. Upupupu!

Anyways, like always, please check out TheRoseShadow's SYOC and Lupus'! SanityRequiem also needs characters for their SYOC which is called **Murder on Despair Express**! Please go check these stories out of you didn't yet!

And now, I'm off! See you next time~


	36. Chapter 4 - Part 1, Part E

Hello, and welcome to the beginning of the end of Chapter 4! Here, we will finally get to... well, our favorite and most dreaded part. Well, have fun with this chapter, for it is most definitely needed! And as mentioned by a dear fellow person who messaged me (TheLlamaLord, thanks!), I realized that it's been a year since this story has been created! I'm so happy and so sad at the same time, for this story will soon be over... I'm surprised that I even came this far, and especially all the way into the fourth chapter! And in just a year? That's amazing! Anyways, thanks to TheLlamaLord for mentioning that to me, haha!

 **PoisonBanana:** "Rin and Fumio are certainly popular, aren't they? Of course, death must come sooner or later to ruin this beautiful mood. Let us see who will die, who will bite the dust. Haha, nice to see you, my dear friend!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Aww, glad you enjoyed the scene! Suffering will always be painful, upupu. Aw, but one must bite the dust and die. Let us see who will die in this chapter! And thank you, as always!"

 **ToonGuy:** "We always get closer and closer to the suffering, huh? Oh my, it seems like Minori's still being accused of being the mastermind, haha. I see Fumio and Minori are becoming a popular ship. Upupupupu! Fumio is always cute, best boy definitely! Haha, really? Conditioning does tend to ruin someone's mind, whether good or bad~ Yes, because next time will be death!"

 **liammarklh88:** "Aww, thanks! I'm glad I'm always able to make your day better, if not at least a little! Pfft, I see the romantic tension will never develop now. Yes, but of course! Nothing will ever go right in the world of Danganronpa! Yes, Rin is such a poor girl, let us save her! Fumio's just everyone's favorite character now, huh? He's so loved! We must do a countdown, haha. Aww, thanks! I do wonder that myself, haha. Thank you for always enjoying the chapters I sent out here~"

 **Ziggymia123:** "Aww, I know right? But don't get a cavity! Cavities are bad for you! That is definitely fine. You can claim that you're right at any given point that way XD Aw, the poor group just wants to have fun though! Aww, thanks!"

 **TheLlamaLord:** "Mhm, Fumio is definitely interesting. Yeah, sounds forced at some parts. Some are intentional, and some aren't, sadly. I should definitely improve on that in the future! Thanks for pointing that out to me! Interesting thoughts on who will die! Let us see if they are true."

 **FruitlessKitty74:** "Aww, don't make me sad! I don't want to make you sad! D: I will comfort you whenever you are sad."

* * *

 **BIG THANKS TO MY BETA READERS: KISL, liammarklh88, zephryr!**

* * *

Minori couldn't help but smile the moment the morning announcement sounded.

"Hello, my awesome Ultimates! It's another day, another morning, another twenty hours to live! Don't die today, or do, I don't know! Upupupupu!"

Minori hardly registered what the bear said. Why he was smiling was mainly because of what was planned today. It was the day where happiness would take over that sense of fear and anxiety. Today was supposed to be the day where everything went according to their plan- not to Monokuma's.

Murder will not happen. Minori wanted to believe that, and so he smiled.

Like always, the man changed his clothes before moving out. He made his way over to the dining hall where he met the others, Kamui and Saori setting the dishes down. Sheina and the others waved at him, the pseudologist waving back.

Today was going to be an exciting day, he was sure of it.

"We baked french toast and some breakfast pizzas," Kamui began, having arranged the dishes to be set in the middle of the table, "I hope they'll taste good. If not, we cooked some chicken noodle soup."

"You guys always work so hard for us!" Kaniza beamed, her raven hair bouncing place to place as she clapped her hands excitedly. "You guys really deserve a medal or some sort!"

Saori shook her head, calmly placing each glass of water in each seat. "That is not necessary, but thank you for your kindness."

"You should give yourself some more credit." Rin twirled her spoon around with ease. "I've been waiting for a day, did you two oversleep or something?"

"I doubt we can because of the morning announcement," Kamui replied, smiling. "Sure, we might wake up during the morning announcement, but it doesn't take long to finish cooking all the food. I doubt we will ever oversleep."

Sheina grinned. "Don't let karma bite you in the back though. You might jinx yourself."

The mortician playfully rolled his eyes at the egyptologist, then taking his seat. With him and Saori having taken their seats, everyone began to feast into their food.

"Are you all excited?" Sheina began, eyeing the group. Her eyes were sparkling with a childish glint, hands clapping together. "The ball's tonight!"

Kamui bit into his slice of pizza. "Saori and I will have to cook the food. It shouldn't take us too long, so hopefully we can start a bit earlier than dinnertime."

Sagiso shrugged. She smiled at the group. "Balls usually happen at night, so if the ball happens around dinner I'm not going to be mad. I rather not probe you and Saori to finish cooking the food faster and end up burning the kitchen."

The body broker chuckled. "I doubt we'll ever burn anything."

"You give us both too much credit," Kamui joked, grinning at Saori who shrugged with ease.

"I'm excited regardless of time," Fumio admitted, nodding to Sheina whose smile widened in an instant.

"Of course!" The woman crossed her arms, proud and haughty. "This is going to be the best ball you've ever been to, I assure you all."

"It better be." Kaniza grinned slyly at the egyptologist. "You've been hyping up the ball, after all!"

"Well, obviously. I can't wait!"

With excitement completely overwhelming their faces, everyone continued to eat their food. It didn't take long before everybody finished, Saori and Kamui leaving to wash the dishes. Kaniza and Rin decided to follow Sheina towards the auditorium, and then Fumio and Sagiso left together to discuss something.

Minori was comfortable with his time of silence. Though he enjoyed the company of others, he loved to spend time alone as well. Everyone needed a balance of both, after all.

 _Hm… I should think about our overall situation for a bit._

Minori headed back to his room, opening it up with ease. He walked inside and closed the door behind him, walking over to the shelves. He opened the middle one to find Kakuma's document- the one he found in the fourth floor- and the key that had been made in the printing room.

The pseudologist frowned, looking over the document. His mind recalled back to the code Kamui found, then to what the group had discussed. His mind finally rolled over to what was discovered inside of the MonoLottery room.

 _If we're being documented and if the class trials are being documented as well… Then this killing game is not just for 'entertainment'. There is a reason why Monokuma and the mastermind planned this killing game. It's not just for entertainment, because if it were, then Monokuma wouldn't bother to document this._

 _If anything, he could've recorded us even if we knew this from the beginning for his own purpose. If he bothered to document this, there is some other reason behind all this._

The pseudologist cupped his chin, staring intensely at the piece of paper.

 _Hm, Monokuma hasn't approached me since last time either. Is he busy with something?_

 _It's not like I miss his company, but he usually meets me at times to taunt me. I swore he would've approached me and taunted me about what I found._

Minori sighed. He honestly wasn't sure what Monokuma was even doing at the moment. Honestly, he actually had no idea of who Monokuma was exactly nor his purposes or where he was. He had no knowledge of Monokuma other than the fact that the bear was sadistic, monstrous, and outright insane.

Whoever worked alongside Monokuma was downright insane, hysterical. Minori wanted to curse that person for existence. Whoever worked with Monokuma, whoever built Monokuma, or whoever had the slightest idea to push Monokuma into this twisted consciousness of insanity- he wanted to rid of them all.

 _Besides, whoever they are caused Kakuma's death. Monokuma, the mastermind, everyone… Those fucking bastards will pay._

Minori sighed deeply, feeling his stomach churning. His heart was burning, and he knew better than to allow himself to lose composure. He took a few deep breaths and steadied himself.

One. Two.

There, he was calm now.

Minori powered up his MonoPad, if only for a short second to check the time. Although he knew the ball would take place today, time seemed to be running quite too slowly for his liking. He couldn't help but grow more and more impatient as seconds ticked by.

 _Ugh, I can't sit still. I should stand up and hang out with some people in the meantime. My head will just hurt if I think about Monokuma's intentions too much…_

Still, nonetheless, his heart ached when he eyed Kakuma's document. He couldn't help but want to tear up, having believed that Kakuma would've befriended everyone if it weren't for such a horrid game. Horrible, just horrible.

His heart truly ached for everyone. Everyone shouldn't have died so easily, so abruptly- it was as if they died without meaning, without value.

Or maybe this killing game was to tell them that they meant nothing? That Ultimates meant nothing? That they were useless no matter the title?

The answer was unclear. No one knew.

Minori sighed, scratching his head. He looked around the room, scanning for nothing in particular. Nothing interested him now, and the man placed the document back into the shelf. He closed it gently before heading outside the dorm.

The pseudologist decided to make his way to the dining hall for a snack. What snack he didn't know, but he desired one nonetheless. Walking past the dining hall and into the kitchen, he found Kamui and Saori.

"Oh, hello, Minori!" Kamui greeted, smiling with a polite nod. He was carrying plenty of spaghetti noodle packs in his hands. He easily carried the ton over to the other side, then ripping one open and pouring it into the boiling pot. "Do you need something at the moment?"

Minori shook his head slowly, watching the noodles boil. "No, just wanted to get a snack."

"You just ate a few hours ago," Saori said, not even sparing the pseudologist a glance. She was busy slicing her tomato. "Don't overfill your stomach."

 _Well… True, I'm not that hungry, but…_

Minori awkwardly smiled. "I'll just eat a chocolate bar and leave."

"Chocolate?" Kamui pursed his lips. "Hm… I think they should be in the fridge. Sagiso said that they're there so that the chocolate doesn't melt."

 _Those are going to take a while to bite into and eat then._

"Ahem, never mind then." Minori walked closer to the duo. "Do you two need any help?"

"Oh." The mortician eyed the pseudologist with interest. "Are you not going to rest, Minori?"

"No, I'm free." Minori looked around the area. "Do you need help with anything? I'll try to help as much as I can."

"If you say so then!" Kamui turned to Saori. "Do you need any assistance with anything?"

Saori frowned. "Hm…" She looked down at her workplace, then around the area. She tapped her foot softly in a rhythm, a moment passing, then turned to Minori. "Can you grate the cheese? I want to use that for the pizza."

Minori nodded, moving over to grab the grater and a chunk of cheese. There, he began to work.

Apparently on the schedule for the meals were quite varied. Kamui and Saori planned to cook some spaghetti noodles with a white sauce and a red sauce- two to choose from, or plain if one desired. They also baked pizza in which they found dough accessible from one of the cabinets. Other than such meals were salmon baked in a lemony flavor, salad as a staple, and crunchy fried chicken to top everything off. There were also chicken noodle soup and egg flower soup to make everyone happy.

Desserts also came in a bundle. Minori instantly realized how much the duo were willing to make while working. Not only were there pastries of cream puffs and cheesecake slices available, but there were also cookies and brownies as well.

Drinks came quite easily. There were fruit punch, pineapple juice, and water available. Water and fruit punch were obvious, but pineapple juice was made simply to add a small variance. A cute touch, if Minori had to admit.

A few hours had passed since then, and now the food was ready. Or, at least, the trio were sure that the food was ready.

"Alright!" Kamui clapped his hands together. "We should take these to the auditorium before changing."

Saori nodded slowly. "Right. I had almost forgotten about my gown for the ball."

"Mhm. Here, I'll help."

Minori took ahold of a few dishes, bringing them over to the auditorium alongside Kamui and Saori. They placed it gently down the long table covered in a black-and-white cloth, then arranging it accordingly to their type. Drinks were first, the dishes went second, and finally the desserts for last.

The pseudologist sighed, placing down the bundle of chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies. He eyed the cookies almost hungrily, but held himself back and decided to take a look around the area.

The auditorium was decorated elegantly. There were round tables covered in a soft white cloth, then four chairs surrounding each table. In the center of each table were a vase with a flower inside of it, blooming beautifully. Other than that was the decorations around the entire room, bundles of shining gold and silver to be seen hanging.

 _Almost like a professional ballroom setting itself._

Minori chuckled. He turned to eye Kamui and Saori. "This place looks amazing, huh?"

Kamui smiled widely. "It honestly does. I am impressed by how much work was put into the decorations and arrangements."

"We're few in comparison to any regular ballroom party," Saori said, although amusement was apparent in her expression. "A few of us in comparison to hundreds… Well, I do enjoy being around my close acquaintances."

"Mhm." The mortician nodded. "That's right."

The body broker eyed the area slowly, then turning to Minori. "Seiga's going to be present, correct?"

"Oh, Seiga?" The pseudologist awkwardly smiled. "I'm hoping so. Did any of you talk to him today?"

Saori and Kamui glanced to one another, then shaking their heads.

"You should talk to him." Saori crossed her arms. "We want to include everyone in our group, after all."

Minori smiled softly. "True. I'll see if I can talk to him then."

"Mhm." Kamui smiled back. "The ball will start soon, after all."

The pseudologist nodded. He waved goodbye to the duo for now, heading off in search to accomplish his mission. His search was started with his path towards the stunt double's room.

 _Seiga should be inside of his room. I'm just hoping he won't push us away again._

Minori headed over towards the stunt double, however faltered once his eyes widened. The door was already opened, and there was someone who was in front of the door.

 _Fumio?_

Fumio was speaking to Seiga, the stunt double's expression slightly uneasy as he listened to the scholar. Fumio was talking with a slightly agitated expression, the stunt double on the other hand responding with an awkward smile.

Minori quickly made his way over, interjecting into the conversation and stepping between the duo. "Hello."

"O-oh!" Fumio's eyes widened. He almost jumped at the man's entrance. "H-hello, Minori."

Seiga held his breath. Sweat trickled down from his forehead. "Uh, hey."

"Seiga, are you planning to stay inside there?" Minori suddenly turned to eye the stunt double, giving him a firm and stern look. His eyes almost stared into Seiga's.

"That's… I'm not sure." The stunt double averted his gaze. "Wouldn't I just ruin the damn party?"

"That's why I'm saying you won't!" Fumio puffed his cheeks, face red. "Don't be so stubborn."

Minori observed the stunt double's expression. It was entirely filled with hesitation and guilt. The stunt double was still blaming himself.

 _Idiot._

The pseudologist suddenly grabbed ahold of the stunt double's shoulders. He didn't bother to hear the man's sudden cries as Minori moved him further into his room.

Minori turned to Fumio. "I'll help him change. I'll make sure he comes to the ball with us."

"W-what? Oh." Fumio blinked for a couple of times, then nodding. "Sure."

The pseudologist threw the scholar a wink, then closing the door behind him. His grip on Seiga loosened as the stunt double took a step back, slightly nervous and pale.

"What do you want?" Seiga asked, eyebrows furrowing. His hands were clenched into fists. "Going to the ball is my choice, right? I didn't tell you that I was or wasn't going, so-!"

"Seiga, just calm down and look at me."

The stunt double froze. He slowly nodded and stared at the man.

Minori smiled. It was a calculated smile that almost seemed too natural, too genuine. "Fumio's not going to leave or ignore you if you just don't go. He doesn't hate you."

"But-"

Minori shook his head. "You don't have to be so scared. Like we talked about earlier, we won't ostracise or fear you. Don't be so worried."

"T-that's…" Seiga averted his gaze. He was biting into his lips. "I'm just not sure if I can believe that. I might end up yelling at Fumio and the others again. I kept trying to tell myself that you're right, that everyone's right, but…"

"But what?" The pseudologist frowned. "Seiga, please, just come with us to the ball."

"Why?" The stunt double furrowed his brows. "Why the hell do you even care?"

Minori's expression was steady. "Because you're still a part of us. Even if the glass heart in our bodies has all broken down into sixteen different pieces, you're a valuable piece that cannot be replaced by anything. We're all trying to make up for those missing pieces, and you're a valuable asset in helping keep us together."

Seiga was silent. He was holding his breath, face slightly pale.

"Are you sure?" The stunt double began, asking Minori in a low voice. "Are you sure Fumio or the others won't tell me to run back here and stand down, dying out of pity?"

Minori's face twisted into worry. "Why are you so hesitant?"

"... Monokuma."

He should've known. It should've been obvious.

No, it was already obvious to Minori. Just, he should've known that Seiga would've known. It should've been obvious that Seiga knew himself- knew what was wrong with him.

"Minori, I'm not fucking stable," the stunt double began, grabbing ahold of the pseudologist's shoulders. He brought the man close to his face. "I know I will just snap at Fumio or at the others sooner or later. I've been locking myself here because I know it will happen."

Minori's heart was beating, quickening and quickening. Still, he held his composure and shook his head. "That's because you're not believing in yourself. No one's stable."

"What?"

The pseudologist smiled forcibly, forcing himself to continue staring at Seiga. "You wouldn't know. We're being manipulated by Monokuma. We're all unstable right now. Maybe not to the extent of being obvious, noticeable to everyone, but… The signs are all there."

Seiga stared at the pseudologist, a sudden chill overwhelming his body. He quickly looked away. "What the fuck's happening then?"

"Whether unstable at a huge extent or not…" Minori chuckled bitterly. "Everyone's going through the same symptoms. Their heads are hurting, yet they continue to play the 'I'm fine' role. Nothing bad has happened yet, but something must be done."

"... Then…" Seiga bit into his lips. "Then why plan this party?"

Minori releases his grip on the man. "To brighten everyone's moods. It's a stress reliever, to put in a calculated standpoint. To be honest, it's merely a way for us to have fun and forget everything."

"To have fun." The stunt double smiled awkwardly. "I… I guess that's right."

Minori calmed himself. He eyed the man for a moment. "You're going to the ball then, right?"

"It's a stress reliever, right?" Seiga chuckled. "It sounds like a way for me to calm the fuck down. I think I'll go then."

The pseudologist smiled, clapping his hands together. "That's great! You're not going to betray those words, right?"

The man nodded. "Of course not. I'll go there."

 _Quite a change. A mood change, but nonetheless desirable._

Minori glanced around the room. "Did Sheina give you your clothes? You should go change."

"Oh." Seiga walked over to his closet. He opened it up and pointed to his suit. "Yeah, I got it."

"Alright, I'll head out then." Minori began walking to the door. He opened it slightly and turned to eye Seiga. "I'll come pick you up later."

Seiga's eyes widened, but he was unable to say anything as Minori walked out of the room and locked the door behind him.

Minori let out a sigh as he leaned against the now closed door.

 _Alright, I was able to persuade him. Hopefully he won't suddenly change his mind… Monokuma's really doing a number on him._

The pseudologist frowned.

 _I wonder how everyone else is faring. They don't seem that different from normal other than Fumio… but those were 'those' times._

Minori bit into his lips.

 _Yeah, it's definitely only to the extent of how much Monokuma's helpers messed with us. I still don't know why they're doing that though… or how. It's only bothering me and I can only make assumptions… it's creepy._

"Minori?"

Minori jumped. He had indulged into the world of dreams and suddenly had forgotten Fumio who was in front of him.

"O-oh!" The pseudologist smiled instantly. "You're still here, Fumio?"

The scholar nodded. "Mhm. I was worried about you and Seiga."

"That's really sweet of you." Minori chuckled. The urge to just ruffle the scholar's hair and embrace him out of content for Fumio's being was tempting, but he held himself back to simply smiling. "I managed to convince Seiga to come with us to the ball. I'll pick him up when he is ready."

"T-that's great!" Fumio's lips curved to a wide smile. It contrasted beautifully against his pale complexion. "He was unwilling to agree when I was talking to him."

Minori nodded. "He's just worried he'll end up hurting you and the others. It seems like that fear is overwhelming him more than his desire to be with us."

"Really? That's so sad." The scholar frowned. "I feel bad for him…"

 _That's all Monokuma's fault. The bastard, if not his damn friends, are messing with us. They're messing with us, and I have no goddamn reason why they're doing it._

 _If only I could think of a reason… Then…_

The pseudologist sighed, scratching his head. "He'll be there at the ball now, at least. Hopefully he won't end up leaving early though."

"Mhm!" Fumio nodded. "Everyone misses him…"

"Well, let's not worry about that now," the pseudologist said, throwing the scholar a warm smile, "The party will start soon. We should change clothes now."

The scholar nodded. "R-right."

Minori and Fumio went their separate ways for now, the duo heading to their own dorm rooms. The pseudologist easily made his way into his room, walking over to the closet and opening it to reveal his tuxedo. He gently grabbed ahold of the clothes and closed the closet doors, then making his way to change.

As he was changing, a few thoughts escaped through his head which were followed by answers.

Will Seiga be at the party? Of course, Minori would make sure of that.

How long will the ball take from start to finish? Possibly the entire night.

Does the tuxedo look fine? He didn't know. Sheina and the others had to be the judges of that.

These were trivial thoughts, but nonetheless better and much more fun loving than those he usually had. These thoughts relieved him of stress, and if he ever thought long and hard about their overall situation, then a quick thought about the party will hopefully make him happy.

Just hopefully. Temporary, yes, but hopefully.

Minori adjusted his clothes in the mirror. He positioned the tie around him carefully. He combed his hair and brushed it, hoping to make it neater than usual. A few minutes passed before he felt that he seemed to look decently professional.

 _Alright. I should get going then._

The pseudologist made his way outside the dorm room, throwing on a confident posture. He headed first towards Seiga's room, knocking on the door.

A few seconds passed before the door creaked opened.

"Minori?" Seiga eyed the man strangely, then noticing his attire, lost his stiffness and smiled softly- even if it was for a brief second. "You look nice in that. You trying to impress someone?"

The pseudologist grinned at the man's words. He couldn't help but miss Seiga's usual remarks. "I bet you look nicer than me, haha."

"No, haven't you seen my fucking skin and eye bags? I look like shit," Seiga said, shaking his head. Still, he decided to open the door more which allowed Minori to observe his entire body.

Seiga was wearing a dark blue tuxedo, nonetheless one close to a navy blue color. He was wearing a black collared shirt under that suit of his, then a white tie around his collar. On the bottom were his matching pair of dress pants and black dress shoes.

"Why're you still staring?" Seiga raised a brow. His cheeks were slightly pink as he grabbed ahold of Minori's shoulders and shoved him slightly. A nervous smile was on his face. "Geez, stop staring, will you?"

Minori awkwardly smiled as he noticed the subtle look of embarrassment on Seiga's face. "You look good though. Just make sure Sagiso doesn't see your face- she'll end up bugging you about your eye bags."

"Sounds like you've had experience with that," Seiga mused, raising a brow.

Minori blushed immediately. "O-oh, shush!"

The stunt double awkwardly smiled. It was obviously forced. The man was definitely trying to make conversation with Minori, and it seemed to be working- at least, decently. All he hoped now was to not fuck up when the party actually starts.

Minori was sure he wouldn't. He was confident that nothing would go wrong.

"Let's go then."

Minori and Seiga headed out together. Although the conversation between the two had dwindled, the pseudologist was sure that the stunt double would be fine. Still, confidence was not at all permanent. Minori stole a glance over to side, hoping to take a look at Seiga and clear himself of any doubts.

Seiga was still a bit weary. If it weren't for Minori and Fumio, the man most certainly would've locked himself in his room- and that was a likely possibility, given how Seiga's pride and confidence couldn't destroy that obvious look of worry on his face. The stunt double seemed to steal glances back and forth, sweat trickling down his forehead. He continued to look worried, anxiety almost overwhelming him before his eyes met Minori's. Seiga instantly looked away from the pseudologist and coughed loudly, almost as if to rid of the tension.

Minori inwardly frowned. He decided to say nothing, knowing that Seiga might snap if he were to bother him in his disturbed state of being.

 _Hopefully his mood won't constantly switch back and forth…_

The pseudologist couldn't say much else however, continuing to walk towards the auditorium alongside Seiga.

The first person to notice the duo was Kaniza herself, the woman having just walked outside the room.

"Oh my heavens!" Kaniza gasped. She threw her hands over her mouth, eyes blinking rapidly, almost shining brightly in comparison to the sparkles in her dark blue gown. "S-Seiga!"

Seiga jumped at this, face paling. He glanced over to Minori who tried to shoot him a comforting glance, but quickly cleared his throat and grinned. "Hey there. Haven't seen you for a while, Kaniza."

"Seiga!" Kaniza couldn't care less about the man's nervousness (most likely she hadn't even noticed it), embracing the man tightly. Her smile was warm and entirely genuine, the woman releasing Seiga with a relieved sigh. "I'm so glad you're here. I was beginning to worry that you weren't coming."

Seiga nodded slowly. "Fuck, yeah, that's…"

The astrophotographer shook her head, moving a hand up. "No, no, it's fine. I'm not mad at you. I can't be considering everything that's been going down."

The stunt double looked troubled by this. To him, that seemed like a lie. "Yeah, I guess so."

Kaniza giggled sweetly, then turning to Minori. "You look nice in that! Sheina and the others really did a great job with all our clothes."

Minori smiled. "I agree. Everything looks amazing. They've really done a splendid job."

 _Though it's still to note that there's no way we would've been able to sew clothes so perfectly like this unless we're the Ultimate Designer or whatnot… Nonetheless bombs…_

"Mhm!" Kaniza opened the door behind her, motioning the duo inside. "Come, come!"

Minori and Seiga stole a look with one another, then headed into the ballroom.

"Testing, testing- Oh?"

Someone's voice spoke loudly and articulated. Minori and Seiga directed their gaze, following the source of the voice. Through the speakers and from the microphone held in hand, Kamui was on top of the stage.

"Seiga?" He was blinking repeatedly, unable to believe his very own eyes. He almost dropped the microphone held in hand as well. "Y-you're here?"

Seiga gulped, slowly walking forward into the room. He slowly made his way over to Kamui who was eyeing him in shock. "Uh, hey."

Kamui's expression hardened. He slowly brought the microphone down to the ground before hopping off the stage, meeting eye to eye with the stunt double. He observed him for a short, brief moment.

"Uh…" Seiga awkwardly raised a brow. "Should I go?"

Kamui cupped his chin. He rubbed it for a few seconds, then shaking his head. "Where were you?"

"What?" The stunt double's eyes widened.

"You locked yourself in your room, and now you're here." Kamui crossed his arms. "Don't you have something to say to everyone?"

The stunt double smiled forcibly, scratching his head. "Uh… dude, what do I have to say?"

Kamui stared at him, almost in disappointment. That expression disappeared without warning however, as the man instead smiled back and grabbed Seiga's shoulders. "Stay with us this time, alright? Don't lock yourself in, please."

"Y-yeah." Seiga was baffled. "Alright, sure."

From where Minori stood, it was obvious that Kamui wanted to say something else to Seiga. That smile from Kamui's was fake and obviously forced, and it was also obvious that Seiga was completely baffled by what was happening. Minori assumed that Kamui wanted Seiga to admit his guilt and apologize to everyone, and Seiga failed to realize that.

 _Seiga's still a prideful person, after all… and Kamui's the type of person who expects us to treat one another equally._

Minori sighed. He honestly hadn't even realized that the stunt double seemed unwilling to apologize for the discord he had caused so far. To lock himself in his room and cause the others to worry was definitely aggravating. It was obvious that Kamui would've expected something from Seiga, but instead he had gotten nothing.

"Please relax here, Seiga," Kamui continued, noticing the paleness in the stunt double's face, "This is a way to relieve your stress. This party isn't meant to further your stress."

"I know that." Seiga frowned. He looked around the area, uneasiness in his eyes.

The door opened, Sagiso walking into the room alongside Saori, Rin, and Sheina. The quartet of women were speaking to one another, then grinning widely once they met Kaniza straight into the room.

"Hey, there he is!" Sheina suddenly grabbed ahold of Sagiso, forcing her to turn her body. She even grabbed the psychogeographer's face and directed it to the front. "There's your prince!"

Minori's eyes widened as he took a look at Sagiso. She was wearing a beautiful white gown, pearls decorating her waist and the skirt of her gown designed in a flowery symbol. The woman was even wearing her auburn hair different from her usual twin braids. Instead of her hair tied into braids, it was laid down, hair flowing, wavy and silky.

She was like an angel from the skies above.

"S-Sheina!" Sagiso quickly shook her head, prying the woman off of her. Her entire face was red, fists clenched. "P-please be more courteous, would you?"

Rin sighed, shaking her head. She walked over to meet Minori and the others, holding onto her gown in order to not trip. "You guys look great."

Kamui chuckled warmly, toying with the black bowtie that contrasted well to his dark gray tuxedo. "Mhm, and you look well in that gown."

The jeweler rolled her eyes. "Of course I do."

Kamui slowly rolled away from Minori and Seiga, the mortician now engaging in a pleasant conversation with Rin.

Saori approached the duo now, focus entirely on Seiga. "It's good to see you're here. I was beginning to get frustrated over how you isolated yourself from us."

"Oh!" The stunt double jumped. "That's… well."

The body broker raised a brow, but then said nothing as she left. Her beautiful black gown which was designed almost to symbolize a swan in a pristine, empty river flowed side to side as she walked back to Sheina and the others. The egyptologist and astrophotographer were busy teasing Sagiso.

Minori sighed, turning to Seiga. A playful smile was on his face. "See? Just relax, you'll be fine here."

Seiga furrowed his brows. "Uhuh."

"Oh my god, you two are too much for me." Sagiso was covering her mouth, entirely red now. She was standing still in place, Sheina and Kaniza high-fiving one another. She didn't even move as Saori patted her back.

The door opened once more, and it stayed opened, for the last guest had arrived.

Fumio was walking happily into the room, twiddling with his white suit. He first waved to Sheina's group who waved back at him, then his eyes sparkling with excitement as he noticed Minori and Seiga. There, he immediately ran over to their side.

"I-I'm so happy to see you here!" The scholar cried, almost too excited. It was as if he was a child, his smile almost goofy in a sense. He immediately caught himself in this act however, quickly clearing his throat and blushing. "H-hello, Seiga."

"You…" Seiga's expression looked hurt. He resorted to shaking his head, looking away from the man and murmuring underneath his breath. "You're such an idiot…"

No one caught ahold of the man's words, Fumio clapping his hands together. "Uh, the party is starting now, right?"

"Oh, right." Minori turned to eye the stage. It was empty. "Uh, I think someone should be getting on stage-"

"I got it!"

Sheina quickly ran over to the stage, almost as quick as light as she zipped straight to the top of the stage, microphone in hand. A mischievous smirk escaped her lips as she suddenly threw a hand up, other to her mouth.

"Hello? Can you all hear me?"

Everyone began to cheer, applauding the woman.

The egyptologist twirled in response, her exotic hues of bright colors sparkling under the lights. "I, the Son of Osiris, commend ourselves for an amazing job throughout our investigation! This ceremony, right here, right now, is our treat to our soon to be victory!"

Kaniza was caught up in the moment, jumping up and down. "That's right!"

"That's the spirit! The Gods grant us our desire to party then!" Sheina confidently laughed into the open. "Let us party then!"

"Woohoo! Yeah!"

The party officially came to a start. Music began to play, resonating into the room which was happily filled with a lively atmosphere. People began talking to one another and dancing, others eating food and bouncing to the beat. They couldn't care less about whatever was outside of the ballroom- all they cared about now was to party and have fun for the rest of the night.

Of course, it was obvious that some people came in and out during various times at the party, but that was nothing to worry about. People always bustled in and about, but they always came back. It was nothing to take notice of at all.

Minori smiled, engaging himself in a conversation with Saori and Kamui. The trio found themselves bumping into one another while grabbing their drinks.

"Everyone's in high spirits." Kamui chuckled. He sipped into his drink of fruit punch. "I love how lively we are."

"Almost as if the killing game was never a thing." Saori crossed her arms. She was watching Kaniza who was helping Sagiso out with her dance. "If only Monokuma took care to value life more."

Kamui sighed, rocking his cup back and forth. "We can always pray that everyone's souls will rest at ease. I'm still disgusted by the fact that Monokuma cannot be bothered to prepare our poor friends a proper burial."

"That is fine." Saori spoke without much emotion, only interested in watching Kaniza and Sagiso. The subtle look of amusement was on the body broker's face however. "The soul is all that matters. It leaves the body, so the body does not hold value anymore."

Kamui tensed up at this, however kept a firm smile as he chuckled. "I almost forgot you were a body broker."

The body broker nodded, not bothering to glance back at the mortician. "Mhm."

Minori, noticing the awkwardness beginning to weave its way through, quickly cleared his throat. "Have you two danced yet? The song sounds really nice right now."

"I'm surprised Monokuma had a plentiful amount of CDs," Saori mused, focus now turned to the song playing. A satisfied hum escaped her lips. "It does sound quite nice."

Kamui chuckled. "I wonder what else will be playing."

"Same-" Minori noticed Kaniza motioning him over. "-Ahem, excuse me."

Minori walked over to meet Kaniza. The woman smiled happily. "Minnie, I want to ask you something!"

The pseudologist wondered if he'd regret this instantly. "What is it?"

Kaniza giggled. "You went out on a date with Sagiso last night, huh?"

"T-that's-!" Minori blushed red. He looked around the room before looking back to Kaniza. "D-does everyone know?"

Kaniza shrugged. "I mean, it's pretty obvious at this point. Even the stars above would've laughed if someone didn't know that."

The pseudologist sighed, shaking his head. He figured Rin or Sheina told everyone else about this. He could only hope Fumio won't join in on the teasing.

"Is that all you have to say to me?"

The raven laughed, throwing Minori a thumbs-up.

 _Oh goddamnit._

Minori rolled his eyes, leaving the woman to be. He was about to head back to Kamui and Saori, however stopped in his tracks- he found himself eyeing quite a peculiar scene, after all.

Sheina was grinning wryly, whistling. Seiga was on the ground, breakdancing in the middle of the floor.

"Woah, you go, Seiga!"

Seiga spun on his head before leaping off from the floor, standing perfectly on his two feet. He winced, gripping his hand. Noticing the look of worry on Sheina's face, he quickly smiled and shook his head. "I'm fine."

Sheina frowned. "Are you sure? You don't have to dance if you don't want to."

"We're here to have fun." The stunt double awkwardly chuckled. "I wanted to entertain you and the others."

The egyptologist was hesitant, however laughed it off and threw an arm over the man. "Alright then! Why don't we drink the night off with some punch?"

"Punch?" Seiga raised a brow. He thought for a moment before his cheeks turned red. "O-oh! You mean the fruit punch. Right, I'm fucking stupid."

Sheina laughed, dragging Seiga over to the line of food. "Let's go! I'm sure you haven't eaten yet anyways."

Seiga was unable to decline the offer, being dragged over towards the food. There, Sheina gulped down a shot of fruit punch, sighing and then handing Seiga a cup. He eyed it strangely, then shrugged, shooting it into his mouth.

"Yeah!" Sheina cried out. "Drink! Eat! Let's have fun here!"

Kaniza poked her head out from where she stood. Her interest was instantly grabbed. "Ooh, are we all going to have an eating contest or something?"

"Let us drink the punch in moderation," Kamui said, eyeing Sheina who was now drinking shots of fruit punch. The mortician was unable to say anything more however, for the egyptologist shoved him a glass. "O-oh dear heavens, are you insane? Why're you so hyper-"

Kamui was unable to speak any further. Everyone began exclaiming and cheering loudly over hm.

Saori sighed, watching chaos unfold before her very eyes. She quickly left to the other side of the room where Rin and Fumio were, the duo eating and drinking at a table.

Minori slowly backed away from the scene, moving one step backward before hearing a yelp behind him.

"O-oh! Sorry." Minori quickly turned around, then finding Sagiso. His cheeks blushed a faint hue. "Oh, Sagiso."

Sagiso eyed the man with a warm smile, unbothered by his movement. "Nice to see you, Minori. You look well in that. I'm glad it seems to fit you well."

The pseudologist smiled. "Same to you. You look much more beautiful than you usually are."

"I-I see." Sagiso's cheeks blushed red. The woman averted her gaze. "You really think so? Sheina wanted to put my hair down as well, so…"

"You look fine like that." Minori chuckled. "No matter what you wear, I think you look beautiful."

"Gosh, you're such a flirt." Sagiso grinned playfully. "You almost made me swoon for a moment there."

The pseudologist rolled his eyes. He heard the song coming to an end, and another one beginning. "That wasn't my intention. It was a genuine compliment."

Sagiso eyed the man for a moment. Her gown was sparkling under the light. "So, would you like to dance?"

Minori's face grew redder. His heart almost burst from the woman's words. The sweet voice of a man serenaded the background, a orchestral tune helping to accompany that.

"Aw, come on, why do you look so embarrassed?" Sagiso grinned at the pseudologist. It was an attempt to tease him, but it was obvious that she was embarrassed herself. "It's like what we did yesterday, remember? Do you not remember how to dance?"

"Of course I remember," Minori was able to say, quickly composing himself. He then held out his hand to the woman. "You won't end up hurting yourself while we dance, right?"

"Don't worry about me." Sagiso winked. "I was able to dance with you yesterday, after all."

The pseudologist grinned. "Then I have nothing to worry about."

Sagiso rolled her eyes, but grabbed ahold of Minori's hand as he held her up, putting her feet over his. Minori gave the woman a warm smile before beginning to move to the rhythm of the song, Sagiso swaying her body in the process. The duo gracefully moved around the ballroom, their thoughts straying away from the world around them. They couldn't care less about the noise buzzing about, nevertheless those pairs of eyes which stared straight at the duo. They simply danced and danced.

It was as if hours had passed in the midst of the night. It would've been romantic if the stars were high above, bright and clear without any clouds to dim the lighting. It would've been gorgeous for the couple to be in the middle of the night, a pristine lake that sparkled and acted like the lights from below. The lake where the ballerina and her partner would dance- the swan and the prince.

A swan, because, yes, Sagiso was a beautiful swan that sparkled under the light placed down upon her. A beautiful sight for Minori to behold. Her white gown contrasted beautifully with the darkness of his suit. A contrast, a match made for heaven and hell.

For life and death.

Minori spun around, taking his partner with him. He smiled as he heard her giggles, expression completely that of genuine admiration as he twirled her around and around.

The song eventually came to an end, and the duo finished off their dance with warm smiles. They looked at one another happily, pleased with their delightful, exquisite sequence.

Applause.

"Woo!" Kaniza was the first to cry out, face red. She ran over to the duo and threw her arms around each one. "You two were amazing out there!"

Fumio's lips were curved to a wide smile. "You two looked like you were having fun there."

"Ah…" Minori awkwardly scratched his head. "Well, I suppose you can say that."

"Let's cut open a cake or something," Rin said. She seemed more than willing to jump into the fray. "We must celebrate for that amazing performance."

Sheina grinned widely. She shot two glasses of fruit punch up to the air. "We must celebrate this beautiful scene to the Gods! Drink, we must!"

Kamui groaned, groggily looking up from his table. "Really, you want to feast more…?"

Seiga shrugged. The competitive fire in his eyes brightened as he noticed Sheina gulping down a shot of fruit punch. "I'm honestly fine with anything."

Sagiso and Minori glanced at one another, laughing. They were embarrassed- of course, that was normal- however, they were overwhelmed with amusement and excitement, following Sheina's orders as everyone began to drink and eat more than a beast could ever afford to take in.

Like what had happened before, everyone indulged themselves in their chaos. By Sheina's command (and the lack, though mainly inability, to overturn the authority to themselves), everyone ravaged into the buffet in front of their very eyes. Everyone drank and ate left and right, and if it wasn't apparent that everyone was livelier than ever, it was obvious now.

"Woohoo!" Sheina was jumping to and fro. She had captured Kaniza in her grasp, the astrophotographer laughing alongside Sheina. It was to note that the duo were laughing for no reason.

Rin yawned, letting out a groan. Her entire face was red. "Guys… Did we accidentally drink alcohol or something? Everything's spinning."

"I-I assure you I did not mix the drinks up!" Kamui cried. His moods were constantly changing from second to second. "Ugh, my head hurts."

Saori gulped, eyeing the group. She was slightly moving off beat, almost close to losing her balance. "I-I told you all to drink in moderation… Sheesh…"

"I think someone spiked the drinks!" Seiga screamed. He was roaring in anger. "Let me at them!"

"S-Seiga!" Fumio was tearing up, trying to calm the man down. "Please!"

"Did someone really spike the drinks? I…" Sagiso was speaking groggily. She was laying down on the table, on the verge of fainting. "I should've known about this…"

"I'm surprised we even have alcohol anyways!" Kaniza giggled happily, hiccuping simultaneously. "Hehe! I'm having fun! Let's dance some more! Kamui!"

Kamui gasped, fear in his eyes. "W-why me?!"

Kaniza jumped up from her seat, but before she could charge into the frightened Kamui, she fell straight down.

"Eek!"

Kaniza fell unconscious.

"Oh dear heavens…" Rin groaned. She was on the verge of throwing up. "I need to rest or something…"

"I-I'll help Kaniza-"

Saori fell off of her seat. She was too dizzy to even consider moving, leading to Seiga running over to her despite falling on his own face in the process.

"Haha!" Kamui snorted. "Loser!"

Seiga snarled at the man. "You wanna fight, you fuck?!"

"No!" The mortician quickly raised his hands up. "I'm sorry! Aah!"

Kamui began running for the door, but ended up hitting against the wall in the process. He instantly fell back, knocked unconscious.

"Idiot…" Rin groaned. She was breathing heavily. "That's why you shouldn't stand up and bother… Ugh…"

Minori was frozen. He gulped, watching the entire scene unfold before his very eyes. He felt his own head spinning. His entire body felt limp and heat was overwhelming his head. His heart was burning, and he couldn't even bother to mutter a single word. All he could do was think, and even thinking was hurting him.

 _The fruit punch was definitely spiked. Why though? Is this just a joke, or was the fruit punch mix actually a mixture of alcohol and punch…?_

 _What am I even saying? Fucking kill me. My head hurts…_

Minori could hear someone crying in the background. Crocodile tears were heard as Seiga began screaming. Fumio and Saori were left trying to calm everyone down in their drunken states, Sheina laughing in the middle and Rin silently falling into a state of unconsciousness.

 _Fucking… Just make my head stop spinning…_

And his wish was granted, for he immediately fell down unconscious.

Darkness.

And even more darkness.

Darkness continued to stay and stick for a few hours until the faint voice of someone knocked him from his poor state of being.

"... wake up…!"

He couldn't hear well. A small groan escaped his lips. Darkness stayed around his world.

"... ori… wake…!"

"Mm…"

Minori felt hands shaking his shoulders. They were cold and rough- it seemed like whoever was waking him up had just awoken themselves.

"Ugh…" The pseudologist slowly found himself opening his eyes. Tired, tired eyes which screamed at the sight of light. He wanted to shut his eyes again, however kept them opened for he saw the person in front of him. "Oh… Kamui…?"

Kamui was staring down at the man, right across the table. The mortician was tired himself, cheeks flushed of its color. "God, I can't believe we got drunk! Ugh, anyways, Minori, get up."

Minori blinked a couple of times, rubbing his eyes. He slowly forced himself up from his seat to stand. "How about the others?"

The mortician frowned. He glanced over to Kaniza who was walking around the room to wake the Ultimates. "I just regained consciousness."

"How many hours have passed?" Minori asked.

Kamui pursed his lips. "Uh… Two? Three? I'm not completely certain…" He then quickly shook his head. "Nevermind that. We should wake up the others-"

"Kamui!"

The mortician turned around, Kaniza having called out to him. She had recently woken up Fumio and Seiga. "Did you wake up Rin already?"

"Rin?" Kamui frowned, expression slowly hardening. "No, why?"

Kaniza held her breath. "She's not in here."

Minori's heart jumped.

"Oh my god." Kamui immediately threw his hands over his mouth. His face immediately paled, more so than the whiteness of snow. "This… This is a setup!"

"K-Kamui!" Kaniza quickly waved her hands about. She realized the man's panic without a second thought, and instantly did she want to crush it. "This is just a mistake! She probably just woke up early and decided to rest in her room!"

"Y-yeah!" Minori quickly jumped at the idea. He grabbed ahold of Kamui's shoulders, holding the man down in his panic. "Rin's probably just sleeping in her room right now. It's-"

Seiga looked over to Minori. He had groggily awoken. "What's happening?"

Minori froze. "Uh… It's nothing. We're just going to look for Rin."

"For Rin?" Sagiso bobbed her head up. She had regained consciousness alongside Saori and Sheina. "Why? She's… Where is she?"

"Wait, Rin? She's gone? Rin? Rin?!" Sheina jumped up immediately. Fear instantly overwhelmed her face, body jumping up and down. "We need to look for Rin!"

"H-hey, calm down!"

Kaniza tried to calm down everyone, but Sheina immediately ran outside the room. The egyptologist's efforts were followed by Kamui who began rushing away from the room. Soon, everyone followed without a second to even ponder what was happening.

 _No. No! This must be a mistake! This is a terrible mistake!_

Minori shook his head. He had no time to think now. He had to look for Rin.

 _Rin! Rin! Please be safe!_

Minori charged out of the door, turning his head left and right. He began checking each room, each area. She wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere.

He charged straight at the dormitories. He knocked at the jeweler's door for violently.

One. Two. Three.

Nothing.

Minori groaned.

 _Shit. I need to break through-!_

"I got this!"

Minori's eyes widened, suddenly finding himself shoved to the side. Seiga immediately swung his hip, foot flying straight into the door.

Whoosh!

The door flung opened.

No one was inside. In fact, everything looked the same. There was nothing off about the room at all. Nothing inside of the room that was suspicious.

"Shit!" Minori cursed underneath his breath. "Where is she?"

Seiga shook his head. "We need to look somewhere else."

Minori and Seiga ran around the entire building. Everyone was split up in different areas of the building. There was hope that someone would run down, yelling that everything was fine. There was hope that Rin would appear, mocking the group for their nervousness.

No, none of that had happened. Nothing good was happening.

Minori panted, sweating as he turned a corner. He was now on the fourth floor. Rin was not to be seen. She wasn't anywhere at all.

The first floor? Inside of her room? The laundry room? The library? No, she wasn't there at all.

The second floor? Inside of the gymnasium or cafe or the swimming pool? No, she wasn't there at all.

The third floor? Inside of the music room? Choir room? Anything? No, of course not. She wasn't there at all.

How about now, in the fourth floor?

Minori only had to cross his fingers, praying.

No, she wasn't anywhere in the hallways. Minori caught notice of Fumio who was worriedly speaking to Saori, their faces pale.

The door to the changing room swung opened. Minori ran inside, but-

"Ah?!"

The pseudologist slipped and fell to the ground. Landing on his bosom, the man let out a low groan.

 _What the hell…?_

Minori turned to the side, behind. There was a glint on the ground.

 _Is it… What? Why… why is the floor wet?_

Minori turned to Seiga. The stunt double was looking around the room, left and right. He was pacing back and forth, shaking his head.

"I don't see her anywhere." Seiga gritted his teeth. "Where is she? What the fuck?"

"Rin? Rin?!"

Kamui ran into the room. He was breathless, looking everywhere from left to right, back and forth. His eyes met with Seiga's and Minori's.

"H-have you guys seen her yet?"

Minori averted his gaze. That tone of desperation was all too apparent. "Kamui…"

Kaniza ran inside the room. "Hey, guys-"

She immediately threw her hands over her mouth, and immediately fell down.

"W-what?" Seiga's eyes widened, the woman almost falling to his feet. "Kaniza?"

"Oh my god…" Kaniza was shaking. "Oh my god, oh my god…"

"Kaniza?" Seiga grabbed ahold of the woman. "What the fuck's wrong with you? What happened?"

"I… That's…"

Kaniza pointed up, a shaky finger directing the stunt double's attention to that direction.

Up, up, and about.

Up, up, and about to… Rin.

To Rin's body.

To Rin's bloody, bloody body.

"H-holy shit!" Seiga jumped back, screaming. "What the fuck?! Is that Rin?!"

"What?" Kamui's face paled. He slowly looked up, and immediately regretted it. He began gagging, grabbing at his stomach. "This… I have to go-!"

Kamui instantly ran out of the room.

Minori bit into his lips.

 _There's…_

He slowly moved his head up.

 _There's no way…_

Dark brown hair, now dyed in red. Limbs with the complexion of pale, now sickly and blotched with purple and red hues. That beautiful gown, now tainted in crimson red.

There was no doubt about it. It was Rin.

Rin Hoseki, the Ultimate Jeweler, and the Ultimate Jewelry Thief.

Minori gritted his teeth, turning to Seiga. "P-put her down! She might-!"

Seiga didn't bother to respond, immediately running over to the machine and pressing the button.

The pulley began to move, bringing down the surface of metal. It was descending. Slowly, slowly descend. Impatience struck Minori's mind as he ran over to the jeweler's side.

"Rin!"

Minori twitched. He flinched at the sight of the woman. Her entire mouth was covered in blood. Her entire face was hues of purple, pink, blue, and red. Her body was bathed in blood, and from closer inspection it seemed that her wounds were internal.

Internal, internal wounds that burst opened and ate at her skin. Her skin was opened and her entire body was covered in opened wounds and blotches. Disgusting. Gory. Disgusting.

It was disgusting.

"Oh my god…" Kaniza was murmuring under her breath. She was panicking, breathing shallowly and quickly. "Oh my god, this can't be happening, this can't…"

Seiga gently moved Kaniza and Minori to the side. He bent down to meet Rin's body, then pressing a warm hand over the woman's heart. He waited for a second. A frown. He quickly pressed his fingers to her neck and wrists.

"... G-guys!" The stunt double turned to the duo. "S-she's still breathing!"

"W-what?" Kaniza gasped. She immediately threw herself at Rin, unaware that her own gown and hair was covered in blood. "Rin! Rin! Oh my god! Please!"

Rin's eyes were dull. Those big eyes of her's were now lost of its color, lost of its life and shine. They were devoid of life. No, her eyes were clinging onto that want of life, but it was dwindling.

The subtle movement of her mouth moving disappeared. Cough, cough, goes the blood. She was coughing up blood and choking. She couldn't even move her body. Her wounds continued to open, and more continued to form.

"Oh my god…" Kaniza was sobbing. "W-what should I do? W-why… How do we…?"

Seiga bit into his lips. "I… I don't fucking know…"

Minori held his breath. He felt tears beginning to form in the corner of his eyes. He noticed everyone running into the scene.

"Rin?!" Sheina cried. She threw her hands over her head and without warning, fainted into Saori's arms.

"I-I saw Kamui running out, and…" Sagiso bit into her lips. She was being carried by the body broker. "... I can't believe we let this happen."

"N-no!" Kaniza shook her head. "Guys! S-she's still breathing! We might be able to save-!"

"She's dying."

"H-huh?"

Saori walked over to Rin. She eyed the woman for a moment, then slowly turning to Kaniza. "She's bound to die. She's been poisoned."

The astrophotographer's eyes widened. "No… B-but can't we do something about it?"

Saori gritted her teeth. "Her injuries are too much for her to handle. She's… She's going to die."

"No…" Tears began to overwhelm the woman's face. "But why…?"

Fumio was trembling, hugging himself tightly. "This is horrible…"

"B-but Rin's still alive!" Kaniza cried. She was sobbing loudly. "S-she's suffering right now! She can't even speak!"

"... Are we…" Minori slowly eyed the group. "Are we going to let her die like this?"

"W-what?"

The pseudologist averted his gaze. "She's suffering."

Kaniza jumped at this. "I-I can relieve her! I-!"

"No, don't!" Sagiso's tone suddenly shot up. She was breathless, eyes diluting. "Don't. Don't do that, please."

"But…"

"Don't! Don't you remember what happened the last time someone did that?"

Kaniza opened her mouth to respond, but was silenced by Fumio who shook his head. The woman was forced back into weeping.

Sagiso panted deeply. She threw Minori a look. "What're you doing?"

"I… I don't know."

 _Shit. Why did I think of that? What the fuck?!_

"Rin…" Sagiso looked down at Rin. She was staring straight into Rin's dulling eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Rin wanted to speak. It was obvious, given the woman's furrowed brows. Her eyeballs rolled left to right, but it was obvious she couldn't see. She couldn't see well. She couldn't hear well. She was breathing.

Breathing which became shallower… and shallower…

And finally…

Her breathing stopped.

She fell limp, and her head rolled back.

Death.

 _Ding dong! Ding dong!_

"Hello! There's been a body discovered! I repeat, there's been a body discovered! Please report to the er… changing room immediately!"

Something broke inside of Minori.

That broken heart of his broke even further, and he fell deeper into despair.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - Part 1 END**

 **Our Poor Subconscious Minds**

 **Survivors: 8**

* * *

 **Would you like to save?**

 **[YES] | NO**

* * *

... And that is the end to this chapter! We now have our Chapter 4 victim, but who can be the killer? Well, the answer lies within the trial (or possibly investigation), so please wait patiently and continue to ponder on who could've killed our dear victim!

Like always, between my two stories, I will juggle one trial at a time! I'm not sure which trial I will focus on at this time, but I will for sure have an answer by the time I release the next chapter to Act of Despair!

And like always, please go support our dear friends and fellow writers! **Crimson Spider Lily** and **zephryr** both have their own SYOCs out, so please feel free to submit characters to them! Also, another fellow writer still has a SYOC that is open and that is from our dear writer **Orlando Butler**! Please do go and support these creators if possible~

Thanks, and have a great day!


	37. Chapter 4 - Part 2, Part A

Merry Christmas (or Christmas Eve)! I am back with another chapter here, and I am sorry if I took a while to finish and post this chapter! I was busy with life, especially studying and finals! Anyways, I'm here now and hopefully I'll be able to upload more~ Haha, anyways, enough of me, let's get on with the show!

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Haha, it's alright, I already shook myself XD No one will have their happy ending, no one! Haha, well, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and the reveal of the victim! It's alright, I'm sure you'll be able to guess it sooner or later, haha. Mhm, too bad no one can be happy and pretty in their attire. Pfft, hopefully the trial will be intense, if not, I'll cry. Aw, thanks!"

 **Ziggymia123:** "Despair-inducing deaths are definitely my favorites, but yes the suffering does make me cry. Well, we would have to see, now do we? Haha, of course, your favorite theory! Mm, the best theory! Lol, nice to know XD Upupupupu~ Thank you~"

 **ToonGuy:** "Haha, oh my gosh. I'm glad you liked the chapter! Spiking something in a party is always the norm in mystery and crime stuff, haha. Of course she had to die! We need a murder, after all! Hopefully you didn't wait too long, oops."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Well, glad to have surprised people. Brutality is fun."

 **Guest (who is totally not my friend):** "Winky wink."

 **FruitlessKitty74:** "Famous last thoughts indeed. Aww, it's alright. I'm really bad at guessing too, haha! Aww, no, don't cry, that makes me sad D: Yeah, sure! You can call me Rio if you want, hehe. See you next time too~"

 **TheLlamaLord:** "Haha, yeah, I know right? Interesting suspect list you have there, very interesting! I wonder if any of those suspects you have there are the murderer, hehe. Aw, it's fine if you didn't log in, at least I know it's you!"

 **Guest (who is totally not my other friend):** "Why."

* * *

If Minori had smiled right then and there, it was because of how unbelievable this entire scene in front of him was.

Reality was cruel, and despite having told himself that over and over again, he ended up clinging onto the sheer hope that reality would give him a break.

Yes.

That reality would give them a break.

No, of course not.

Why did he believe that?

That wasn't possible.

 _Hah… Fuck. This is just funny._

Minori wanted to laugh. Honestly, this was just too unbelievable. He hated this. This false sense of hope and prosperity. It was continuously ruined and tortured, beaten to death. It was just worthless.

 _No, no. That's not true. I'm only saying this because I let this happen!_

The pseudologist quickly lifted his head. He darted his eyes back and forth, breathless for no apparent reason.

"Minori, dude."

Minori froze. He felt Seiga's hand on his shoulder. The stunt double was giving him a worried, cautious look.

"Are you okay? I know Rin's dead, but you're usually not so…"

 _That's right, but-_

"Upupupupupu! Finally, another murder, another happy day for Papa Kuma here!"

To ruin the tension in the air, to ruin that united solemn mood, Monokuma had pierced through the air and appeared with his usual perky self.

"Woah!" Monokuma threw a paw to his mouth, letting an exaggerated, obviously fake gasp. "Rin died?! Oh my god! I can't believe it!"

The bear made a sharp cry, falling to the ground. Like a scene from a soap opera, he had fainted with a swoon.

Well, he did, but then he immediately jumped back up. A large, boisterous laugh escaped his stomach.

"Puhuhuhu! This is great! Someone had died! My motive had not gone to waste!"

"You…" Sagiso was clenching into her fists. "I'm sorry, but you get off of this, don't you?"

The bear grinned. He folded his arms with a proud stand. "You think I'm in any position to admit that or lie? I'm-!"

Monokuma suddenly fell the ground, head first.

"Ouch!" The bear jumped up, rubbing his head. "My head hurts now… Geez…"

Seiga paled. "That…"

Minori glared at the bear. His stomach was churning. "You're mocking us, aren't you?"

"Huh? Am I? But my head really does hurt!" The monochrome bear frowned, eyeing Minori. "You're such a jerk! I hate you. Why doesn't anyone like me?"

The pseudologist heaved a short laugh, a quick snort. "Uh, obviously? Because you forced us into this shit!"

"But!" Monokuma teared up. "But that's a lie! I'm…"

The bear suddenly threw his arms to the air, laughing. "Upupupupupu! Yeah, that's right! I'm just messing with you all."

Saori bit into her lips. "That's unjustifiable."

"How dare you!" Sheina gritted her teeth. "The Gods will roar their justice upon you!"

"Pfft, you religious ass. No one cares. Go back to fucking Osiris' ass or something." Monokuma chuckled as he heard the woman's accusations of blasphemy. He calmly walked over to Rin's body, eyeing it curiously. A smile. He turned back to the group. "Aren't you glad? One of you guys killed Rin using your imagination and creativity! My children are so talented! Like, gosh, who would've expected that horrid the human brain was so horrid?"

Fumio closed his eyes, a shaky sigh escaping his breath. "Because we used the motive."

"Of course, Fumi dearie." Monokuma giggled, paws over his mouth. "Papa Kuma here paid lots of money and spent lots of time devoting himself to these little presents. You cute little children must honor my good name and status."

"You're fucking sick," Seiga growled, eyebrows furrowed. His breaths were shallow and deep. "This is so sick."

"Everything's sick." The bear's smile turned more sinister than ever, eyes staring straight at Seiga and the group. "Aren't you guys all sick anyways?"

"What?"

Monokuma snorted. "You're all sick in your minds, fucking mentally unstable and shit. You're sick in the head. Didn't I say this before? Everyone's cute little personalities and mindsets are being changed every single day."

"Y-you said that was an accident!" Kaniza cried. Tears were still in her eyes, and her arms were now firmer than ever around Rin's body. She seemed like she didn't want to let go of the woman before, always changing her mind from one idea to another. "I-it's an accident and that they're trying to fix us!"

"Oops, did I say that? Whoopsy daisy!" Monokuma twirled around in circles. "That's obviously a lie and you know it! I'm just being forced to say what I'm supposed to say that time!"

Sheina snarled at the bear. "Liar!"

"What?" The bear frowned. "But that's true! You guys should already know that I'm telling you all the truth! It's not only your little character traits that's being tweaked at here, idiots!"

The egyptologist was forced into silence. She couldn't counter or retort the bear at all.

Fumio gritted into his teeth, now staring at the bear. He was shaking from where he stood, breathing shallow. "W-why? Why are we being toyed with like this? I thought you only cared about the killing game. How is this entertainment when we're not acting of our own free will anymore…?"

"That's just your definition of what 'entertainment' is. You and I are different." Monokuma smirked. He threw his arms out wide, a malicious, high-pitched laugh escaping his throat. "It's not like you can read my mind, or can you?"

Fumio froze.

"Aw, what, am I right?" The bear laughed. "It's fine. I'm just joking with you. Everyone has your problem, after all."

Seiga quickly stepped into the mix, moving Fumio behind him. It was quite a knightly action, as the scholar was completely hidden from view because of his short height. "Hey, leave him out of your shit. You've bullied him enough."

"Like you haven't?"

The stunt double gritted his teeth. "And whose fault was that? You guys are fucking screwing with my head!"

"Shut up, roach."

Seiga paled. He was silent for a moment, however that immediately changed as he began trembling, shaking with anger. "Asshole! You're mocking me!"

Monokuma sighed. He didn't seem intimidated by the stunt double at all, simply shrugging with a snicker. "Well, any howdy, since I'm such a great guy, let's start the investigation now, shall we?"

Kaniza sniffed. "R-right now?"

"You think I want to stand around here all day watching you all mope over Rin?" Monokuma rolled his eyes. "Puh-lease, you demotion of a lover. I already spilled enough as is and I've dying for the trial already. You better get your asses moving. I'm taking my leave."

Sagiso's eyes widened. "Wait-!"

"Oh, yeah, the Monokuma File." The bear tilted his head and knocked on the side. "Oops! Almost forgot! Of course I'll hand you guys your files when I leave. No need to remind me!"

And with that settled, Monokuma disappeared into the mix.

Sheina screamed into the air. Anger was completely overwhelming her face. "That blasphemous bear! How dare he!"

Saori frowned, eyeing the woman. She rested a small hand on her shoulder. "Sheina, calm down."

"Speaking such heresy! The Gods will rain death upon him!" The egyptologist then turned to the group, hands on her hips. "We must show Monokuma who's boss! Let us go, at once! Make haste!"

"Sheesh…" Saori shook her head, sighing as Sheina immediately began moving around. The body broker turned to the group herself. "Can anyone go find Kamui? As harsh as this sounds, I do need him to investigate Rin's body with me."

Minori nodded. "I can fetch him."

"I hope he's doing fine," Kaniza murmured, talking to Sagiso who smiled sadly at her in response. "He's never acted like this before."

"Hopefully he'll be fine." Sagiso rubbed Kaniza's back. "Do you want to rest your head for a while? It's fine if you don't help."

"No, I'm good." Kaniza slowly got up to her feet. Her entire gown was ruined now, blood everywhere. "I can't waste time. I… I want to solve this case. I can't mope around."

"Mhm." The psychogeographer grinned. "That's the spirit."

Fumio was shaky, body shivering. He slowly breathed in deeply, then out. He calmed himself and looked over to Seiga, grabbing onto his sleeve. "T-thank you."

"... Don't thank me. You really shouldn't." Seiga softly shoved Fumio's hand away from his sleeve, then taking the time to move to a different area.

Fumio sighed. He noticed Minori staring at him, and he quickly blushed and glanced away. "D-don't mind me. Seiga's just…"

"Yeah, I know." Minori smiled softly, eyeing Fumio. He wanted to ruffle the man's blue hair, but he knew better and simply resorted to observing his movements. "Just don't worry about it. We should be focusing on the investigation, after all."

The scholar jumped at that, quickly bobbing his head up and down. "Of course. I'm just… disappointed that this happened."

"Everyone is." Minori sighed.

 _It definitely happened during the time we were drunk. But how? Everyone looked drunk…_

Minori brought a hand over his head. He noticed the scholar blinking curiously at the sight. He noticed that his head didn't feel hot, nor cold- it was just lukewarm, the same as it always was. He frowned, laying down his arm.

 _Hm… It's not like I feel hungover or anything like that. Strange._

"Uh, Minori?"

Minori eyed the scholar and smiled. "I'll go find Kamui first. I'll investigate with you and the others later, okay?"

The scholar blinked for a moment before nodding his head. He threw Minori a soft smile in return. "Alright. I'll see you here later."

"Mhm. We can't solve a case independently, after all." Minori headed over to the door and waved to Fumio. Seeing a wave, the pseudologist left the area.

 _Alright, let's do this._

* * *

 **INVESTIGATION TIME!**

* * *

 _I should look for Kamui first… I wonder where he could be?_

Minori decided to walk down the hallways, and fortunately enough for his liking, the mortician was sitting down at the end of the hallway. Inside of the lobby room was Kamui, the mortician sitting down on a couch with his head down.

The pseudologist walked over to the man before calmly taking a seat down next to him. He glanced over to the mortician. "How are you?"

"I…" Kamui didn't bother to look at the man. He was shaking his head with a mocking laugh. "I'm not sure. Rin's death shouldn't have bothered someone like me. I'm not even sure if it's because I was hungover now or something."

Minori worriedly frowned. "Your head hurts?"

"No, honestly… and that's the problem." Kamui laughed. "I don't think I'm hungover, so was it because I was afraid of seeing Rin, dead like that? That's foolish. I shouldn't have been so scared… so disgusted. It's horrible of me to have run out, and from someone like Rin no less!"

The pseudologist bit into his lips. "Isn't that because she's your close friend?"

"If that was the case, then my feelings for Ko and the others were nothing more than indifference."

"Ah." Minori averted his gaze. "Sorry."

"No, don't be. My words would be interpreted like that. I shouldn't be mad at you." Kamui's breaths were shaky and shallow. "Minori, I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm not feeling like myself right now."

Minori awkwardly smiled. He reached a hand out to rub the man's back. "No one feels like themselves. You're not alone there. Don't you remember whose fault that is? It's Monokuma's fault. It's not your fault at all. You shouldn't beat yourself up over having left Rin."

"... But is that really a valid excuse?"

Minori didn't know. He didn't, but he had to pursue Kamui nonetheless. "Monokuma is trying to change us. I don't know why he's doing it, but he told us it was on purpose. If you feel any different than you normally do, it definitely has something to do with Monokuma and his group's work."

"I.:." Kamui pursed his lips. "I suppose…"

Minori frowned. Heat was rising to his chest, and so he stood up from his seat to stand in front of Kamui. He directly looked at him in the eyes. "If you want to mope, then do it after we solve this case. We're wasting time, and I don't want you to be the one to bring us down. We're counting on you too. You can't just stay here and mope."

Kamui's eyes widened. "W-what?"

"More of us are dying, one by one. There's like what, less than ten of us?" Minori shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "Our work is going to get harder and harder, and there's no way we can solve this case with someone like you missing."

Kamui averted his gaze. He was silent.

"I know I'm being mean, but that's the truth." Minori crossed his arms. "This is a group effort, to put it lightly. This investigation is nothing more than work made for not me, not Saori, not Fumio or Seiga, not you, but all of us, together."

"Minori…"

The pseudologist sighed, letting out a small smile. He laid his hand out. "Come on. Let's go. We can't do this without you."

Kamui eyed the man for a moment, then sighing in return. He smiled as he took Minori's hand, letting the pseudologist pull him back on his feet. The mortician awkwardly chuckled as Minori stared at him. "Thank you."

The white-haired man laughed. "Don't worry about it. Your response back there was completely valid."

"I suppose…" Kamui scratched his head.

Minori nodded. "Alright then. Let's go."

The duo headed back into the changing room where the others stood. Saori was kneeling down to eye Rin's body, her expression stern and anxious. Kaniza was now speaking quietly to Sagiso. Seiga in the meantime was by himself at the corner, looking around. Fumio was looking around himself alongside Sheina.

"You're back." Saori eyed Kamui. "How are you?"

"I should be fine." Kamui awkwardly chuckled. "Nothing for you to worry about. I'm fine now."

"Mhm." The body broker let out a small sigh, eyes directing themselves back to the body. "Sorry for bothering you. We needed your help to examine the body, so…"

"I understand." The mortician smiled before walking over to the body broker. He kneeled down next to her and began examining the body.

Minori frowned.

 _Well, since I'm back here, I should start somewhere…_

The pseudologist grabbed his MonoPad. Opening it, he quickly decided to check the file Monokuma had given them.

 _Alright, let's see…_

* * *

 **Case File #005**

 **Summary: Rin had died inside of the changing room around 1:12 AM, however she had been in a vulnerable state for about an hour or so. She died from having a dart shot in the back of her neck. The tip of the dart was doused in lethal poison, and it spread throughout the woman's body, causing her body to boil and wounds to open from the inside.**

* * *

Minori frowned as he read over the case file. He couldn't help but tap his foot.

 _Hm… A dart, huh? Doused in poison. I wonder…_

 _If the motive was used to kill Rin, then… whoever killed her must've had either a slow-acting poison or a normal acting one. There's no way this was instantaneous._

The pseudologist gulped. He took a look at his own motive, eyeing the weapon and color on display.

The icon of two swords crossed. A red backdrop.

Minori frowned.

 _Red was instantaneous, right? I should ask…_

Minori cleared his throat. "Ahem. Monokuma, are you here?"

Seiga heard Minori from afar, eyebrows scrunched. "Why are you calling him?"

Minori awkwardly laughed. "Well, he usually comes whenever I call him-"

"Upupupupupu! What's up, Minnie!"

Minori turned around, finding himself looking down at Monokuma. The bear was smiling mischievously at him with a shot of wine in hand, and strangely enough a coconut in another. The pseudologist couldn't help but deadpan.

"Uh… What's with the stuff there?"

Monokuma snickered. "Puhuhuhu! Are you jealous, Minnie? I doubt most of you are at the age to drink and party anyways."

The bear took a small sip. "Ah! Does that feel good! Oh, hi Seiga! How are you doing today? How was school? Did your grades finally go up to an A+?"

"Shut up." Seiga frowned. "I'm not a kid."

"Are you sure?" The bear continued to smirk. "I like dousing you with my fatherly love, after all!"

"Ew." Minori almost wanted to vomit. "Ahem. Anyways, Monokuma, I would like some clarification on the motive."

Monokuma tilted his head. "The motive? Do you want a rerun of what I said a few days ago or some shit?"

Minori nodded. "That, and more elaboration on what exactly does the motive allow us to do."

"Has anyone even tried using the motive?" Seiga asked, curious. "We didn't know jack shit, so like… I doubt any of us knew how to work that shit."

"Nope, other than the killer, but that's obvious." Monokuma snickered. He was swaying back and forth, the liquid in the glass swirling. "Okay, so you want an elaboration, right?"

Minori nodded. "Please."

Monokuma spun around happily. "Alright! I'll explain it for you then, honey!"

The pseudologist was silent. He looked at Seiga who shrugged at him.

"Woah, can't even give me love, eh?" Monokuma snickered, but nonetheless kept a calm tone and explained, "Alright, so obviously the rules are that you guys each have your own type of weapon and color, and that you can't tell anyone else what's your weapon. To tell someone literally means your eternal suffering."

Minori raised a brow. "And what kind of punishment would be 'eternal'?"

"Aw, wouldn't you like to know." Monokuma smirked. "Anyways, there are three types of colors and four types of weaponry. I will explain the three types of colors first. They are red, blue, and green."

The bear danced to and fro, swaying. His tone was too calm for Minori's ears. "As stereotyped, red is one that is meant for death and bloodshed. Red would suggest that to use the weapon against someone would cause them instantaneous death. You can make it as gory as you want while knowing you'll be fine with not getting caught! Blue is our normal type of pacing. Boring, right? Anyways, green will give us a slow, beautiful, painful death…" Monokuma gasped. "Oh, god! That's beautiful!"

Minori frowned. "Uhuh. Anything else?"

"You're so rude." The bear rolled his eyes. "Anyways, the types of weaponry you all have vary into four specific types. There are swords, guns, bows and arrows, and finally, axes or hammers."

"And how exactly can we create these weapons?" Seiga asked, curious.

"Oh, simple! Like I said, the creativity inside the minds of human beings works wondrously!" The monochrome bear engulfed himself in a state of happiness. His paws were high to the air, almost as if he were Christ Himself. "To use your minds to create the most gruesome, the most interesting of weapons- that's how it works!"

Seiga furrowed his brows. "So… Wait, fuck, we use our minds?"

"Yup! That's exactly it!" He stopped for a moment to eye the duo. "What? You guys seriously don't believe me?"

Minori shook his head. "How do you expect us to think up of a weapon and have that idea turn itself into reality? We're not video game characters. We're not in an RPG game, Monokuma."

Monokuma laughed. "Alright, alright, fine! Believe what you want, assholes."

The pseudologist frowned, expression hardening. He couldn't help but glare at the bear intensely. "Can you at least be more specific? Please?"

"I guess." Monokuma shrugged. He paced back and forth, slow and almost in a hypnotic rhythm. One, two steps. "If you really want me to explain this when I tried to make shit simple, then sure. Basically, the motive requires you to use your imagination. In my opinion, this motive is enticing to me because it allows me to see how creative your murderer selves are, y'know? You're creating a weapon from scratch, using your mind. What does it look like? Is it small? Is it big?"

The bear stopped. The red in his eye glowed. He turned to stare into Minori and Seiga's faces.

"How will the weapon function? There are so many ways to create a weapon, and especially just from using the mind… and only the mind alone… you can create a nuclear weapon if you were given the choice! The only limits to this was your motive's color and weapon type, that's all."

"Jesus Christ." Seiga bit harshly into his lips. The faint taste of blood trickled into his mouth. "What the fuck's wrong with you?"

The monochrome bear snickered. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Hm…" Minori raised a brow. "So you can create anything as long as it is in the reign of the limitations."

Monokuma giggled, paws over mouth. "Upupupu! Exactly! Imagination is always a killer, after all."

A hand reached to his collar. Minori hummed silently to himself. "So… the weapon's functions can revolve around anything, but when it kills someone depends on the color of the weapon…"

"Uh, are you good?" Monokuma raised a brow, blinking. "Are you that mindfucked over how awesome I am at creating motives? Minnie, Minnie?"

Minori sighed. He slowly eyed the bear and nodded. "Thank you for the information."

"Aw, no problem! Glad I was of help!" Monokuma saluted the man. "Okay then! Puhuhuhu! If that's all, Monokuma will be out now! Goodbye-"

"Wait."

The stunt double's voice was sharp and clear.

The bear jumped. "W-what? You want me to stay here? Ugh, what the hell!" Monokuma groaned, reeling his head back. He stared intensely into Seiga's eyes. "Okay, fine, what do you want, hotshot?"

"I just thought of this, but, like…" Seiga tapped his foot, obviously wondering how to word himself properly. "Er, once you create this sort of weapon shit, how exactly does it convert from fantasy to real life?"

"Oooh, that? That's actually a good question!" The bear clapped his hands together. "Wow, Seiga! You actually thought of something that Minnie here completely missed!"

The pseudologist rolled his eyes. "Uhuh."

 _I was just too focused on the idea of weapons being made from our imaginations._

"Anyways, the weapon will be created as soon as you're fucking sure of your desired weapon in your head!" Monokuma grinned. "It's gonna appear from thin air, right in front of ya! Like, bro, it's just gonna appear in front of you the moment you agree to your fucking idea of what the weapon will look like! Amazing, right?"

Minori frowned. "So the killer can easily gain access to their weapon without a second to waste?"

"Yup!" The bear whistled happily. "Ain't that swell?"

The pseudologist was silent.

"Now is that all you have?" Monokuma eyed Minori who nodded his head. The bear quickly turned to eye Seiga. "You good now, right?"

Seiga slowly nodded his head as well.

"Alright! If that's all, I'm fucking going! Buh-bye, bitches!"

And true to his words, Monokuma had disappeared into the abyss. He had disappeared in thin air, instantaneously and quite otherworldly. A paranormal experience.

"Ugh…"

Minori's eyes widened. He quickly turned to Seiga who grabbed at his head, obviously in discomfort. The pseudologist reached a hand out to his shoulder. "Are you alright, Seiga?"

"Yeah, I'm good…" Seiga softly pushed the white-haired man's hand to the side. "I just forgot how annoying it is to listen to Monokuma's voice…"

"I mean, you were locked in your room for the last couple of days. And suddenly staying up and partying with us…" Minori awkwardly smiled. "You should rest your head for a bit if needed."

The stunt double shook his head. "Nah, nah, I'm good. It just hurts a bit… though, yeah, guess I'll rest a bit."

The pseudologist nodded, watching Seiga who began to walk away into the hallways. Minori smiled slightly, letting his eyes linger at the door before his memories of Monokuma broke into his head.

Minori took out his MonoPad and eyed the newly gained truth bullet.

 _Hm… Let's see…_

* * *

 **Motive**

 **Summary: Monokuma had given the Ultimates a motive where they can kill one another by creating that weapon, but, of course, with limits. The limits are of the following:**

 **The weapons are the following: Swords, Bow and Arrows, Guns, and Axes/Hammers.**

 **The color codes and time of deaths are the following: Green (Slow), Blue (Normal), Red (Instant).**

 **Everyone is given their own type of weapon and color code. They cannot create a weapon that is out of what they were given in their MonoPad nor can they create a weapon that kills a person more slowly/quickly than what color code is given to them.**

 **How to create a weapon depends on the person's creativity and mind. A weapon's look, effects, etc. are dependent on how the person perceives their desired weapon. The person cannot create a weapon of a different category using their mind nor the weapon's ability to quickly/slowly cause death either.**

 **The weapon will be created into reality the moment you are completely certain of what you had created in your mind. It will be manifested into reality instantaneously and at your proximity.**

 **You cannot tell anyone what your color code and weapon category is. To tell someone would cause you 'eternal punishment'.**

* * *

Minori nodded inwardly to himself, having read through the truth bullet. The information inside of the evidence had closely correlated to what Monokuma said. The pseudologist could now only hope that he didn't forget anything, for he was sure Monokuma wouldn't answer with such honesty after being interrupted a few seconds ago.

The pseudologist sighed. He looked around the room in silence, then eyeing Rin's body. He shuddered as he noticed the blood that had oozed out from her body and boiled her insides. It was too much of a frightening sight for him to behold.

 _What did she even do to deserve this? She never did anything…_

Minori held his breath, forcing back another shaky sigh. He slowly walked over to the crime scene, specifically towards not only Rin's corpse, but to the investigators Saori and Kamui.

The duo were talking to one another, murmuring. Saori was talking to Kamui who looked quite pale, but nonetheless she was slightly pale as well. The body broker's hand was slightly tainted in blood- Rin's blood, obviously.

"Hey." Minori smiled softly at the duo. He made sure to catch their attention first before proceeding. "How are you two doing?"

Saori eyed the pseudologist with a small nod. "Hello, Minori."

The man nodded back in return, then eyeing Kamui. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Kamui smiled slightly. "Thank you for asking."

The pseudologist chuckled before suddenly keeping a serious expression on his face. "Mhm, so how is the investigation going for you two?"

Saori sighed deeply. Although she looked calm on the outside, the shakiness in her breath told Minori otherwise. "What Monokuma put in the Case File so far is accurate. We're searching for any additional details we can safely say for certain. We can give you our deductions though, if that's fine."

"I'm more than happy to share with you what I have." Kamui stared intensely into Minori. His lips were curled into a frown. "I want to figure out who killed Rin."

Minori nodded, sharing his intense stare. "Then please do so."

Kamui heaved a breath of air, calming himself. He took a step to the side, allowing Minori to witness Rin's body in plain sight. Although the discomfort on the pseudologist's face was clear to see, Kamui stayed where he was.

"From what I discussed with Saori, Rin's cause of death was definitely from lethal poisoning. This was the dart that killed Rin. It was near her body." Kamui handed a green dart to Minori who took it carefully, examining it.

The dart was tipped with green paint. The short, tiny blade which acted like a syringe was slightly doused in blood.

Minori shuddered. He couldn't help but picture this tiny, tiny dart being the sole cause of Rin's seemingly eternal suffering.

* * *

 **Dart**

 **Summary: A dart laid lying to the left of Rin's body. It is the one that ended up killing her. It is color coded green.**

* * *

Minori handed the dart back to Kamui before the mortician continued, clearing his throat. "Anyways, although what Monokuma listed in the Case File is accurate, Saori and I are sure he left something very important out."

The pseudologist's eyes widened. "And what is that?"

Kamui heaved a small breath. He walked over to Rin's body and turned her around, making her lie on her stomach. He gritted his teeth, hands stained with blood. He was obvious discontent with how he was tarnishing the crime scene, but it was needed for he motioned Minori over and pointed to a short, deep gash on her nude back.

Minori threw his hands over his mouth, forcing back the thought to vomit. To see Rin's torn shirt exposing her clotted and bloody body, her nude back, it was just enough to make him moan. "Ugh… K-Kamui, why're you showing me that?"

"Don't look at everything else then." Kamui threw the pseudologist a warm smile, comforting him. "Do you see that wound on her back? This one?"

Minori forced his dark green eyes to stare at the short cut. He nodded his head slowly. "Yeah… why?"

"If you compare this wound to the others all over her body, it is obviously different." Kamui softly sighed. "Her wounds are internal, so around her open wounds you can see the purple and blue around the wounds. The wounds are similar to you popping pimples. It looks like her wounds exploded from her body."

Kamui smiled sadly. He continued, "So, if you compare those wounds to this one, which isn't opened and small, it is obviously separate from the poison that caused the rest of her wounds."

Minori gulped, slowly observing the woman's wounds.

He eyed at the gash that Kamui pointed out to him. It was short and deliberately struck, contrasting her other wounds which, like Kamui said, were covered in blotted blues and purples, and were open in disgust. There was definitely a difference.

"Hm, why does she have this wound though?" Minori asked, raising an eyebrow towards the mortician's way.

The taller man frowned. "Well, her wound is definitely recent. Saori and I deduced that the wound was around the time she had died. The wound came from something sharp, and we suspect that she must've hurt herself. We're not exactly sure what injured her, but we'll look around later."

"Mhm…" Minori nodded slowly. "I see. Thank you for that."

Kamui smiled. "It's not a problem."

* * *

 **Rin's Back**

 **Summary: On Rin's back there seems to be a gash wound. It is recent. Kamui and Saori deduced that this wound does not relate to the poison which killed Rin.**

* * *

Minori crossed his arms, pondering for a moment. "Hm, I'll have to look around the room for any blood that could relate to the wound then."

Kamui nodded. "Yeah, you should."

"Hm, do you want us to talk about our alibis?" Saori asked, stepping over into the duo's space. "You usually ask us."

The mortician nodded. "True. It is a bit hard to do such a thing though, considering what happened."

"Mhm. Because of what happened before Rin's death." Saori bit into her lips. Her fingers curled in dismay, the red in her fingernails staining a part of her gown. "We should talk about our alibis throughout the party then."

Minori raised a brow. "Oh, that makes sense. Let's talk about that then."

"Do you want to start?" Kamui asked, eyeing the pseudologist.

"Oh, sure." Minori smiled sweetly. "I was mainly there during the entire party. I was dancing with Sagiso and talking to the others before joining in on the fun. We all ended up falling unconscious afterwards though."

Kamui frowned. "True. It's hard to deduce who's the killer since we all fell unconscious. I can only suspect someone faked falling asleep."

Saori raised a brow. "Everyone seemed to have ate the food and drank the punch though."

Minori shook his head. "'Seemed to' sounds like the key word here."

"Ah. True." The woman pursed her lips. She tapped her foot on the ground. "I really am not sure what happened there. It is strange to think that we ended up acting so… drunk, if you had to say, yet right now we are in our right heads."

"You mean minds." Kamui chuckled lightly. "However, I do agree. We seem completely fine now."

"Hm…" Minori cupped his chin. "Were there any alcohol bottles lying around in the kitchen?"

Kamui and Saori glanced at one another, then shaking their heads.

"No, there wasn't," Saori said, going on to explain, "We never saw any wine bottles, sake, rum, or anything. You could ask Sagiso or Kaniza since those two usually tended to the kitchen before."

"I'll make a note of that then." Minori also mentally told himself to check the kitchen later. "Anyways, can I have your two alibis? I'm not sure if it would be useful, but it is still nice to keep note of."

Kamui smiled. "Of course! That makes perfect sense."

Minori smiled back in return, if only for a little while.

"Ahem, I shall start then." Kamui crossed his arms. "I was, of course, there during the entire party. You, Saori, and I were in charge of making the food and drinks. Naturally, that would bring suspicion to us…"

Kamui quickly shook his head, clearing his throat. "H-however, disregard that. I did went on a bathroom break about… hm, well, about an hour after the party had started. It didn't take long before I came back however, and I stayed during the entire party afterwards. We then ended up drunk and falling unconscious. I was the one who regained consciousness first, and that was when I tried to awaken everyone else."

Saori decided to step in, making sure her alibi was stated. "I stayed throughout the entire party. I was around with Sheina most of the time, so she can attest to what I said. I do remember Kaniza going outside to go to her room. Rin said that Kaniza wanted to wear her necklace and bracelet."

"Really?" Minori raised a brow. "Why?"

The body broker frowned. Her expression was firm, hardened. Worry was written all over her face. "She just likes wearing it all the time. It's natural to her. I saw her coming back after ten minutes since Rin told me about her. She found her jewelry after misplacing them in her bathroom earlier. She was a bit busy focusing on her makeup and gown beforehand, after all."

"Makes sense." The pseudologist smiled softly. "She looks prettier than usual in her gown. Everyone does. Even you, Saori."

Saori made a soft noise. She looked down at her grown before quickly shaking her head. She seemed quite amused, judging from her slightly playful tone, "Aren't you flattering."

"Aw. It's true though!" Minori exclaimed.

 _Well, that seemed to relax Saori a bit. That's good._

 _Okay, that aside, it seems like I got a bit of information on what happened during the party. I better keep note of this._

* * *

 **List of Small Events During Party (UNFINISHED)**

 **Summary: Here is what everyone stated what important things they did (or saw) during their time in the party:**

 **1\. Kamui took a bathroom break about an estimated hour after the party had started. He immediately came back after the break.**

 **2\. Kaniza went into her room to get her necklace and bracelet. She took about ten minutes to fetch them before coming back. She had apparently misplaced them earlier when she was getting ready for the ball.**

* * *

 _That seems to be it for now…_

Minori sighed inwardly to himself.

 _Okay, I have a lot of things to look into. I should gather everyone's alibis first before looking around the room and outside of this room._

The pseudologist took a look around the area. He scanned for the nearest person, and soon he realized that the person closest to him was Kaniza.

The woman, in her bloody gown, was silently looking around the area. It was almost an aimless, blank stare- the woman was obviously bothered and shaken up.

Minori pitied the woman. He slowly walked over to the woman. "How are you holding up?"

"Oh! M-Minnie!" Kaniza jumped at the sight of the man. She quickly composed herself from where she stood, hands rested against one of the nearby tables. She smiled softly. "I'm doing fine. I just had to recompose myself again for a moment there, oops."

"It's fine." The man smiled sweetly in return.

"Hopefully so. I just have to be optimistic." Kaniza laughed bitterly. "I just hate how we continue to kill despite everything…"

Minori's smile saddened. "Yeah."

"B-but nevermind that!" The woman laughed awkwardly now. "Do you want anything from me?"

"Ah, well…" The pseudologist raised a brow. "I would like to know your alibi, if that is alright with you. From what Saori said, you went out to get your jewelry."

"O-oh, that!" Kaniza sweated. She was scratching her head, averting her gaze. "I know, I know, it makes me look suspicious, huh?"

Minori smiled. "That's why I'm asking for your testimony."

"True." The astrophotographer heaved a deep breath of air. She was toying with her bloody gown. "Well… Yeah, it's true. I always wore my necklace and bracelet on me."

She showed the man her pieces of jewelry. Minori chuckled as he eyed the astrological decors.

"A-anyways, I forgot to wear these during the party. I was doing my makeup and hair with Rin, and we were caught up on this that I forgot to wear my jewelry." Kaniza chuckled. "I took them off when Rin was helping me with my gown, after all. I misplaced them somewhere too and pushed them to the side since we were using my room."

Minori nodded his head. "Mhm. You were excited for the ball, after all."

"Was I that obvious? I don't think I was as excited as much as Sheina was, haha." Kaniza laughed with a hand over her lips, embarrassed. "I eventually found my jewelry in the bathroom. It took about ten minutes though…"

"That's fine." The pseudologist crossed his arms. "At least you have proof that you did retrieve your jewelry."

"I guess that's one way to put it." The woman smiled awkwardly. She already knew that despite that valid assumption, there were other assumptions that would list her as guilty.

"Well, let's switch gears then." Minori cleared his throat. "Was there anything off you noticed during your time at the party? Anyone you know who left the room?"

Kaniza frowned, now cupping her chin. "Uh… let's see here… Oh."

Minori raised a brow. "Yes?"

"W-well, I know it's probably nothing to worry about, but… aha…" The woman slowly looked over to the pseudologist, staring at his face. "Well, Sagiso had went out for a bit. I think she had to use the restroom since she came back quickly though!"

Minori frowned. "Do you have as estimated time when she left?"

"Right after I returned, I think." Kaniza pursed her lips. She quickly shook her head and smiled. "I-I doubt she's guilty of anything though! Aah, it sounds like I'm suspecting her…"

The man sighed, throwing the woman a soft smile. "Don't doubt Sagiso so easily. Aren't you her friend?"

"Friend?" Kaniza blinked for a moment, then nodding, albeit slowly. "Y-yes, that's right."

"It's fine. She wasn't the only one who went out to use the restroom anyways." Minori chuckled. "Besides, we don't even know if leaving the room was something the killer did. They might've just stayed in the party and had already set up the murder."

"True…" The astrophotographer's face saddened. She idly began playing with her locks of hair. "The killer…"

Minori was silent.

Kaniza quickly snapped out of her thoughts. She was now staring at the man with a small smile. "Uh, is that all?"

"Yeah, it is." The pseudologist politely bowed his head. "Thanks."

The astrophotographer's smile widened more, and nodding back in response, left from her spot. Minori, in the meantime, thought to himself, frowning.

 _Alright, let's see…_

* * *

 **List of Small Events During Party (UNFINISHED)**

 **Summary: Here is what everyone stated what important things they did (or saw) during their time in the party:**

 **1\. Kamui took a bathroom break about an estimated hour after the party had started. He immediately came back after the break.**

 **2\. Kaniza went into her room to get her necklace and bracelet. She took about ten minutes to fetch them before coming back. She had apparently misplaced them earlier when she was getting ready for the ball.**

 **3\. Sagiso had went outside to take a bathroom break. She went out after Kaniza had came back and retrieved her jewelry.**

* * *

Minori glanced around the room, looking for the next person to question. There, at the other side of the room, he found Sheina and Sagiso. The duo were talking to one another, calmly and quietly.

He walked over to where the egyptologist and psychogeographer were, waving a hand out. "Hello, Sagiso, Sheina."

Sheina's eyes widened as she turned to eye the pseudologist. "Ah! Hello there, fellow spirited one."

"Hello, Minori." Sagiso threw him a small smile, however it was obviously forced. "Have you figured out anything yet?"

Minori smiled back in return, albeit only to comfort the auburn-haired woman. "Nothing conclusive, only mere assumptions. I'm currently gathering everyone's alibis."

The psychogeographer nodded her head slowly. "So you want to gather our alibis then."

"Mhm." Minori awkwardly chuckled. "If you don't mind, that is."

"Of course I don't." Sagiso's composure relaxed. "You're silly to even think I'd deny giving you my defense."

The egyptologist grinned, amused. "The Gods will punish me if I don't give you my alibi too!"

"Okay, okay, fine." Minori threw his hands up. "Then do give your alibis, please."

Sagiso nodded, her face turned serious and calm. "If no one had mentioned it to you, I had gone out for a quick break during the party. It was around the time Kaniza came back, if she or anyone else had mentioned it to you…"

Minori nodded. "Yeah, Kaniza told me."

"Okay. That's good." The woman cleared her throat. "Hm, well, I have no one to vouch for me, so I can't really say anything else… I do remember seeing Seiga go out to use the restroom too."

The pseudologist raised a brow. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. He went out about ten minutes after me, I think. He came back in under a few minutes though." The woman cupped her chin, stroking it slowly. She frowned as she looked back to Minori. "Sorry, that's all I remembered from the party."

"That's fine." Minori smiled, then turning to Sheina. "How about you then?"

Sheina grinned, throwing her hands over her hips. She was throwing Minori a haughty, confident look. "I was there at the entire party! I do remember Seiga going to the restroom too and Kamui as well. They were usually within my line of sight since I was mainly near the buffet with Saori. Other than that, yes, I was there the entire time at the party! Saori can vouch for me."

"That's good to know." Minori smiled, nodding his head. "Is that all you would like to tell me?"

The egyptologist frowned, cupping her chin. "Hm… I don't remember anything else that's suspicious or the like."

Sagiso eyed Minori with her arms crossed. "We can always discuss things we haven't looked over or missed later in the trial. I don't recall anything else that's suspicious."

"That's true," the man replied, "though it would be nice to know things sooner than later."

"Mhm." Sagiso frowned. "Sorry."

Minori shook his head, expression loosening as he gave her a warm smile. "Don't worry. We'll figure it out soon. Just wanted to know if you two thought of anything right now."

"I don't have anything yet," Sheina said, awkwardly laughing. "I'm kinda dumbfounded on this case."

Minori nodded. "Don't worry. I know we'll all figure it out sooner or later. Just be confident, alright?"

Sheina eyed the man for a moment, then laughing wholeheartedly with confidence in her face. "Yes! Of course! You have a way with words, my dear friend!"

Sagiso crossed her arms, obviously looking more relaxed with her injury. "I trust that."

Minori threw the woman a playful smile, but it immediately disappeared the moment he turned away to focus on the murder case. His mind was completely focused on the case, and he was determined to solve it as efficiently and accurately as possible.

 _Anyways… Sagiso and Sheina gave me their alibis. Let's see…_

* * *

 **List of Small Events During Party (UNFINISHED)**

 **Summary: Here is what everyone stated what important things they did (or saw) during their time in the party:**

 **1\. Kamui took a bathroom break about an estimated hour after the party had started. He immediately came back after the break.**

 **2\. Kaniza went into her room to get her necklace and bracelet. She took about ten minutes to fetch them before coming back. She had apparently misplaced them earlier when she was getting ready for the ball.**

 **3\. Sagiso had went outside to take a bathroom break. She went out after Kaniza had came back and retrieved her jewelry.**

 **4\. About ten minutes after Sagiso had went to take a bathroom break, she saw Seiga going out to use the restroom as well. He came back a few minutes later.**

* * *

 _I guess it really does look like it'll be hard to narrow down the number of culprits given that a lot of people either used the restroom or were doing something else. Then again, the murderer didn't have to use the restroom either._

 _Hm…_

Well, Minori would have to check with the rest of his companions.

He had to look for Seiga and Fumio now. Unfortunately, it seemed like the duo had finished their investigation of the room, for now they were gone from sight. They were most likely somewhere else, far away from the crime scene.

 _Guess it would be wise to look around the crime scene then. I know it'll take a bit of time to look for Seiga and Fumio. There are still a lot of things I do not understand about this case anyways._

 _Especially concerning how the drinks were spiked._

Minori sighed inwardly to himself.

For now, instead of focusing on what happened during the party, he would have to focus on what happened between Rin and the killer. The crime scene was the most vital place which held the most vital pieces of evidence, after all.

He frowned. He adjusted the collar around his neck, slowly observing the room. He looked at the corners of the room, then at the walls. His attention then turned to the ceiling and floor. He hummed to himself.

His eyes glanced over to the entrance, the door still opened for all to see the outside world of the hallways. A sudden memory went through his head, replaying over and over again like a video on loop. He frowned, taking a few steps over, then bending down.

He reached his hand out, fingers brushing over the floor. Wet. He brought his hand close to his nose and sniffed it. Nothing.

No, it wasn't exactly nothing. It was a strange smell. A smell that lingered between metal and cleansing alcohol.

Minori frowned, grimacing.

 _The murderer must've washed up the blood on the floor then…_

* * *

 **Wet Floor**

 **Summary: Inside of the changing room there is a wet spot in front of the entrance. It is still fairly damp and smells of both metal and cleansing alcohol.**

* * *

Minori held his breath, slightly bothered at this. He didn't know why he was still so bothered and annoyed at the thought of the murderer trying to clean up their crime, but he figured it was humane for someone to despise a murderer so much.

Somehow, he found that strange, if not slightly.

 _I wonder where the killer hid the towels then. I need to make sure the killer was actually washing up blood and not just something else in contrast to what I'm thinking of._

Minori nodded to himself, and continued from where he left off. He stood up from his position, now back to investigating around the crime scene.

The pseudologist walked over to the area where Kaniza last stood. He decided to observe the desks closely, eyeing for anything suspicious. He looked inside the desks, eyeing what he hoped would be something, but instead found nothing.

An obvious place where one would hid evidence, but obvious nonetheless.

Minori then decided to observe the appearances of the desks and chairs closely. Although each chair and desk were of the same brand, wood, style- it didn't matter. He had to be meticulous with his work, especially in a time where everyone's lives were at stake, and to be in a crime scene as such.

And, in a few minutes, his meticulous work proved his time worthwhile.

In the farthest left desk from the room, particularly the closest left desk to the door, Minori found something quite of interest. When the pseudologist was observing that particular desk there was a stain, undoubtedly recent, in the back right corner of the table. A red, red stain that was still moist, not at all dried or expired.

 _Blood…_

Minori frowned. The blood had painted part of the corner of the table, from the flat on the top to the bottom to taint the metal holding the desk together. From speculations alone, the pseudologist believed that whoever was injured had been injured severely, or, at least, not as small as a paper cut.

* * *

 **Blood-Stained in the Corner of Table**

 **Summary: In the farthest left desk from the door, there is a recent blood stain from the back right corner of the table.**

* * *

Minori hummed to himself, thinking about what to say. He observed the room around him for a second time, noting a few things in his head.

First of all, it seemed like other than the few small evidence that stood in the room, the only thing that Minori knew was on what was Rin's body. To him, this meant that he would have to look around previous areas Rin was in, and even where this supposed murderer would be. Definitely, definitely would be difficult.

Secondly, some people had already left the room. It seemed like they have come to the same conclusion as he did.

 _Okay, I should investigate somewhere else then. I still need to get Fumio and Seiga's testimonies too._

 _Hm… first off, I should go investigate the auditorium again. That was where we all were last time._

With that in mind, Minori walked outside of the room and began heading his way over to the auditorium. He easily made his way down the stairs and over to the first floor, moving over to the auditorium, the doors already opened and free for all to see its insides.

A strangely odd feeling compiled in Minori's stomach, but figuring it was nothing more than stress and sadness, he stepped inside.

The smell of leftovers filled the room. Mixtures of sweets and sours made Minori want to gag, and the remembrance of everyone's drunk states made him even more queasy. The stench and the flashbacks were not at all soothing.

Fumio was inside of the room, eyeing the leftovers in a circle. His eyes glanced over to Minori, and the scholar waved over at him.

"Hey," Minori greeted, walking over to where the scholar were. "What are you doing?"

The scholar bit into his lips, slightly frustrated. His eyes were now entirely focused on his surroundings. "I'm trying to see if, er, there's anything suspicious about the food or drinks here… The punch doesn't smell like alcohol, but I wouldn't know… There's nothing suspicious in the food either."

Minori crossed his arms. "Hm… Well, we might be able to find something if we investigate the kitchen."

"Oh." Fumio clapped his hands together. "Uh, you helped Saori and Kamui cook, right? Do you remember anything suspicious about them?"

The pseudologist frowned, tilting his head. "Not really? I was focused on helping the duo out. If I knew someone was going to murder, then I'd be much more focused on Saori and Kamui than the food."

"Ah, yes, of course." Fumio awkwardly smiled. "Sorry about that."

"No need to apologize." The white-haired man smiled softly in return. "It would make sense you'd think about that. We should investigate the kitchen later then. I'm not exactly sure if Monokuma ever stocked the room there with alcoholic ingredients or drinks."

"Hm…" Fumio slowly nodded his head. "Alright."

Minori grabbed ahold of one of leftover foods from the table- a piece of cake, to be exact. He sniffed it. Nothing smelled off, it was sweet as chocolate can be. He quietly grabbed a napkin and cleaned his fingers.

 _I'm sure there wasn't anything particularly strange inside the foods. I'm sure Saori or Kamui would've said something if the other had something alcoholic in their hands… Besides, does Monokuma even allow alcohol here?_

 _We'll just have to see if there are any alcoholic things around._

Minori then looked over to the leftover fruit punch. Although queasy, he walked over to grab ahold of the ladle, then bringing it over to an empty plastic cup. He eyed the redness of the liquid. A frown escaped his lips. A sigh, and he brought the cup to his lips, slowly sipping into the liquid.

"M-Minori? Are you sure that's safe?"

Minori didn't have enough time to listen to Fumio's worry, already having sipped the entire thing in. He placed the cup back down the table, waiting a few seconds.

 _Hm… It's lukewarm since it's been hours since the party, and its taste is slightly gone because of the ice cubes melting._

 _It tastes the same, but I can't say for certain. I'm not exactly an expert, especially not someone like Gordon Ramsey, haha…_

Minori moved a hand to his head. From what he can deduce from what was happening to him at the moment, it seemed like the punch didn't have an effect on him.

 _Then again, we can't be for certain it was the punch unless we actually see it have an effect on us ourselves._

The pseudologist grabbed ahold of the entire bowl of fruit punch, spilling it straight into the cup. He threw the flustered Fumio a playful, albeit cocky, look before gulping it down.

"Minori?!"

Within seconds was the man down, slamming the cup to the table. He wiped his lips with a napkin, then looked over to the scholar who was paler than ever.

"W-what are you doing?" Fumio asked, tone obviously worried and nervous. "T-the punch could've been poisoned! W-we wouldn't know…"

"We can't be certain if the punch was the one who made us drunk or not unless someone individually drinks that and is affected by it." Minori smiled awkwardly at Fumio, feeling a bit guilty for making the man look at him with such worried eyes. "Sober or not, we need to know for certain what made us drunk. It proves vital to the trial."

"I-I know that…" Fumio averted his gaze. "B-but aren't you being too careless?"

Minori nervously laughed. "Sorry, but I really want to make sure we're not missing anything."

Fumio pouted, suddenly turning his head away and murmuring to himself. "But if you end up drunk…"

"Drunk? Oh, yeah." Minori brought his hand over to his head. He waited for a minute, then making a soft noise and looking over to Fumio. "Nothing's happening to me. I don't feel anything."

"I would say that it takes a while for it to kick in, but…" The scholar glanced at the bowl. "... You, well, you did drink a lot… And I'm sure you would've been more susceptible to being drunk because you were drunk earlier."

"True…" Minori frowned, cupping his chin. He was wondering on what to do. "Strange, I suspected that if the punch was spiked then I would feel something, even if slightly. It's not like the alcohol would just disappear from something…"

Fumio gulped. "Then maybe it wasn't the punch?"

"I doubt it would be in the food though. The fruit punch would've been easier to spike." The pseudologist pursed his lips. "Not everyone would eat the same food, and it's obvious if the food were spiked because suspicion would lead on Saori, Kamui, and I. It might make me sound like I'm trying to pry off suspicion from myself, but I just realized that it would be hard to actually spike the food, nonetheless have enough alcohol to actually cause people to be drunk from eating."

"Ah." Fumio's eyes widened. "I haven't thought of that."

"Makes sense. We don't exactly drink, do we?" Minori chuckled, deciding to throw a playful tone in order to make Fumio relax. He then cleared his throat. "Anyways, if it's alright with you, can I ask you about your testimony?"

"Ah, during the time of the party, right?" Minori nodded, causing the scholar to hum in pondering. "I was there during the entire time of the party. I don't remember seeing anything suspicious, though that was because I wasn't focused… Uh, I do remember a few people leaving to go to the restroom, but they all came back within a few minutes other than Kaniza… Did you ask her?"

"I did." Minori nodded. "Do you remember seeing Kamui, Seiga, and Sagiso go out?"

The scholar bobbed his head. "Y-yeah, those three. I guess you already talked to them then."

The pseudologist smiled. "Mhm. At least they all have an alibi then, at least partially. Thank you for the information, Fumio."

Fumio blushed. "I-it's not a problem."

Minori smiled again, but then left Fumio to do his own thing. He decided to investigate around the entire auditorium, hoping to find something suspicious. Minutes passed and minutes passed, but yet he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

 _Shit. Did the murderer hide the evidence or something?_

Minori inwardly cursed. There was nothing to be seen in the room at all, and even that one thing he found was something he was not conclusive about. He wasn't sure if the fruit punch was even spiked, or if it was really the food.

He really did doubt that the food was spiked and it was the punch that caused everyone to become drunk, but he wasn't so sure. He couldn't feel the fruit punch inside of his stomach affecting him in any way. He was the same person he was before.

 _I'll have to look somewhere else then… but where?_

… _Hm… I'm not sure… Maybe, maybe I should check the kitchen then._

Minori walked over to the entrance, passing a look to Fumio. He waved over to the scholar who nodded, understanding his intentions. The pseudologist smiled softly and left, now walking over towards the dining hall.

He creaked the door opened and walked inside.

It was dark inside. A definite clue that no one had investigated the place yet.

Minori moved his hand over to the switch, turning the dining hall on instantly. Bright, but not blinding.

Stepping forward, he allowed the door to close behind him. He took a glance around the room. It was the same as it always looked. The same arrangements, the same walls, the same everything.

 _Well… can't know for certain though. Even if there seems to be nothing here, I should check around since it does have a tie into the kitchen._

 _Tie ins…_

 _Oh, right. It might be wise to check the bathrooms as well then, considering Seiga and Kamui went to the boys' bathroom… Can't exactly check the girls' bathroom though._

Minori sighed. He would have to see what would happen later.

The pseudologist observed the room for a while, checking around the tables and chairs to see if there was anything off. No, there was nothing.

He then checked around the area as a whole. There was nothing stained on the ceiling, walls, or floors. And, if there was, they were mere liquid or food stains. Nothing special.

Minori finally moved towards the kitchen's door, turning just to the left to eye the trashcan in sight. He eyed the appearance of the can for a moment, then opening the lid and checking its contents insides.

What he found were of great interest to him.

The first thing he found that immediately caught his attention were the red-stained towels.

Minori reached into the trash and took out the red towels, inspecting them closely in his hands.

As expected, given the information Minori received from inspecting the crime scene, the red stains were indeed blood. Other than that, it was obvious the stains were moist, the smell of metal reaching into the pseudologist's nostrils. It wasn't moist, however, from only the blood, but also from what Minori assumed was a clear liquid. About two towels had been used.

* * *

 **Bloody Towels**

 **Summary: There are two bloody towels to be found inside of the trash can inside of the dining hall. They were both wet and bloody.**

* * *

Other than the bloody towels, Minori also found something else that held his interest. It wasn't anything crucial to the crime scene in regards to blood or weapons, but it was uncanny.

Tossing the bloody towels back into its original place, Minori now grabbed ahold of a white mask from the bin. It was a mask that was completely white, no patterns or expressions to be seen. It was blank.

* * *

 **White Mask**

 **Summary: There was a white mask hidden inside the dining hall's trashcan. Its purpose remains unknown at the moment.**

* * *

 _Alright… that seems to be all._

Minori covered the trashcan, having placed the white mask back into the bin. Seeing as there was nothing else hidden in sight, he moved straight into the kitchen.

He turned on the lights.

As expected, there was nothing off about the kitchen's appearance. It was the same as he, Kamui, and Saori had left it. The dishes were not to be seen for they were at the auditorium, however they were a few powders and leftover vegetables left on the cutting board and floor. Someone would have to clean that up.

 _Unfortunately, not now. I need to check if there are any alcoholic ingredients or drinks around here._

Minori began his investigation around the kitchen. He checked the cupboards, though as expected he found nothing but mugs and glass cups of various sizes. He checked the cabinets, but found nothing but seasoning and herbs. He checked the fridge, but what was there were only snacks and treats. He checked the freezer, but only raw meat and fish were to be seen.

There wasn't anything either in the boxes laid to the other side of the room. There were only filled with canned food and all sorts of chocolate, desserts, etc. There wasn't anything that screamed suspicious at Minori.

 _Unless someone hid all the alcohol, but… I doubt that. I should probably check with Kamui and Saori when I see them again… Monokuma later just in case. He may have stocked on alcoholic things._

The pseudologist pursed his lips, deciding to check if there was anything else noteworthy. He took another careful look around the room, spending about an extra five or so minutes during his possible hour stay in the room.

No, there was nothing at all.

Minori headed back outside of the kitchen and outside the dining hall. His search was now focused on the bathrooms along the way.

The white-haired man walked over to the boys' restroom. He opened the door and took a step inside, looking around for anything eye-catching. No, there was nothing. Although he hasn't ever been in the restroom since… well, since the start of the entire killing game as well as he could remember, it looked sanitary and clean as always.

Minori glanced over to the trashcan to the side. He bent down and began inspecting its contents, quite surprised to find the amount of paper towels and tissues inside.

He swore to clean his hands after checking through the trash, fingers brushing over something hard in contrast to the softness of the bundle of papers. A frown escaped his lips as he rolled his fingers over the hard object, bringing his hand up to reveal a gun.

No, not exactly a gun, but a green water gun.

The pseudologist raised a brow, pressing the trigger. It seemed like there was nothing inside of the water gun, nothing having shot out. Nonetheless, it had definitely been used, for Minori had to wonder why there would even be a water gun in the boys' restroom.

* * *

 **Empty Green Water Gun**

 **Summary: There was an empty water gun found inside the trashcan in the boys' restroom. It is green.**

* * *

 _This is definitely something that rings suspicion, but I still need to check the girls' restroom too if there's anything suspicious. Hm…_

Minori headed outside, having placed back the water gun in the trashcan. He looked over to the girls' restroom, worry apparent in his face. He knew he couldn't go inside there, but the urge to see if there was anything suspicious inside made him all the more wanting.

He glanced around the area, hoping to find one of his female friends in sight. There was nobody around. A sigh escaped his lips.

 _I'll just have to hope someone investigated this place then._

 _I don't know where else to look anyways… I still need to find Seiga though, so I'll just go around to find him._

 _Hm, where would he most likely be? Maybe he's investigating the auditorium now, and I just missed him._

With that thought in mind, Minori headed back towards the auditorium.

As expected, Seiga was there to be found. He was currently speaking to Kamui, the mortician looking around the area with a worried expression.

"Oh." Minori walked over to the duo. His attention shifted to Kamui who noticed him within seconds. "You're not at the crime scene?"

Kamui smiled awkwardly, shaking his head. "No, I just remembered something that I found suspicious, so I asked Sagiso to stay at the crime scene with Saori."

"Alright then." Minori turned to Seiga. "I was looking for you."

"Huh? Really?" Seiga raised a brow. "Why? You need my testimony?"

"Mhm." The pseudologist crossed his arms. "I heard from a few people that you went out to use the restroom. This is true, correct?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, I was out for a couple of minutes." The stunt double chuckled bitterly, dry in his tone. "Don't want to hold my bladder in, dude."

"Yeah…" Minori smiled back, if not a bit awkwardly in return. "Alright, I just needed confirmation. Other than that, do you remember seeing anything suspicious during the time before Rin's death?"

"Suspicious?" Seiga cupped his chin. "Well… not really. I was kinda in my own world, focused on beating Sheina in a chugging contest and shit. I do remember I went to the restroom after Sagiso though, since I passed by her table. I kinda talked a bit with her."

"Really?" Minori's curiosity was grabbed. "About what?"

"What? Jealous?" Seiga smirked at the pseudologist who blushed slightly at the implication. The stunt double shrugged. "It's nothing special. Just about how we're doing and all that shit. Everyone's pretty talkative when they're in a party, after all."

Minori nodded. "Alright, thank you for your testimony."

The stunt double averted his gaze. "No need to thank me…"

* * *

 **List of Small Events During Party**

 **Summary: Here is what everyone stated what important things they did (or saw) during their time in the party:**

 **1\. Kamui took a bathroom break about an estimated hour after the party had started. He immediately came back after the break.**

 **2\. Kaniza went into her room to get her necklace and bracelet. She took about ten minutes to fetch them before coming back. She had apparently misplaced them earlier when she was getting ready for the ball.**

 **3\. Sagiso had went outside to take a bathroom break. She went out after Kaniza had came back and retrieved her jewelry.**

 **4\. About ten minutes after Sagiso had went to take a bathroom break, she saw Seiga going out to use the restroom as well. He came back a few minutes later.**

 **5\. Sagiso and Seiga engaged in a small conversation when Seiga had to use the restroom. It didn't take long for them to finish their conversation.**

* * *

Seiga cleared his throat, attention turned to Kamui. "Anyways, what were you saying earlier again?"

"Oh, right." Kamui bit into his lips. "I saw Monokuma the night before the party began. He was walking into Ryoichi's room."

"What?" Minori's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Unfortunately, that I am unsure of." Kamui bowed his head down in apology. "I was walking over to my room after eating a snack when I saw the door closing. I tried knocking on the door and Monokuma came out. He told me he was doing renovations for the deceased's rooms."

Seiga frowned. "That's… kinda fucked up."

 _Right… I remember Monokuma told Rin and I that after the last trial… what the hell is he planning anyways?_

Minori raised a hand. "Kamui, do you think Ryoichi and the others' rooms can be opened? I want to know what exactly Monokuma is doing."

"Probably?" The mortician bit into his lips. "I didn't check. Why are you asking now, Minori?"

"It could be related to the case." Minori then cleared his throat, baffling Seiga and Kamui who raised their brows. The pseudologist cupped his hands around his mouth, eyes pointed up at the ceiling. "Monokuma, can you answer a question for me?"

Somehow, it seemed like Monokuma was being generous, for he jumped straight down from the ceiling and landed in the middle of the trio.

"Yo!" Monokuma saluted the pseudologist. "What do you need, my cute little bunny?"

Minori forced back the urge to gag and roll his eyes, instead asking, "Can you answer a question for me? It's about our friends who died."

Monokuma was curious, head tilted to the side. "Uh, sure, what's up?"

"Do their MonoPads work? If they do, then are the functions you gave us applicable to their MonoPads?"

Kamui and Seiga's eyes widened.

"I haven't thought of that," Minori heard Kamui murmuring, complete shock in his tone.

"Woah! Uh, let's see…" Monokuma cupped his chin, humming long and hard. He was closing his eyes, moving side to side as the answer slowly formed in his mouth. "Oh! I got it!"

The pseudologist sighed. "And?"

The bear giggled, amused. "The answer's a big fat yes! I'm too lazy to fix shit, and it's too much work to take those fucking dead asses' MonoPads and chuck them into the trash! Besides, do you know how much those shits cost?"

"So…" Seiga crossed his arms. "That means that the motive is in effect for the deceased's MonoPads."

"I guess. The MonoPads are in their owners' rooms though, and I have those rooms locked, y'know?" Monokuma shrugged. "Well, anyways, is that all?"

"Why exactly are you renovating the deceased's rooms?" Kamui asked, stepping forward to the bear. "There shouldn't be any reason to renovate their rooms."

"Pfft, like I'd tell you. That one's a secret!" Monokuma stuck his tongue out. "So suck it!"

Kamui glared at the bear.

"Anyways, I'll be taking my leave now! It's already time to go anyways!"

Minori's eyes widened. "Wait, what? Hey-"

Monokuma jumped straight back into the ceiling, and as if he were a magician, he disappeared the millisecond his head was close to hitting itself to death.

* * *

 **The Deceased**

 **Summary: Monokuma had also mentioned that those who had died before also had their own weapons inside of their MonoPads. His reasoning behind this is because he was too lazy to bother permanently turn off or break the devices. However, the MonoPads are locked inside of their owner's rooms.**

* * *

 **Kamui's Testimony**

 **Summary: During the night before the party began, Kamui said that after he was getting a snack from the kitchen he saw the door closing from Ryoichi's room. He tried to knock on the door, but there was no answer and instead Monokuma came out to talk to him. Monokuma said that he was doing some renovation.**

* * *

Before Minori was even able to say anything else, the announcement sounded, bells ringing alongside Monokuma's usual high-pitched tone of voice.

"Upupupupu! Guess what, fuckers? Time's up! Get over to the fucking trial, pronto! Chop, chop!"

Monokuma's voice echoed throughout the entire building. The ringing of the bells disappeared, and Monokuma's voice slowly faded in the background.

Silence.

Minori looked over to Kamui and Seiga.

"Don't worry." Kamui threw the pseudologist a small smile. "I'm sure we'll be able to solve Rin's murder. I… don't want to let her down, after all."

Minori bit into his lips. "Yeah…"

He didn't bother to mention that he was still unsure of how the entire murder went down. There were still so many things he wanted to ask, places to investigate, yet Monokuma had abruptly cut him off.

 _It's alright. I can ask everyone what information they got and everything else during the trial… We're friends, after all._

Minori did want to ask Kamui about the kitchen and the possibilities of alcohol being stored inside there, nonetheless wanting to ask Monokuma as well, but he figured he would have to wait. He knew that everyone was mentally preparing themselves now, and honestly he wanted to have some peace to himself.

 _Alright… like always, you can do this. You can definitely figure out what happened and call out the murderer like always, no matter who it is._

Minori took in a deep breath, and exhaled.

He heard footsteps walking into the room, then voices. The whirring of the elevator was becoming louder and louder.

 _It'll be fine. I know we can solve this together. I can depend on everyone to help us solve this case._

The calling for the Ultimates' entrance came.

Footsteps sounded. The sounds of the elevator door closing.

Down, down they go.

* * *

... And that's the end for the investigation chapter! It might seem like a hard case, but I assure you it isn't (or it probably is, I'm bad at guessing)! I do wonder what your thoughts are, so go ahead and theorize who the killer is, hehe.

I do have a poll up on who you think the murderer could be, so go ahead and vote there if you desire!

That's all I have to say for now, so goodbye! I'll see you nice peeps next time~


	38. Chapter 4 - Part 2, Part B

Hello, and welcome to the official trial of Chapter 4! I'm very happy that I'm able to get this far into the story, and like always it's not thanks to only me, but to you all as well! Thank you for sticking by my side, for I have to admit that if you guys weren't by my side to support me I honestly would've dropped the story. Ahem, other than that, let's get straight into the chapter!

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Hehe, well, let us see if you are correct in your theory there. Thanks for the review, and I wish you good luck on your story as well! I'm sure you'll break the hearts of your readers, Roseycheeks."

 **TheLlamaLord:** "Ooh, I see you are very suspicious of Kamui. Haha, that's very plausible, but let us see if you are correct or not. Ooh, and also interesting that you suspect Kaniza too. It makes sense, hehe. True, true. I do wonder if anything you say is correct, puhuhuhuhu~"

 **ToonGuy:** "Haha, and a happy belated New Year to you! Don't worry, I'm horrible at investigation chapters as well, hehe. I enjoy seeing from you nonetheless! Yes, you must distrust everyone! Haha, welp. Even the readers will suffer from despair, I assure you *wink wink*. I see you are screaming! Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and hopefully you will enjoy this chapter."

 **Ziggymia123:** "Interesting thought on Rin. I do wonder if that is right, or if it's merely a mistake? Ooh, nice theory. I like it, hehe. You're a creative thinker~ Well, let us see if you are right or wrong with your theories! Oof, back to that theory I see. Goddammit XD"

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Haha, glad to be back here, hehe. Rin will rest in peace at least, but still, poor Rin. Haha, my creativity doesn't run as high as our beautiful PainX65, our best boy, of course! Oh my gosh, what a great joke there XD No one will ever know, even me. No one will ever know, like I just said, oops. Hehe, everyone has to use the restroom at some point, y'know~ Thank you! Don't worry, I really enjoy your stories and I am sure you can complete one of them!"

 **VioEli:** "Oh, hello there, my dear friend~ Yeah, true, Sheina can be a suspect, but we must suspect all the others as well, hehe. Kaniza and Kamui are popular choices, haha. Glad you liked the motive idea! Minori is too prude to go into the girls' restroom. Thank you for the review~"

 **FruitlessKitty74:** "Don't worry, I could tell it was you, judging from how you write reviews hehe. Haha, the pain of being a fan of Danganronpa is hard, eh? I have a bad memory too, oops. Thanks~"

 **KISL:** "Hello there! Nice to see you, Ki~ Nah, Ki, you're a smart and observant person as well, hehe. Fumio's our precious boy, so that means he will suffer sooner or later. No one will ever know until he suffers *wink wink nudge nudge* And yes, the mask and all that! Interesting theory for sure. Well, we have a lot of different suspects in mind, but only one can be the murderer! Yes, we're nearing the end of the story, of course~"

* * *

 **BIG THANKS TO MY BETA READER: TheRoseShadow21**

* * *

The ride inside the elevator and downwards into the courtroom was the same as always.

It was tense and dark, shaky. The atmosphere almost choked the Ultimates inside of the cramped space in the elevator-though surprisingly that cramped space was only noticeable now, when Minori counted the amount of missing (in reality, dead) people who were supposed to fill those cramped squares of space.

Minori found himself standing besides Sagiso. He noticed that the psychogeographer was looking at him, worry on her face.

Her worry wasn't necessarily apparent, or obvious though. Minori was only able to tell that the auburn-haired woman was anxious from her facial movements. Her slightly whitening face that almost made her gown glow and the slight wrinkling of the nose told Minori all he needed to know.

He moved a hand over to Sagiso's. Lacing his fingers around her, he tightened his grip on the woman and held her closely.

She looked over to him.

"We'll be fine," Minori began, speaking just softly enough for only him and the woman to hear, "Just don't worry."

Sagiso was eyeing him for a moment, but slowly twisted her lips to a playful smile. "You're such a worrywart. I know you're even more worried than me."

The pseudologist chuckled. "Am not."

"And that's an obvious lie." Sagiso chuckled in return. Her shoulders relaxed as she then leaned against the wall, uncaring of how the walls shook as they headed downwards and downwards. "If it makes you feel better, I'll punch Monokuma's guts out if he hurts you or anyone else."

Minori raised a brow. "I… I honestly doubt that you'll do that."

"Oh, shush, Minori."

The elevator slowly came to a stop, the shakiness becoming violent but ending after three short seconds. The screeching sound of the metal, and the slow creaking of the iron doors opening.

Saori bit into her lips. "We're here."

"Uhuh…" Seiga took a step forward, however his wide pink eyes became even wider to reveal a sudden emotion of shock. "W-what the fuck?"

The elevator doors had opened to reveal a new sight.

The courtroom wasn't at all the same as it had always been. Although the tension had been retained, the interior of the courtroom was entirely different. In fact, it was barely even a courtroom that the Ultimates remembered it as, instead now known as an overly extravagant scenery of metallic paints.

The ceiling above was painted with golden blocks, the corners and edges of the ceiling painted with spiral and diamond designs of royal red, velvet, and green hues. In the middle of the ceiling hung a chandelier that held six bright lights that were circling each other, the crystals round and dangling freely.

Around the room were walls painted in a natural wooden color of light brown. There were many paintings that were hung on the walls, paintings that came from many different eras and painters. Strangely enough, however, the painting that stood behind Monokuma's bench (or, in reality, his royal chair) was nothing more than an extravagant painting of himself. Different shades of white and black had painted what was known as Monokuma, a touch of red to brighten his eye.

Finally, as usual, there were sixteen wooden podiums that stood in the middle of the room, forming a perfect circle. The podiums looked the same as they always had, although Minori had to mention that the bear seemed generous enough to offer each podium with a black contour chair behind.

Monokuma, who was sitting down on his royal chair, was grinning widely at the Ultimates' arrival. As always, a glass of wine was apparent in his hand.

"How do you guys like this place?" The bear had no qualms with smirking at the group. "Is it to your liking? I wanted to make it a bit more extravagant to suit you guys' attire, but whatever! Some of you guys ruined your fucking gowns and suits anyways!"

"That's messed up." Kamui shook his head, glaring at Monokuma in disapproval. "You would do something as messed up as to mock this entire situation? I shouldn't even be surprised, yet here we are."

Kaniza frowned. "You… You really changed this entire courtroom up like this in order to mess with us?"

"It fits your attire!" Monokuma whined. He was now swirling the glass of wine much more violently, spilling some to the ground in the process. "At least be grateful I gave you all chairs!"

"I would, but I rather not." Saori gritted her teeth. "You introduced us to this entire killing game that was and is still only meant to be for your entertainment. Not only that, but you're messing with our minds. I assure you we do not want to be coddled by you."

"Woah, you're feisty." The bear chuckled. "But that's fine. Kids these days are pretty self-entitled, so I'm surprised you guys refused to thank someone as old as me."

Minori clicked his tongue. "Just shut up, please."

"Of course we wouldn't thank you!" Seiga cried. His face was turning red. "Fuck you! You're messing with us!"

"Guys, let's all calm down." Sagiso quickly butted into the conversation, expression slightly uneasy as she threw a hand up. She was looking around the room, although she particularly did not turn to eye Monokuma at all. Not even a glimpse.

"I know we all want to punch Monokuma right now, as do I, but I think we need to calm down. Monokuma's just messing with us, and he's obviously trying to strain our concentration by doing this. If we're going into the trial more bothered than we already are, then we'll just be on edge the entire time."

Kaniza's eyes widened. "Sagi…"

The psychogeographer took in a deep breath, exhaling.

"Let's not focus on what Monokuma is saying for now and focus on the trial instead, okay? If not, then we're nothing more than rats who can't even think. We'll just be lab rats as always."

"That's…" Sheina was shocked. "That's pretty harsh, but it's a good point, sacred one!"

"Uhuh." Saori crossed her arms. "She has a point. We need to focus more on the trial at hand."

"Mhm, let's do that then." Fumio slowly took a step back, now heading over to where he was supposed to sit around the courtroom.

Monokuma frowned, annoyed at the sudden change in atmosphere. He crossed his arms, pouting with a whiny tone, "Wow, really? Alright then, be that way, asshats."

Minori sighed, shaking his head. Following in Fumio's footsteps, he, alongside with the rest of the Ultimates, began heading over to their seats. The pseudologist looked down at his podium, and he had to admit- he was a bit uncomfortable. To suddenly sit down inside of a courtroom, acting as if Monokuma gave him such a generous present andas though Rin had never lived to begin with, it was unnerving. He honestly didn't want to sit down and treat Rin's death so lightly, though maybe that was what he himself believed.

Besides, he couldn't just reject such luxury. Monokuma made it a note for everyone to sit down, and it was obvious that was a law set in place. The bear was staring into his eyes, after all. Minori bit into his lips and slowly took his seat.

Since everyone was seated, Monokuma quickly jumped into the fray to speak.

"Alright, my sexy Ultimates, let's get ready for our next case!" The bear spun around, happily jumping about in place. He was spilling his glass of wine everywhere on the ground. "The murder of Rin Hoseki, using the amazing motive I had in place, woot woot! One has to wonder, who the fuck killed her? Well, I know, but I'm not telling you! Hah! Let's get this shit started, shall we?"

Monokuma was now silent, smiling at the Ultimates.

Minori couldn't help but grimace in disgust, feeling Monokuma's eyes striking through his head. He quickly ducked his head down and took out his MonoPad. He, as always, wanted to look over what truth bullets he had compiled. He needed to make sure he didn't miss or forget anything, after all.

 _Alright, let's see what I have here…_

* * *

 **List of Truth Bullets**

 **Case File #005 -** Rin had died inside of the changing room around 1:12 AM, however she had been in a vulnerable state for about an hour or so. She died from having a dart shot in the back of her neck. The tip of the dart was doused in lethal poison, and it spreaded throughout the woman's body, causing her body to boil and wounds to open from the inside.

 **Motive -** Monokuma had given the Ultimates a motive where they can kill one another by creating that weapon, but, of course, with limits. The limits are of the following:

1\. The weapons are the following: Swords, Bow and Arrows, Guns, and Axes/Hammers.

2\. The color codes and time of deaths are the following: Green (Slow), Blue (Normal), Red (Instant).

3\. Everyone is given their own type of weapon and color code. They cannot create a weapon that is out of what they were given in their MonoPad nor can they create a weapon that kills a person more slowly/quickly than what color code is given to them.

4\. How to create a weapon depends on the person's creativity and mind. A weapon's look, effects, etc. are dependent on how the person perceives their desired weapon. The person cannot create a weapon of a different category using their mind nor the weapon's ability to quickly/slowly cause death either.

5\. The weapon will be created into reality the moment you are completely certain of what you had created in your mind. It will be manifested into reality instantaneously and at your proximity.

6\. You cannot tell anyone what your color code and weapon category is. To tell someone would cause you 'eternal punishment'.

 **Dart -** A dart laid lying to the left of Rin's body. It is the one that ended up killing her. It is color coded green.

 **Rin's Back** \- On Rin's back there seems to be a gash wound. It is recent. Kamui and Saori deduced that this wound does not relate to the poison which killed Rin.

 **Wet Floor** \- Inside of the changing room there is a wet spot in front of the entrance. It is still fairly damp and smells of both metal and cleansing alcohol.

 **Blood Stain in the Corner of Table** \- In the farthest left desk from the door, there is a recent blood stain from the back right corner of the table.

 **Bloody Towels** \- There are two bloody towels to be found inside of the trash can inside of the dining hall. They were both wet and bloody.

 **White Mask** \- There was a white mask hidden inside the dining hall's trashcan. Its purpose remains unknown at the moment.

 **Empty Green Water Gun** \- There was an empty water gun found inside the trashcan in the boys' restroom. It is green.

 **List of Small Events During Party** \- Here is what everyone stated what important things they did (or saw) during their time in the party:

1\. Kamui took a bathroom break about an estimated hour after the party had started. He immediately came back after the break.

2\. Kaniza went into her room to get her necklace and bracelet. She took about ten minutes to fetch them before coming back. She had apparently misplaced them earlier when she was getting ready for the ball.

3\. Sagiso had went outside to take a bathroom break. She went out after Kaniza had came back and retrieved her jewelry.

4\. About ten minutes after Sagiso had went to take a bathroom break, she saw Seiga going out to use the restroom as well. He came back a few minutes later.

5\. Sagiso and Seiga engaged in a small conversation when Seiga had to use the restroom. It didn't take long for them to finish their conversation.

 **The Deceased** \- Monokuma had also mentioned that those who had died before also had their own weapons inside of their MonoPads. His reasoning behind this is because he was too lazy to bother permanently turn off or break the devices. However, the MonoPads are locked inside of their owner's rooms.

 **Kamui's Testimony** \- During the night before the party began, Kamui said that after he was getting a snack from the kitchen he saw the door closing from Ryoichi's room. He tried to knock on the door, but there was no answer and instead Monokuma came out to talk to him. Monokuma said that he was doing some renovation.

* * *

After looking through the list of truth bullets for a couple of long seconds, Minori brought his head up. He was eyeing the group around him, keeping himself confident with a steady face.

"Are we all ready?" He had asked everyone. His hands were clenched, fingernails digging into his skin. "If yes, please state so."

Fumio looked at the pseudologist. His fingers were tapping softly onto his own MonoPad. "I'm good."

"It seems like everyone's ready," Saori mentioned, eyes darting around from person to person. Her focus was now turned heavily to Minori. "What should we discuss?"

"If we want to start somewhere as efficiently and accurately as possible, we should go over the basics." Sagiso heaved a deep breath, foot tapping repeatedly on the floor despite the obvious comfort a seat would have for an injured person.

"Let's start with what we know about Rin's death."

"That sounds like a good idea!" Sheina exclaimed, nodding her head. "We can do that."

Kamui's expression hardened. His grip on his MonoPad was tight, fingers almost wanting to dig into the screen. "Alright, then let's do that. I have to unfortunately admit I do not know what could've happened that caused her to die so brutally. Who could've done it…"

Minori sighed. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find something. We need to first reach the same conclusion over what overall happened to Rin."

"Alright then." Seiga scratched his head, looking around the room. "So, we discuss what we know of so far, right?"

The pseudologist nodded. "That's correct."

"Gotcha." The stunt double seemed to throw a look at Monokuma, however it was subtle and he seemed more than willing to heed everyone's words.

"I'm sure we can solve this if we work together!" Kaniza cried, laughing nervously. She was sweating, face a bit pale. It was to note that her hands were slightly stained with the blood that came from her soaked gown.

Monokuma laughed from where he sat. "Upupupu, don't worry, Kaniza! Once you all begin to realize who could've killed that bitch you'll end up in hysteria!"

Saori immediately threw a hand up. "Shut up, Monokuma."

"Geez, seriously! I was trying to keep this tenseful atmosphere! I fucking hate united little ragtag groups like you all here!" The bear then frowned, exclaiming to himself in the most obnoxious way presentable,

"Then again, you all got wasted over a party and then had to be thrown into this trial so… It makes sense! Puhuhuhuhu, I'm such a genius!"

"Ugh, my head hurts…" Fumio groaned, shaking his head continuously. "Monokuma, can you quiet down?"

"No, you quiet down!" The bear growled, pointing angrily at the scholar. "Talk back to me again and I'll fuck up your personalities so badly that you can't even speak properly!"

Seiga raised a brow as he witnessed the monochrome bear's tyrannous state. "The fuck's wrong with that guy?"

"I rather not question this heinous bear's behavior," Sheina growled, face dropping into a complete state of coldness. "He is a sinner who deserves nothing more than a fate worse than death."

"Wow." Kaniza laughed nervously. She was playing with her locks of raven hair. "That was pretty dark of you to say despite how religious you sound…"

Kamui shrugged. "Cults exist for a reason."

"Pfft, does it look like I'm in any cult? I am the Pharaoh, the Son of Osiris! There is a reason for my existence, and it is not to lead some measly cult as one would think!" Sheina proudly crossed her arms and stood up from the comfort of her seat. She couldn't care less if the mortician was eyeing her with an awkward smile.

Sagiso loudly cleared her throat, forcing everyone to snap their heads at her. "Ahem! Well, since Monokuma was so, so very kind to interrupt us from our train of thought, let's get back to the topic at hand."

Minori frowned, raising a hand. "So, we're discussing our knowledge of how Rin died, correct? Basically what we can gain out of the case file and what Kamui and Saori told us about her body."

"Mhm. We need to go over anything that someone may have glossed over or messed up on." The psychogeographer smiled. "It'll make our job easier as we shift our focus into the entire case altogether."

Seiga crossed his arms. "Alright, then let's talk."

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Case File #005 | Dart | Rin's Back | Wet Floor**

 **Sagiso:** So, what do you all know about what happened so far?

 **Seiga:** Well, for starters… Goddamn was her body fucked up. What the fuck was that shit? It's overdone.

 **Kaniza:** Yeah… W-well, trying not to think too hard about that, er… The case file said that Rin _**died around the time we were passed out,**_ right?

 **Sheina:** Pretty sure. Rin was with us the entire time and was _**passed out like us**_!

 **Kamui:** When the case file said "in a vulnerable state", I am assuming it meant she was drunk or passed out _**before she died**_.

 **Minori:** I do not see how she wouldn't be drunk or passed out if the rest of us were.

 **Sagiso:** Well, let's assume she was. Other than that, Rin died from _**having a dart shot**_ into the back of her neck.

 **Minori:** The dart was _**doused in poison**_ as well, so the murderer was sure of her death if they hadn't immediately killed her with the dart itself.

 **Sheina:** Huh? You can kill someone with such a short object?

 **Saori:** Ahem. Well, there are things called _**vital points**_ and there is one in-

 **Seiga:** Hey, hey, hey! Dude, don't give people murder ideas!

 **Fumio:** Uh, anyways, it does seem like the dart was the one that caused _**all the injuries**_ on Rin's body.

 **Kaniza:** That's all, right? Did anyone forget anything?

 **Saori:** Hm… I think what we've been saying are all accurate.

 **Sagiso:** That's good, then. We can move on to the next topic of discussion.

 **Minori:** _No, I don't think that's right. What someone's saying definitely implies that they have something mistaken!_

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Rin's Back-**

 **Minori:** You've got that wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori turned to look over at Fumio, shaking his head. "When you say _all_ , you mean that everything that happened to Rin was only caused by the dart, correct?"

Fumio raised a brow. He was somewhat confused, judging by how he slowly nodded his head in hesitation. "Y-yes? I'm guessing I missed something then?"

"It's fine." The pseudologist looked over to Kamui and Saori. "From their examinations, they were able to figure out that not all of Rin's injuries and wounds on her body were caused from the dart's poison. In fact, there is one wound that clearly looked much more different than the rest."

"Ah, you mean the gash wound." Kamui awkwardly scratched his head, his black strands of hair swaying as the man was smiling over to the baffled scholar.

"Yes, there is a gash wound that is seen on Rin's back. It is a recent wound that Saori and I deduced did not come from the poison. If you were to look at her wound, it is clear that it is much more longer and closed than her other wounds."

"I see…" Fumio pursed his lips. "I would doubt you since I cannot see it for myself right now, but, er… Since we're in a trial and you've clearly shown Minori and worked together to deduce that with Saori, I think it is fine."

The mortician thought for a moment, then turning his head over to Monokuma who was kicking his legs back and forth. Kamui was clearly displeased with the sight, however continued and raised his hand. "Can I ask you a question?"

Monokuma immediately perked his head up. "Yeah, what's up?"

Kamui bit into his lips. "Excuse me for the sudden question, but are you able to access all of our MonoPads at this time?"

The bear tilted his head. "Oh, yeah, I can. Why? You have a special request? Do you want me to send you hugs and kisses, my dear grandson~?"

"Wha- no, I don't!" Kamui scoffed. "I just wanted to ask if you can send a specific truth bullet to Fumio and the others for me. I want to make sure Fumio knows that I'm not lying."

Fumio blushed. "N-no, I don't doubt you! I-I'm sorry."

"It's fine, don't worry about it." The mortician sighed. "I would ask to show the gash wound on Rin's body, but I know a lot of people here wouldn't want to see it, so I wanted to show my truth bullet to prove that Saori and I are accurate in what we say about Rin's body."

"You should be wary of what everyone says anyways." Seiga looked over to Fumio, crossing his arms. "We do have to mention that Kamui, Saori, and Minori were the ones who prepared the food anyways."

Fumio's scared orange eyes widened. He worriedly threw a look over to Minori. "Uh, but…"

"I-I wouldn't doubt them just because of that though!" Kaniza exclaimed, shaking her hands about in place. She was on the edge of her seat. "W-why would Kamui even want to kill Rin?"

"I'm not suggesting that!" Seiga cried, shocked. "I-I was just saying we should be a bit more wary of one another… Y'know, that Fumio shouldn't be so apologetic about fucking doubting Kamui…"

"Hmph, you better!" Sheina crossed her arms, haughtily staring at the stunt double. "You do not want to accuse Saori, for you'll have to go through me!"

"Stop that." Saori averted her gaze. "I already know I'm innocent, and you saying that like a white knight makes it sound like I'm using you as a way to protect myself from being found guilty."

The egyptologist's eyes widened. She quickly sat down in her seat. "Sorry about that."

"So you already know you're innocent." Sagiso frowned. "That makes you sound all the more suspicious though."

The body broker shrugged, toying with her gown. "I am only speaking the truth."

"Well, we wouldn't know unless we actually discuss the crime in more detail, right?" Minori awkwardly raised his hands up, looking around the courtroom. He couldn't help but nervously hold his breath. "Why don't we all just calm down and let Kamui finish talking to Monokuma? Take a deep breath now, and we can, er, point fingers later."

Everyone slowly became quiet.

Monokuma chuckled. "Aww, that sucks. I was dying for more spitting and bantering from you all."

"You asshole." The pseudologist gritted his teeth. "Are you toying with our emotions right now?"

The bear laughed, leaning back on his throne. "Oops, sorry, can't hear you. I'm busy trying to comply to your request to let Kamui finish talking to me."

Minori was left glaring at the headmaster.

"R-right." Kamui quickly cleared his throat and continued from he left off, saying, "So, yes, I was wondering if you would be alright with sharing the evidence I have on Rin's gash wound to everyone here."

Monokuma eyed the raven for a moment, crossing his arms. He was humming to himself, obviously pondering and wondering. A moment passed before he snapped his fingers. "Cool! I can do that!"

Kamui smiled softly in acceptance as his ponytail swayed side to side. "Yes, so please send the truth bullet to-"

The room suddenly became dark.

"Yo, what the fuck?"

"What's happening?!"

"Did we just enter a blackout…?"

The snap of the fingers. The ceiling began splitting in two, the chandelier in the process disappearing into the darkness from what laid inside of the ceiling's interior. It was now darkness that captured the ceiling, and the sound of whirring afterwards.

A holographic television slowly descended from the top. It fell straight into the middle of the room- most importantly, in the middle of where the Ultimates circled. It descended slowly and slowly before stopping in place, in the views of the Ultimates who were eyeing the technological device with curiosity and worry.

Minori's heartstrings instantly tugged at him. He quickly shot a look to Kamui whose breath was held- the mortician was obviously thinking the same thing as him. "Hey, Monokuma, wait-"

"And here we go, my fucking Ultimates!" Monokuma pressed a button on a remote control that was suddenly in his paws, and instantly did brightness fill the room.

Brightness that definitely contrasted with the horror on everyone's faces.

Right on the big screen was Rin's body, but if seeing her body as a spectator in the investigation wasn't enough, then seeing Rin's body up close… Seeing her wounds, her blue and purple skin, her opened tissues and torn back- seeing them all in the big screen, that was definitely a nightmare to behold.

"Noooo!" Kaniza was the first to retreat, covering her face. She was shaking from where she sat, legs squeezed together and hands covering as much of her face as possible. "Stop this! Don't show us that!"

Sagiso threw an overwhelmed look of worry to Kaniza. Her face was pale, however. "Just don't look at it, Kaniza. It'll be okay."

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick." Seiga gagged, flinching from the amount of detail on Rin's torn body. "Shit… And this is in fucking HD…"

"T-to show us t-this… this…!" Sheina was trembling furiously. Her face was contorted in a mixture of anger and horror. "Y-you sinful wretch…!"

Fumio was averting his gaze to the ground. His eyebrows were furrowed, his lips quivering. "I'm sorry… this was my fault."

"It's not! It's not your fault at all!" Kamui was waving his hands about, shaking his head. His expression immediately turned to anger as he turned to Monokuma. "Bastard! Why are you showing them this? I-I told you they would be uncomfortable with it!"

"I should've expected this, honestly." Saori sighed. She was giving Monokuma a stern look, that of both disappointment and disgust. "Monokuma is a sadist, through and through. We shouldn't be surprised he would've done such a thing."

Kamui's eyes widened. "B-but-!"

Minori shook his head, putting a hand up. "His intentions were good at least. We can credit him for that though, right? It's just Monokuma here wants to fuck with us."

"... I know." The body broker glared at the bear, expression ever so disgusted and filled with hatred.

"That's why even I can't forgive him. Even if the dead are soulless, that does not give him the right to disrespect the souls' vessels and our own selves as well. He treats the dead as if they were nothing to him… as if they were toys."

"Oh, calm your titties, girlfriend!" Monokuma rolled his eyes, groaning. "I'm just doing Kamui and you all a favor here."

Kamui gasped, crying out in a flustered manner, "I-I didn't ask for that-!"

"Everyone, let's just calm down!" Sagiso clapped her hands, immediately silencing everyone who were inside of the room. She was staring at everyone intensely before sighing, turning to look at Monokuma. "Just show us the gash wound on Rin so we can get this over with and move on already."

Sagiso then took a look at Kaniza. The astrophotographer was breathing in and out, deeply and slowly. The auburn-haired woman bit into her lips before looking back to Monokuma. "And please don't waste our time. I might just actually punch you myself."

Minori's eyes widened. "S-Sagiso…?"

Instead of annoyance or reluctance, Monokuma was amused. He was smirking at Sagiso who continued to glare at him. The bear took a sip out from his glass of wine before nodding his head. "Sure, sure. I like people who can snap at their superiors anyways, so I'll listen to you for once."

The woman pursed her lips, silent in disgust.

"Anyways, let's enhance the image and check out what Kamui baby's talking about." Monokuma grabbed ahold of his remote and pressed a button multiple times, consequently causing the picture of Rin's body to enhance multiple times. He stopped at a certain point, the focus now on a long, cut wound. "That's the one, right?"

Kamui nodded his head slowly, examining the enhanced image. More particularly, the exact wound. "Yes, that is the one. Thank you."

No problem!" Monokuma chuckled, kicking back his feet. "Now go explain and shit before I turn this off and make this place normal again."

The mortician rolled his eyes, but heeded the bear's words regardless. "Of course, of course. So, as you can see here- sorry if you didn't want to see it, there is a clear difference between this specific wound to the others. This wound here is obviously from a cut, external wound in comparison to an internal wound. The other wounds are opened and covered in blotches, however this specific wound is nothing more than a bleeding cut."

Fumio had no choice but to look at the wound. He eyed it, a bit queasy as he nodded his head. "T-thank you for that. I see now…"

Sagiso crossed her arms. "It does look different from her other wounds. Hm…"

"Maybe she got it before she was murdered?" Seiga suggested, raising a brow. "She could've hit herself while drunk at the party. Or maybe beforehand?"

Minori shook her head. "No, I think I have an idea of what caused that wound."

"Oh?" Seiga's eyes widened. "What is it?"

"B-before that though, can we please remove that hologram?" Kaniza was shakily raising her hand and eyeing Monokuma. "I think we're done with this… right?"

Kamui quickly nodded his head. "Yes, of course! Please do turn the lights back on and take this away, Monokuma. Please."

Monokuma snickered. "Of course. I want to hurry this bitch up anyways!"

The snap of the fingers. The lights immediately turned back on, and the holographic television ascended back where it came from, the ceiling slowly coming back together with the chandelier forming back in place. It was as if nothing ever happened.

"And there we have it!" Monokuma proudly stood up from his throne and stared down at the group of Ultimates. "I did what you asked me to, so be good little shits and focus on the trial!"

Kamui sighed. "Yes, we know."

"So, what were you gonna say?" Seiga turned to Minori. "Why are you so sure Rin's cut wasn't from the party or beforehand?"

"Easy." Minori frowned. "That's…"

* * *

 **PRESENT THE EVIDENCE**

 **Truth Bullet Selected: Blood Stain in the Corner of Table**

 **Minori:** This is it!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori cleared his throat, looking over to everyone present in the room and explaining, "If you haven't seen it, there was a blood stain that was in the corner of a table. It was in the corner of the room, about to the left if I remember."

Kaniza thought for a moment, ignoring the people around her. A few seconds passed before her eyes widened. "O-oh! That… I know what you're talking about."

"You saw it then?" Saori asked.

The raven nodded. "I was around that area when I was talking to you, Minnie… I noticed the blood earlier, but I thought it was paint. Haha, how stupid of me to assume!"

Sagiso's face saddened. "Kaniza…"

Kaniza shook her head, taking notice of Sagiso's pained expression. "It's fine. It really was stupid of me to assume that it was paint instead of blood. I guess I really didn't want to assume that Rin was… that badly hurt."

"Did the blood look recent?" Saori crossed her arms, stern in her expression. "If you assumed it was paint, then-"

"Oh, no! No! It wasn't dried or anything like that!" Kaniza was shaking her head violently, waving her hands about in a panicking manner. "I just thought it was wet paint or something like that! Acrylic paint?"

The body broker took a look at the astrophotographer for a moment, then sighing. She looked over to Minori. "Why is there blood there? If you're saying that Rin's wound was caused because of how sharp the corner of the table is, then why would she be so careless as to injure herself there anyways?"

"There are many possibilities for that." Minori frowned. "I'm assuming her body was either pushed there as an accident or she inflicted it upon herself during her death… well, since her death wasn't exactly quick and painless."

Saori raised a brow. "She would've thrashed around then?"

"I'm only making assumptions." The pseudologist awkwardly scratched his head. "We won't really know unless we have definite proof."

Saori had little to no choice but to give up, now pursing her lips and pondering. "Hmm…"

A moment passed within silence. Kaniza shyly raised her hand. "Er, I have a theory."

"Huh? Really?" Seiga looked at the woman, curious. "What's up?"

"It's kinda dumb." The astrophotographer awkwardly laughed, combing her locks of hair and fiddling with her bracelets. "You don't mind?"

Kamui easily stepped into the fray, a warm smile plastered onto his lips. "Anything's plausible in a murder, that's what I believe. It might sound stupid, but in actuality it might just actually work."

"Mhm. He's right." Sagiso smiled over to the woman. "Just tell us what you have to offer, Kaniza."

"Alright then." Kaniza nodded her head. "I'll tell you guys then!"

"Great!" Sheina threw her hands up. "Let's do this!"

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Motive | Dart | Bloody Towel | White Mask**

 **Kaniza:** I'm using Minori's assumption, if that's alright with you all.

 **Fumio:** That's fine.

 **Sheina:** Show us what you can offer to the Gods, dear angel!

 **Kaniza:** The assumption that Rin's wound was inflicted on her during her time of death. I was thinking that it _**couldn't have been**_ possible for her to be injured on purpose.

 **Saori:** So, you're thinking Rin's injury was an accident.

 **Kaniza:** Mhm. Well… We were definitely _**unconscious**_ during the time Rin was targeted, so I'm assuming the killer had us drunk to remove our alibis, negate the chance of the killer being found easily, and for them to kill Rin with ease.

 **Minori:** … True. Rin was in such a vulnerable state at that time. I'm still wondering how the killer was not drunk themself. They _**clearly drank and ate with us**_.

 **Kaniza:** Yeah… Uh, anyways, I think the killer might've dropped Rin while carrying her to the changing room.

 **Seiga:** Pfft, what a weak killer we have then.

 **Fumio:** Is that really the case though…?

 **Minori:** That would make sense though. Rin was _**clearly out of it**_ along with us. The killer took advantage of that.

 **Sheina:** So, what I'm hearing is that there's no possible way that wound was done on purpose. Am I right?

 **Kaniza:** T-That's my theory though. I think that's right…

 **Seiga:** Alright, so _**there's no way**_ that wound could've been inflicted on purpose. Got it.

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: White Mask-**

 **Sagiso:** No, you've got that wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Theorizing is good, but it doesn't lead us to an answer." Sagiso crossed her arms, a stern and hardened look on her face.

Seiga couldn't help but frown, tilting his head back and dryly stating, "I'm guessing you're going to assume something though to counter my assumption."

"It's needed, and I'm not saying it's a fact." The woman sighed. "I'm making another assumption that can counter your belief that Kaniza's assumption is completely true."

The stunt double rolled his eyes, shrugging his shoulders and speaking in a snarky tone, "Are you a grammar and language police or something?"

Kaniza gulped, quickly shaking her head and eyeing the duo. "Yes, what I said was an assumption! I could be completely wrong, haha… Just calm down."

"What's your theory anyways?" Seiga asked, crossing his arms. "What evidence is there to prove that Kaniza's theory could be wrong other than, well, 'assumptions'?"

"I was getting there." Sagiso sighed, shaking her head. "Ahem. If you investigated the dining hall, then you would've found that there was some incriminating evidence hidden inside the trash can."

"Really?" The stunt double raised a brow. He was scratching the back of his neck. "Like what?"

The woman took in a deep breath. "There was a white mask inside of the trash can."

Seiga frowned. "A white mask…?"

Sheina shook her head. "Huh? Couldn't it have been there for a while though?"

"There's no way that's possible." Saori instantly shut down the idea, pursing her lips. "I believe that Monokuma does take out the trash at times, and what purpose would there be in bringing a mask to a trash can?"

Minori awkwardly chuckled. "I could argue it could've been used at the party, but no one wore anything remotely close to a headgear, so…"

"Hm, anyways, so you're saying that the mask was used to cover the murderer's face then." Kamui looked over to Sagiso who nodded. He then turned to himself, humming in thought. "Are you sure the murderer couldn't have used the mask to make certain no one would spot them?"

Sagiso shook her head. "We were all unconscious and drunk, so I doubt the killer had any qualms believing we wouldn't notice anything."

Fumio raised a brow, baffled. "Then why wear it?"

The psychogeographer pointed a hand up, signaling her desire to speak. "Rin could've woken up while the killer was carrying her to the changing room. The killer knew this and used the mask to cover their identity. And, this relates to the wound because if Rin woke up and saw that she was being carried away somewhere, she definitely would've been startled and try to fight. She might've ended up hitting herself during a fight or so before being shot with the dart."

"Really?" Saori tapped onto her chin, thinking. "That does seem plausible. That would make sense if the killer wore the mask to hide their identity then, rather than for no reason."

"I guess." Seiga shrugged. "It makes sense. The killer would not have their identity revealed if Rin were to have seen their face, which she did, assuming she woke up and gotten in a shuffle with the killer."

"Explains the strange placement of the wound and where she got that wound from then." Kaniza nodded her head slowly. "It's making sense to me! It's better than my idea of the killer having dropped her or something, haha."

Sagiso smiled at this. "Yes, I do think this is very much plausible, more than the previous theory, if I have to admit."

"Haha, it makes the killer less of an idiot!" Sheina laughed, back to her usual haughty self. "So, now, what's next? What shall we talk about, dear-"

"Wait a second."

Everyone's eyes widened. The sudden interruption in the thread of confidence made everyone dwindle.

Sagiso looked ahead, eyes widening in shock to find Minori staring at her with a stern, hardened expression.

"I'm sorry, but I would like to counter your theory there." The pseudologist raised his hands up, motioning a surrendering gesture to Sagiso who bit into her lips. His dark green eyes were shining in almost an accusatory hue.

"We're all making assumptions left and right, which, while good, isn't the best strategy. I myself am guilty as charged for making assumptions left and right before, but I have to admit I find a lot of issues with your theory, Sagiso."

Sagiso frowned. She stared straight into the man's eyes and cupped her chin. "Like what?"

Minori threw the woman a small smile. "Well… Let me try to explain this as best as I could then. If you have any problems with it, then feel free to interrupt me because right now, I feel like we're being steered into the wrong direction."

Sagiso held her breath.

"Alright then." Minori adjusted the collar on his tuxedo before immediately pointing straight at the woman. "I'll prove you wrong with the truth!"

* * *

 **REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN**

 **Truth Swords: Case File #005 | Wet Floor | The Deceased | Empty Green Water Gun | Kamui's Testimony**

 **Minori:** I think your theory is wrong.

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** It could be possible that the killer wanted to hide their identity from Rin…

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** But the theory that they could've been involved in a fight?

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** I think you're forgetting something important here!

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** If Rin and the killer fought, then _**where's the evidence**_ that suggests that?

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** Sure, the blood stain and the wound on Rin can suggest that they fought…

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** But that does not imply a 'fight' at all!

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** If anything, it _**suggests more**_ that Rin's wound was accidental!

.

 **-Truth Blade Selected: Wet Floor-**

ADVANCE!

.

 **Sagiso:** There's a reason why the floor was wet a while ago, and that reason is obvious…

 **Sagiso:** And obviously, there was blood on the floor! If you don't believe me, then you should know that if you searched the dining hall's trash can, then there wasn't only a mask hidden inside, but bloody towels as well!

 **Minori:** Is that truly the reason?

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** Let's say you're right and they did fight.

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** If they fought and Rin hadn't died without a fight, then tell me the reason why the killer's clothes weren't soaked in blood.

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** There was obviously a mess in the room, and you're telling me the killer themselves didn't taint their own clothes?

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** Rin got wounded at one side and then was shot with the dart, leading to her _**body killing itself internally**_.

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** The killer would've been splashed with blood the moment Rin's body began to malfunction on her!

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** Sure, the blood was washed off the floor and the killer _**would've washed their skin**_ from the blood, but what about their clothes?

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** They don't have an _**extra pair of clothes**_.

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** They couldn't have _**hid the clothes**_ or _**[removed them]**_ before having them be stained with blood.

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** So, there's _**no reason**_ why the killer's clothes couldn't have been soaked in blood!

==SLASH!==

 **Minori:** So, unfortunately, you're wrong, Sagiso.

.

 **-Truth Blade Selected: "... removed them…"-**

 **.**

 **Sagiso:** This is why you're wrong!

==SLASH!==

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori crossed his arms, raising a brow. "So, you believe the killer removed their clothes. Is there any possible way the killer could've removed their clothes in such a short time period, after realizing Rin woke up?"

Sagiso frowned, nodding her head. "The killer could've removed them before Rin woke up, for one."

"They knew that Rin would've woken up then from her unconsciousness." Minori sighed. "I admit I have another problem with that."

"Why?" Sheina asked, looking at the pseudologist with such baffling eyes. "I don't understand what you loved one's so wrong about."

"M-my loved one-?! Oh, nevermind." The man groaned, slightly red. He cleared his throat and turned his attention to everyone inside the room. "I am inclined to believe that the killer had the time to remove their clothing because they can if they knew Rin would wake up, but I want to beg the question- she was drunk alongside us, correct?"

Sagiso nodded her head slowly. "Yes, that's right."

"She was a victim, so I'm sure she was drunk. I can't say the same for the killer though…" Minori frowned. "Okay, then how about this- does anyone know how much we drank or ate?"

Everyone began to think, confused.

"We were all excited, so we ate much more than what we usually eat," Kamui began, speaking slowly, "Sheina, Seiga, and everyone else began to get others to drink and hold eating contests, so I'm going to safely assume that we had a plentiful amount to drink and eat."

"Do you remember?" Kaniza asked, attention turned to the egyptologist. "How much everyone ate or drink?"

Sheina hummed, deep in thought. "I just know we all ate and drank a lot. I remember seeing everyone participating in our craziness, so I can't say that nobody ate or drank a little less than the others."

"I remember everyone at least drank and ate a full-course meal's worth of food," Seiga mused, chuckling a little.

"Okay, equally distributed, I'm going to say." Minori nodded his head slowly. "There are plenty of issues I want to discuss, but I'll bring this one up first- if the killer knew Rin would wake up from unconsciousness from just being carried, then what's to say one of us here would wake up from our own unconsciousness and notice that the killer and Rin were missing?"

Kaniza shook her head. "But Minnie, Rin was being carried, so there was a lot of movement."

"Yes, there was, but how many of us were actually unconscious and in our usual sleeping positions?" Minori bit into his lips, face hardening within seconds upon the lack of response.

"Any one of us could've woken up simply from hearing the killer and Rin leave or from falling down from our spots. Many of us have fallen asleep on tables or chairs, and our bodies could've easily turned to the side and cause us to fall."

Fumio thought for a moment before making a soft noise, causing everyone's attention to fall on him. "... He makes a good argument. If Rin could've been woken up so easily, then our chances of waking up should've been the same."

"Wait." The astrophotographer was stunned. "Uh, but how are we so sure we don't have different tolerance levels or something?"

"Would the killer honestly risk that?" Saori asked, suddenly barging into the discussion. "I think Minori has a point in this. Sorry, Sagiso."

"It's fine." Sagiso sighed. "That is something to be discussed actually, especially with the big question of how the killer was able to avoid being drunk."

"They could've faked it," Kamui began, "but that's highly unlikely given how much we all ate and drank. We were all in close proximity of each other as well."

Seiga frowned. "I still want to bring up the possibility that either you, Saori, or even Minori could've been the killer… if not accomplices."

The mortician's eyes widened, but he slowly calmed down and nodded his head. "It is because we were the ones who were in charge of making the food and preparing the drinks."

Saori shook her head. "And I assure you I'm not the killer. There are no alcoholic ingredients, snacks, or drinks inside of the kitchen at all."

"And how are you sure of that?" The stunt double asked, crossing his arms. "For all I know, you and Saori and maybe even Minori worked together or something. Maybe one of you even tricked the others into believing there wasn't anything alcoholic in the kitchen at all."

Sheina stood up instantly from her seat. "I can assure you that Saori is not guilty of anything! I'll prove it!"

"We're supposed to be suspecting everyone…" Seiga murmured underneath his breath, sighing. He looked at the egyptologist and bit into his lips. "If you can prove it, then do tell. I'm not going to be fucking stupid and just yell one-sidedly like I did last time."

Minori's eyes widened. "Seiga…"

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Dart | Empty Green Water Gun | The Deceased | Kamui's Testimony**

 **Sheina:** I can assure you that my beloved Saori's innocent! She's _**too pure**_ to have committed such a sinful crime!

 **Saori:** Okay… You seriously don't have to be on my defense so eagerly. I can _**defend myself easily**_.

 **Sagiso:** And why, if I may ask?

 **Saori:** Easy. There are _**no alcoholic drinks or foods**_ inside of the kitchen, at all. Do you want Monokuma to testify for me?

 **Seiga:** Like, dude… What if you're _**lying**_ though?

 **Kaniza:** But why would Saori lie? Besides, Kamui and Minori were inside of the kitchen as well!

 **Kaniza:** O-oh! And, I remember that I never once saw any alcohol inside of the kitchen at all when I was cooking with Sagiso!

 **Sagiso:** … True.

 **Fumio:** Besides, how would Saori or the other two spike the punch or food if they themselves would be drunk?

 **Minori:** There's also the matter of knowing someone's tolerance for alcohol and the knowledge that Rin could've been easily woken up.

 **Sheina:** Heh, and that is why _**Saori's innocent**_!

 **Seiga:** Uh… How? We don't got shit on anyone's innocence yet!

 **Kamui:** But how would the killer be able to prepare such a murder so carefully and meticulously?

 **Saori:** Especially since we do not have any alcohol stored in the kitchen nor anywhere else. Don't take my word for it, ask Monokuma.

 **Kaniza:** C-calm down, haha… Er, maybe something else was used to spike the punch?

 **Seiga:** Like what though? If not alcohol, then what else…?

 **Minori:** Poisoning? Or maybe _**medicine or drugs**_? There were plenty of them in the medical office, after all.

 **Sagiso:** I feel like we wouldn't feel the effects that alcohol would invoke in us then, Minori.

 **Minori:** True… Hm…

 **Kamui:** Maybe the killer _**created something**_ themselves.

 **Seiga:** We're not innovators though, Kamui.

 **Sheina:** Ha! Says the guy who created the bo- ah! Please excuse my rudeness, blessed one! T-that memory-!

 **Seiga:** … The bombs? Yeah, I guess you have a point there. I don't know how I was able to even create the bombs with Kaniza and the others. I know a bit about explosives and all that shit, but to create a bomb was shockingly simple for some reason.

 **Sheina:** S-sorry. I should've asked if you were fine with me mentioning back to last trial, given with how dreadful…

 **Seiga:** Dude, I'm fine, alright? I'm not a fucking idiot like my amazing brother to just give up and do nothing while you guys suffer.

 **Saori:** … Yeah, I'll just not mention the lie and antithesis there…

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Empty Green Water Gun-**

 **Fumio:** I'll have to agree with that statement!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Fumio cleared his throat loudly, catching the attention of Kamui and the other Ultimates. "I think I have an idea of what could've been done to cause this whole thing."

"Really?" Minori raised a brow, curious from where he sat. "Interesting. What do you suggest then, Fumio?"

The scholar bit into his lips, crossing his arms. A small sigh escaped his breath. "What if the killer used their motive to create the drug needed to make us pass out?"

Kamui's eyes widened. "What? What do you mean by that?"

"Well…" The blue-haired man's expression hardened. "What if the killer used their motive to create the alcohol needed to make us pass out?"

"That doesn't make sense. Wait a minute." Saori was shaking her head, puzzled. "How does any of this make sense?"

Seiga frowned, staring at the scholar. "Sorry, Fumio, but I think that's not possible. The weapon categories forbid any of us from making such a thing…"

"B-Besides!" Kaniza bit into her lips, face paling. "Rin was obviously killed with the motive! The killer used a green dart to kill her, so how could the killer just create something else and get away with it so easily when Monokuma doesn't allow that?"

"Well…"

Fumio bit into his lips. He had to explain this as best as he could. He knew this was the answer, and he knew he had to convince everyone.

"If you haven't looked, there was an empty green water gun inside of the boys' restroom," the scholar began, explaining himself as best as he could, "You can argue that it was, well, nothing more than a toy that was found in the MonoLottery room, but isn't it suspicious that the label on the truth bullet was 'empty green water gun'?"

"I mean…" Kaniza awkwardly scratched her head, smiling. "I don't have the truth bullet myself, so I can't say for certain you're right or wrong."

"I can attest to that." Minori raised a hand. He turned to give the scholar a small nod, approving of what the shorter man was saying. "And now that he mentions it, it is quite odd that the bullet would be labeled as such, nonetheless that such a toy would even be found in a peculiar place, especially given the motive."

"Okay, I can give you the benefit of the doubt there," Seiga began, raising his hands up, "but I need to ask this shit- how the hell does this water gun even caused our entire mess to begin with? Aren't you just overestimating the ability a water gun would have?"

Sheina huffed, hands on her hips. "Obviously, blessed one, the water gun was loaded with alcohol or medicinal fluid!"

The stunt double was uncertain of this, eyebrow raised. "Is that really it…?"

"Uh, it's not." Fumio awkwardly smiled, tilting his head. "I have a reason."

"What is it then?" Saori asked, frowning. "I'm curious to see your reasoning, given the many questions that are in my head right now."

"R-right…" Fumio bit softly into his lips before sighing, turning to look at the group of Ultimates. He raised a finger up, declaring, "I believe this is possible because of the many abilities stored within this idea of a motive."

"Really?" Sagiso was curious. "How so?"

Fumio awkwardly began to pale, blushing a bit. "Er, well, Monokuma told us that how we use this motive depends on our mind, correct? I'm suspecting the killer was able to create an image inside of their head to create a gun that acts as a tranquilizer of sorts."

"Is that really how it works?" Sagiso asked. She looked to the other Ultimates. "Do any of you guys know? Are we all certain that Monokuma didn't give us any specific limitations as to how we can use our motives, other than the obvious?"

Seiga's eyes widened. "Oh, I think I got it."

* * *

 **WHAT ALIGNS WITH THE STATEMENT**

 **Question 1: Which evidence corresponds to Fumio's statement?**

…

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Motive-**

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Question 2: What rule corresponds to Fumio's statement?**

 **Motive -** Monokuma had given the Ultimates a motive where they can kill one another by creating that weapon, but, of course, with limits. The limits are of the following:

1\. The weapons are the following: Swords, Bow and Arrows, Guns, and Axes/Hammers.

2\. The color codes and time of deaths are the following: Green (Slow), Blue (Normal), Red (Instant).

3\. Everyone is given their own type of weapon and color code. They cannot create a weapon that is out of what they were given in their MonoPad nor can they create a weapon that kills a person more slowly/quickly than what color code is given to them.

 **4\. How to create a weapon depends on the person's creativity and mind. A weapon's look, effects, etc. are dependent on how the person perceives their desired weapon. The person cannot create a weapon of a different category using their mind nor the weapon's ability to quickly/slowly cause death either.**

5\. The weapon will be created into reality the moment you are completely certain of what you had created in your mind. It will be manifested into reality instantaneously and at your proximity.

6\. You cannot tell anyone what your color code and weapon category is. To tell someone would cause you 'eternal punishment'.

 **Answer: Rule 4**

 **Seiga:** _Take that! I won!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Seiga grinned wryly, confidence surging throughout his entire body as he pointed straight at the group. "Guys, Fumio's talking about rule four."

Silence.

"Er…" Kaniza awkwardly smiled at the man. "And what exactly is rule four, Seiga?"

Seiga dropped instantly, groaning. "Shit. I forgot you guys didn't talk to Monokuma except for me and Minori."

Minori waved his hand shyly at the stunt double. "Hello."

"Wait a minute though." The man looked over to Fumio. "You weren't there with us when we were talking to Monokuma about the motive, right?"

Fumio shook his head, averting his gaze. "Uh, I wasn't. I was just connecting the empty water gun to the motive and what Monokuma told us the first time we were introduced the motive."

"Oh." Seiga sweatdropped. "Makes sense."

"So, what were you going to say?" Saori frowned. "What exactly does rule four say, or exactly what did Monokuma tell you about the motive?"

Seiga frowned. He wasn't much of an explainer, but rather someone who liked to express himself with actions. He didn't much of a choice however, and he was the one who decided to back Fumio up.

"Ahem!" The stunt double forced on a happy tone, almost mockingly at that. "You guys already know the basics, right? The different categories of weapons and the colors?"

"Yes." Sagiso nodded her head slowly. "What else did Monokuma explain to you and Minori then?"

"Getting there. Geez, what are you, my brother?" Seiga laughed awkwardly before clearing his throat. "The other things Monokuma explained were on how exactly we're supposed to use the motive. I'll go read out the fourth rule first, since that's the one that corresponds to Fumio's statement and shit."

The stunt double looked through his MonoPad and began, out loud, "'How to create a weapon depends on the person's creativity and mind. A weapon's look, effects, etc. are dependent on how the person perceives their desired weapon. The person cannot create a weapon of a different category using their mind nor the weapon's ability to quickly/slowly cause death either.'"

He stopped to look back at the group. "You got that?"

"I see…" Sagiso cupped her chin, thinking. "The motive Monokuma gave us is quite creative and broad in terms of how we imagine our own weapon to look like, huh?"

"Basically the gist of it." The stunt double frowned. "Besides, he also told us that the weapon will appear right in front of your face the moment you create the damn thing with a hundred percent approval."

Minori nodded, jumping into the discussion and saying, "As long as you create a weapon that isn't alike to a weapon outside of your own category, then you can create anything."

"So, basically, the theory that you can create a water gun loaded with drugs or whatever is a possibility." Sheina pursed her lips, sweating. "Sheesh, that's a lot to take in!"

Saori sighed, having shook her head. "Going off what Fumio was hinting at, I'm assuming he's saying that the killer was smart enough to have us all drunk for a certain time period while they excluded themselves from this drunk and unconscious state."

"Uhh, r-really?" Kaniza was completely puzzled. "You can do something like that? Wow…"

"Yes, that is what I believe." Fumio smiled awkwardly, eyes darting from person to person. "I believe that it is not far off from reality that the killer would be able to create such a weapon that acts as a negater for them and a drug to us if they were methodical and efficient in their plan. If they have been planning to kill for a while, then, well, I believe this is certainly a possibility. Besides, I do not see another reason for the killer to have one of us killed and messed up like this unless they planned far ahead enough."

"Yeah." Sagiso crossed her arms, frowning. "If the killer wanted to make their job easier and were quick in their poor judgment, then they wouldn't go so far as to plan so much… Making us drunk, fall unconscious, etc."

Saori shook her head. "I do believe that, however I want to raise something that's really concerning to me."

"Hm?" Sheina's head perked up. "What's wrong, loved one?"

The body broker bit into her lips, face hardening. Her attention was turned to Fumio. "Where did you say the water gun was found in again?"

Fumio frowned. "In the boys' restroom."

"Wait a second there, Saori." Minori crossed his arms. "I do understand what you're implying, but I want to raise a question- has anyone checked the girls' restroom?"

Kaniza raised her hand. "Uh, me."

The pseudologist nodded slowly. "Have you seen if there was anything suspicious about the place?"

The astrophotographer thought long and hard, then slowly shaking her head after a minute passed. "I don't remember finding anything odd. There wasn't any trash or anything…"

Seiga frowned. "Hey, Minori-"

"I know, she could be lying," Minori began, cutting off the stunt double, "However, she isn't. There's an obvious difference in how someone would lie to how someone would tell the truth. I do believe she isn't lying, but, yes, we should be cautious. Did no one else check the girls' restroom?"

No one raised their hand to speak.

"Hmph! So we can safely assume that a guy had committed the deed!" Sheina crossed her arms angrily, face colored red. "I am very much disappointed in you all!"

"Sure, sure, believe that…" Seiga sighed. "But seriously speaking, it doesn't matter whether it was a guy or girl that did it right now. There's one question I wanna fucking address."

Minori raised a brow. "What's that?"

Seiga bit into his lips. "The idea that we can all get 'drunk' while the killer couldn't is possible, but, like, we only had one opportunity to create a weapon, right?"

"Right." Sagiso frowned. "It wouldn't make sense for the killer to be able to create two weapons, especially those of different categories."

Minori frowned, cupping his chin. _I think I have an answer to that…_

* * *

 **PRESENT THE EVIDENCE**

 **Truth Bullet Selected: The Deceased**

 **Minori:** This is the truth!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori cleared his throat. "Monokuma actually shared some valuable information regarding the motive."

Seiga's eyes widened. "Uh, really? Shit, did I miss it or something?"

"No, you weren't there to hear it." The pseudologist smiled awkwardly for a moment, then curving his lips back into a frown. "Kamui and I heard from Monokuma about the motive, especially regarding the MonoPads of our deceased friends."

Kamui jumped at this. "Right. That's absolutely right. Monokuma told us that the MonoPads of the dead also have their motive in play."

"Wait, really?" Kaniza's eyes widened. "Their MonoPads are still working?"

"They are," Kamui assured, nodding his head. "Monokuma told us that not only do the deceased's MonoPads are fully functionable and working, but they also have the same perms as we do. Meaning, their MonoPads are also available to be used, like ours."

"So, the killer could've stolen one of the dead's MonoPads and used it as extra baggage for their murder scheme…" Sagiso's face soured as she muttered to himself. The woman looked back to the mortician, pulling back her auburn locks of hair. "I'm surprised Monokuma gave you such information. I assumed he would've let us gloss over that possibility to make our job of finding the culprit harder."

"Whether that would be true or not, he didn't tell me nor Minori that out of the kindness of his heart." The mortician's expression hardened. "To tell you the truth, he only told me and Minori that because I stumbled onto something peculiar the night before the party."

Saori frowned. "And that is…?"

"I was getting a late night snack." Kamui tapped his fingers on the edge of his seat, seemingly anxious. "When I was going back to my room, I noticed that the door to Ryoichi's room closed. When I went over to knock on the door, Monokuma appeared and told me he was doing some renovation."

"Renovation?" Sagiso's eyes widened. "How odd. Why would he though?"

Minori cleared his throat. "Rin and I noticed he was doing renovation in Ryoichi's room after the last trial. Apparently he was going to be renovating all of the deceased's rooms, however I will admit it is quite suspicious given Rin's death."

"Not only that though." The body broker bit into her lips. "Isn't the fact that Monokuma just jumped out into Kamui's sight suspicious?"

"The fact that Monokuma just didn't allow Kamui to enter into Ryoichi's room, hm?" Minori cupped his chin, pondering. "Hm… Honestly, you can't tell if it was out of coincidence or not. If you actually think about it, Monokuma is an oddball of sorts."

Kaniza averted her gaze, gulping. "I-I'm sorry to say, but isn't it a bit suspicious that Kamui got out to get a late night snack? I really hate suspecting people, but-"

"That's fine, don't worry about it!" Kamui immediately clapped his hands together and smiled reassuringly at the woman. "I know it would bring me suspicion, but I assure you I can defend myself."

The raven tilted her head. "Really?"

* * *

 **THINKING TIME**

 **Question: Why would it be unlikely that Kamui's lying?**

 **Kamui is a horrible liar.**

 **[B. Kamui nor Monokuma wouldn't have explained the mechanics of the motive further.]**

 **C. Kamui had never gone out that could've led to him murdering Rin.**

 **D. He had someone who could testify for his innocence.**

 **Kamui:** _The reason lies in front of your eyes!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"The reason is simple, in my eyes," the mortician began, speaking clear and fluently, "As discussed beforehand, the idea that the deceased's MonoPads are still functionable and able to be used in this case should be kept a secret from us. The murderer wouldn't want anyone to know that they could've used two MonoPads, theirs and Ryoichi's I assumed, could've been used in the murder. They would want to keep us guessing and confused, particularly on this empty water gun and how we were drunk, but not the killer."

"That does make sense…" Saori sighed, quietly mumbling to herself. "Hm…"

"Okay, let's make sense of what happened so far then." Sagiso clapped her hands, loudly echoing throughout the room. She was staring at the group of Ultimates with a fierce look. "We can settle with what we know for now and get ahead with choosing who the murderer is."

"I do have a few suspects in mind," Fumio admitted, shyly darting his eyes back and forth.

"I do have a couple in mind as well," Kamui said, although his eyes seemed to land on Sheina.

The egyptologist noticed this instantly, her face turning red. "H-how dare you! I'll have you know I have you on my 'suspects list' for certain!"

Sagiso waved her hands around wildly. "Quiet, quiet! Let me explain what we know so far."

Everyone became silent.

The woman sighed. "Alright, so it's obvious that Rin was killed during the time we fell unconscious. The killer had spiked us by using the water gun, possibly from either Ryoichi's MonoPad or theirs, with a liquid that acted as alcohol. They excluded themselves from their own mischief. Whether they faked their drunken state or not is unknown as of yet, but I can assume they either completely excluded themselves from that state, or they allowed themselves to be drunk, but for a while in order to completely trick us."

Kaniza thought to herself, following what Sagiso was saying. "Mhm…"

"While the killer was taking Rin to the changing room, they knew Rin would probably wake up and fight them. They wore a mask and took out their clothing. Rin woke up and fought the killer before she ended up injuring herself, explaining the wound on her back. She finally succumbed to the killer's weapon of choice- a poisonous dart. They left Rin suffering while they cleaned the blood off the floor, then wore their clothes, and then finally went back to the party in order to either wake us up or fall asleep."

"That… that actually sounds right." Kaniza's eyes widened. Her mouth was slightly falling from her face. "I… I'm impressed."

Kamui nodded his head slowly. "It could use a bit of cleaning, but it sounds correct so far."

Seiga sighed deeply, scratching the back of his head. "Alright then. We just need to figure out who killed Rin then, right?"

"Right…" Saori crossed her arms. "We're going to name suspects, correct?"

"I'm ready for that!" Sheina stood up from her seat, confidence overwhelming her entire body. "I am ready to take down this blasphemous killer with my own hands!"

"We're all going to name suspects then?" Fumio asked, curious. "We could all name them one by one and see whom we believe is the most suspicious and go from there."

Kaniza couldn't help but smile awkwardly. "Majority rules, eh?"

"I don't mind doing it," Minori said, nodding his head. "It could help us narrow down suspects and the suspects who are talking can be either helped or found guilty by any one of us if we were to find a loophole in their argument."

The pseudologist couldn't help but inwardly frown, heart beating erratically and stomach churning in unease.

 _I think I'll have to create a few lies and make a few assumptions in order to accurately and effectively pinpoint who's the culprit though. What we have right now isn't enough to get me somewhere._

Minori held his breath.

 _We're going to list down our suspects… Let's see if I can come up with something._

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL POSTPONED**

 **Survivors: 8/16**

* * *

... And that's the end of this chapter! We'll get down to the more dramatic part in the next chapter, upupupu! Anyways, hopefully this does clear up some questions you have about the trial, haha.

I'll see you all next time, straight into the trial again we go!


	39. Chapter 4 - Part 2, Part C

Hello! I am finally back with another chapter! God, this almost took a month to post. I am so sorry about that. Anyways, we're here now with the final chapter to the trial! Hopefully I'll be able to make it impactful and intense, but if not, oops. Er, anyways, let's get on with the trial now! I don't want to keep you all waiting!

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Intense trials are my favorite. Haha, well, I'm glad people seem to enjoy this case so far. Hehe, I like making stuff difficult… on myself and you all. Aww, yeah, Rin was a fan favorite. The killer's a smartypants and I hate them. Oh my, it seems people suspect the same people this time. Interesting. Aww, thanks!"

 **Ziggymia123:** "Oof, don't worry, I feel that towards all the trials I've seen. I'm very bad at guessing culprits, but you're good at it. I cry everyday. Oh my, but I do wonder if that is true. Welp, there goes the usual mastermind theory again. Oh, welp, let's see if you are right then. Let's see~"

 **ToonGuy:** "Pfft, yes, they are cute, but oh my, that suspicious look. Monokuma is a jerk. Oh my, almost spilled out the fact that Sheina has a cul- I MEAN HAS FRIENDS! Kamui will stay stressed out, the poor baby. Oh my, everyone is pinning Saori as the murderer. Haha, I guess it is cute. Hehe, hope you'll enjoy this part!"

 **zephryr:** "Haha, I always love your reviews. Nice to see one here~ Ooh, interesting choice of suspects, hehe. I wonder if you are right. Fumio is the sweetest person ever, don't hurt my baby. Oof, poor Kamui. Sheina's just Sheina, lol. Welp, poor Saori for being considered the culprit. Let's see if you are right though! See you soon~ I'll be stalking you (just kidding)."

 **TheLlamaLord:** "Aww, I'm glad you think so! Ooh, interesting, so you suspect Kaniza. Very interesting indeed. Hehe, let's see if you are right. Oof, I mean, I could kind of tell who people are from how they review, so yeah, but whatever!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Hehe, yes, and thank you very much again for having beta read that chapter! I like messed up killers and messed up murders, but yes. Oh no, don't suspect your baby. She doesn't need to die :( Or does she? Thank you! And good luck with your story as well! Make your readers suffer, my dear Rosie~ MWAHAHAHAHA!"

 **FruitlessKitty_74:** "Haha, yeah, I think it's obvious Sheina likes Saori. Isn't that adorable? Ooh, you think Sagiso is the murderer. Very interesting indeed. Haha, I would protect Seiga would all my heart. He's been suffering too much. Pfft, I'm happy something gave you a laugh. We don't need too much sadness *cries*. No, that's fine! Better late than never! :D Love you~"

* * *

 **BIG THANKS TO MY BETA READER: Lupus Overkill!**

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL IN SESSION!**

 **ALL RISE!**

* * *

Minori was the first to continue, clearing his throat and standing up from his seat. He couldn't care less about his appearance. His slightly messy hair, his now wrinkled tuxedo, the paleness of his skin- those didn't matter at all to him at the moment. His eyes were focused on everyone around him. From Kamui to Sagiso and even to Monokuma, Minori had focused his gaze upon the entire room.

"Alright," he began, speaking as calmly and sternly as possible. He did not want to hesitate. "Let's individually discuss who we think are suspects to this murder without any interruption. I would like to know everyone's reasoning as well."

Sagiso agreed within seconds, nodding her head up and down. "I think that's our best option. We'll be able to figure out who among us garners the most suspicion and we can ask that person to explain their reasoning for why they're not the murderer. It's like reverse engineering in a way."

"I'm fine with that," Kaniza replied, awkwardly smiling, "Just a bit worried since… well, y'know how accusations work…"

"True." Saori sighed, brushing back her locks of silky dark brown hair. "But this is needed and necessary in a trial."

"That's exactly correct, my beloved Saori!" Sheina threw her hands up, almost as if she were screaming to the Gods above. Minori wasn't sure if she was actually doing so or not however. "So, which one of us will start first?"

"I can start us off." Kamui crossed his arms, calmly looking over the group of Ultimates. His light brown eyes almost seemed to glare at his kin. "I have a few suspects in mind on who could've killed Rin."

Saori raised a brow. "Then, who are they?"

Kamui nodded, noting as his cue to explain himself. "First off, I want to explain why I suspect Sheina."

Sheina looked discontent. That was obvious, but she was forced to stay silent, knowing the looks of displeasure will arise if then.

"I'm sorry," the mortician began, "however, I believe that Sheina is guilty over one small, but crucial piece of evidence- that has to do with her actions during the party."

Minori bit into his lips, crossing his arms. He had a feeling that Kamui was thinking of the same thing he, and many others, were thinking.

"Sheina was the main perpetrator in this case, in my opinion." Kamui's expression hardened. "She was the one who wanted us all to eat and drink under the pretense of a 'contest'."

"W-w-w-wha-? Preposterous!" Sheina spat, glaring at the mortician. "Just preposterous! You will really suspect someone who wanted nothing more than to have fun? Are you a demon?!"

"I'm a mortician," Kamui bluntly answered, dry in his husky tone of voice. "Anyways, yes, I believe that Sheina is guilty because she was the one who not only proposed this idea of a party, but the idea of making us all eat and drink under the pretense of a 'contest'."

"I see…" Minori nodded his head slowly. He noticed Sheina fuming, and so he quickly cleared his throat and asked, "Who else do you suspect?"

Kamui smiled softly. "Yes, of course. Other people I do suspect would have to be Sagiso and Seiga."

The psychogeographer frowned. "And why do you think that?"

"I can only say this because you were one of the last people who I saw walking to the bathroom. The same can be said for Seiga, although…" the mortician stopped for a moment to awkwardly chuckle, "Well, Seiga falls under the same radar as Sheina. You were one of the people who tried to catch others in the chaos."

Seiga raised a brow. He couldn't help but shake his head, dryly stating, "I have a right to disagree. I think that you cannot accuse me because of the fact that Sheina was the one who started everything."

Sheina's eyes widened. She slammed her hands down into her knees, hard. "Even you?!"

Sagiso sighed, pursing her lips. "Alright, so you suspect Sheina, Seiga, and I. Your reasons are valid for the first two, but I don't see why you would suspect me when there are… well, obvious suspects if you're going to look down the list of so-called 'bathroom break' suspects."

Kaniza jumped a little at this. "Er…"

"Oh, oops." The psychogeographer immediately threw the astrophotographer a small smile. "I didn't mean to call you out."

"No, it's fine…" The raven forced a smile. "I know some people already suspect me…"

"Is that all?" Saori asked, glancing at the mortician.

"Ah, yes." Kamui bowed his head down. "Thank you for listening then."

Minori nodded his head. He turned to eye the group again as a whole, clapping his hands together. "Alright, then let's get this out of the way first- who else suspects the three that Kamui mentioned? Any one of them in mind?"

Sheina scoffed as loudly as she could, rolling her eyes in the most dramatic fashion possible. "Of course I wouldn't suspect myself!"

"I mean, no shit, Sherlock." Seiga smirked dryly. "And I won't suspect myself either."

"I do declare my innocence," Sagiso began, expression hardening within seconds, "but I suspect Seiga and Sheina as well."

"I honestly suspect a lot of people." Saori crossed her arms. Her lips were curved into a frown. "Other than the three mentioned, I suspect Kaniza is a possible killer. I'm surprised you didn't say anything about her."

Kamui's eyes widened, noticing the woman was directing her attention to him. "W-well, I have no right to suspect her since she was close to Rin… That would be hypocritical of me since I considered Rin a good friend of mine too…"

Minori sarcastically smiled, murmuring under his breath, "Friends could kill one another though."

It was a miracle that no one heard him.

"Kaniza did take a long bathroom break from what I've heard," Fumio began, directing the conversation elsewhere. "That alone should arouse some suspicion in my opinion."

Kaniza couldn't help but avert her gaze, feeling uncomfortable. "Yeah…"

"We can talk about that once we get everyone else's inputs." Minori frowned. "In my case, I believe that Sheina is the most obvious suspect so far. Everyone who went to the restroom can be considered suspicious as well, especially in regards to Seiga since he was the last one to go. If anything, though, everyone's suspicious."

"Can I just give my defense already?" Sheina can be heard groaning from her seat.

"Well, can you even defend yourself?" Saori threw the egyptologist a look. "If you can, you shouldn't sound so worried about it."

"I-I'm not worried!" The woman threw her arms out, shaking her head in the meanwhile. "I'm just frustrated that you all cannot believe me, the Child of Osiris! It's absurd!"

Fumio couldn't help but frown. "Is it now?"

Sagiso loudly clapped her hands together and coughed. "Alright, alright! Let's bring it all in now, okay? We can start testifying."

"Fine with me." Saori shrugged, almost overwhelmed with the look of both exasperation and annoyance. "I think we have our main suspects right now."

"Yeah, we can start with the main suspects." Minori crossed his arms. "Sheina, Seiga, and Kaniza as of yet. Sheina can start testifying for herself, and then we'll see from there. Is that fine with everyone?"

"Finally!" Sheina groaned loudly.

Seiga couldn't help but smirk. "If it makes her stop fucking complaining, I'm good with it."

"I'm fine with it as well." Kaniza awkwardly nodded her head.

"Alright then." The pseudologist turned to eye Sheina. "You can give your testimony now. We'll see if we have any problems with it."

"You won't, my dear pure one!" Sheina proudly held her chin high. "I'll have you know I am undeserving of such disgusting accusations!"

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Motive | Dart | Bloody Towel | List of Small Events During Party | Kamui's Testimony**

 **Sheina:** Alright, I'll have you know that I am not the murderer!

 **Fumio:** And what's your defense for that then?

 **Sheina:** Because _**I'm not**_!

 **Kaniza:** Uh…

 **Seiga:** What the fuck?

 **Sheina:** It is a true statement! Besides, I **[didn't use the restroom]** during the party.

 **Sagiso:** Why does that matter though? As long as a weapon had been created to drug us, then _**you're a suspect**_.

 **Fumio:** Hm, well, that's true. You could've _**hidden the weapon**_ during the party anyways.

 **Saori:** The water gun could've been thrown after the party, huh?

 **Kamui:** Piggybacking off that, you were the one who _**pushed us**_ into drinking. I find it quite suspicious, to be honest with you.

 **Sheina:** Y-you little-! I wasn't the only one who did that, sinner! _**Seiga**_ did that as well!

 **Seiga:** Wha-? That was because you _**started it first**_!

 **Sheina:** No, I didn't!

 **Seiga:** Yes, you did!

 **Sheina:** No, I didn't!

 **Minori:** Uhh, guys? Back to the topic at hand…?

 **Sheina:** Ah, yes! Anyways, it is obvious that I am not guilty of anything! Do not trust the _**lost one**_!

 **Kamui:** Yeah… sure…

 **Saori:** Did we even go anywhere with this…?

 **Seiga:** Fucking hell.

 **Kaniza:** I… I doubt it.

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: "... didn't use the restroom…"-**

 **Minori:** You've got that wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori pointed accusingly at Fumio, however he quickly changed his hardened expression into a slightly softer one as he spoke. "I actually don't think Sheina's guilty, judging from that specific point alone though."

"Really?" Fumio's eyes widened. "Why?"

The pseudologist crossed his arms, his dark green eyes staring straight into Fumio's orange ones. "Well, let's put it this way- where would Sheina hide the evidence? She could've been sneaky enough to taint the fruit punch, sure, I believe that, however, where would she hide the empty water gun?"

Fumio pursed his lips. "Not in her body. She could've hidden it somewhere in the room though."

"Okay, and given that Sheina hasn't left the party to use the restroom nor the idea that she could've given it to someone else, an alibi, to hide it," Minori turned his focus to the egyptologist, "The likelihood of Sheina's weapon being found is quite high."

"Wait, but she could've hidden it somewhere in the room." Seiga crossed his arms. "What Fumio said is accountable."

The pseudologist frowned. "The water gun is fairly noticeable. It isn't small enough for it to be hidden so easily, but it isn't overtly huge either. It's the size of a regular gun, which the killer intentionally created as such because they know they'll throw it aside."

Minori then pointed at Sheina, exaggerating his confident position. "A gun could be hidden in your body. I can safely assume that it was a guy who murdered Rin because of that. If Sheina was guilty, she would have to hide the gun somewhere, and that is a hard task in itself. Her dress would not hide the gun well as a tuxedo would."

"Since tuxedos have pockets, undershirts, and all that…" Kamui cupped his chin. "I suppose that does make sense."

"What if the girl immediately threw the gun away though?" Sagiso asked, curious and stern in her expression. "Can you only assume because of that?"

Minori shook his head. "I'm going to make a statement that the killer have drugged the punch near the start of the party. If a girl had drugged the punch at the start, she would have to immediately leave to use the restroom. If not at the start, then I will say it will be quite difficult to drug the punch. We will be most hungry and thirsty once the party had started than near the middle or end of the party. The best chance of making us feel like we were drugged, well, drunk, would be if we drink as much as we can from the get go."

The psychogeographer was hesitant, but nodded her head. She, however, couldn't help but murmur, "Sheina was the one who was pushing this 'drink off of your minds' agenda though."

"I just wanted everyone to have fun!" Sheina groaned, tired of repeating herself. "Besides, may I remind you that you all joined in on the fun? What if one of you were waiting for me to do something like this?! Seiga also pushed for this 'agenda' too!"

"Well!" Seiga raised his hands up. "Back with me again!"

"Okay, let's ignore that then." Saori crossed her arms. "But what if she had hidden it?"

Minori raised a brow. "And how would she?"

The body broker held her breath, keeping her expression stern. "What if she hid it underneath her gown? She could've tied the water gun around her leg with a scrunchie or duct tape."

Fumio shook his head, a sudden epiphany hitting him. "I don't think that's possible… What Minori said about the dresses compared to the suits holds merit."

Sagiso raised a brow. "So, neither of us girls can hide the gun under their gown?"

"Why are you defending the girls anyways?" Seiga asked, raising a brow. He was eyeing the women suspiciously. "Doing so will make the guys the suspects then."

"I mean…" Kaniza awkwardly laughed. "I-it's only that one part, right? There could be another way for us to hide the gun."

Kamui smiled slightly, confident as he said, "Like around the tables or backstage or whatnot?"

The stunt double nodded slowly. "Right…"

"I don't mean to sound defensive right now," the psychogeographer began, "but that's not possible. It would be too suspicious and someone could've easily found it. The killer would not risk that."

Seiga shrugged. "I guess."

Kamui then raised a brow. "Excuse me, but how is it not possible for a girl to have hidden the gun underneath her gown then, Fumio?"

Fumio bit into his lips. "Well…"

* * *

 **HANGMAN'S GAMBIT**

 **Question: Why isn't it possible to hide the water gun underneath the gown?**

 **. . . . - . . . - . . . . . . . . .**

 **Fumio:** _I need to figure out why the gun can't be hidden underneath someone's gown._

 **T . . . - a . d - . . . o . . . . .**

 **Fumio:** _I feel like the answer is near… I just need to think._

 **T . . e - and - R . . ou . . . s**

 **Fumio:** _The answer is right there. It's lying right there at the tip of my tongue._

 **Ti . e - and - Re . our . . s**

 **Fumio:** _I'm having a clear picture of what it is…_

 **Time - and - Resour . . s**

 **Fumio:** _O-oh! I think I have the answer!_

 **Time - and - Resources**

 **Fumio:** _This is the answer!_

 **Answer: Time and Resources**

 **Fumio:** _Here is the proof!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Time and resources play major factors in this," the scholar began, finding confidence in what he was explaining. A fierce look was overwhelming his face. "I believe that the time between drugging the fruit punch to hiding the water gun would be much greater for the girls than the boys."

"Wow." Sheina was genuinely impressed. "Going against his own kind. I'm baffled beyond God's will."

Saori quickly pointed a finger to the egyptologist. "Sheina, quiet."

The woman laughed instead, obviously ignorant to the body broker's intentions. "Hah! It was a simple comment, my loved one!"

"Our suits are easy to hide things in," Fumio explained, bringing his hands over to his suit. He easily moved a hand into his undershirt, tucking it securely in place for a few seconds. He soon brought it out and continued, "The gun isn't so big to cause people to notice a bulge in someone's suit as well, so the killer could've easily stored it under their overshirt without it looking too obvious. The suits we are wearing on the outside are pretty spacious and loose in comparison to the dresses you guys wear."

"We do have pockets as well, to add to what Fumio said," Kamui admitted, digging his hands into the pockets on his dress pants. "There are no pockets on any of the dresses, correct?"

"True…" Sagiso frowned, cupping her chin. "I do understand that, but what does time have to do with all of this?"

"Obvious." Saori crossed her arms, stern in her gaze. "In comparison to hiding the gun inside your suit or in your pockets, hiding the gun underneath your gown would cost you a lot more time. While it would be easy to store the gun in a pocket or undershirt, hiding the gun underneath your gown and having it tied securely around your leg is quite difficult and tedious."

"Then what about resources?" Seiga asked, brow raised. "What's the issue with that, Fumi, dude?"

"Fumi?" The scholar's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly blushed and shook that statement aside. Everyone's attention was focused on him, after all. "W-well, the issue with that topic is that having a gun tied around your leg would be hard to maintain without it falling or making you uncomfortable. Using a scrunchie to tie the gun around you would be difficult and the gun's weight can, well, cause the scrunchie to be useless since it won't be able to hold it in place."

"Duct tape is difficult as well." Saori cupped her chin, expression hard and focused. "It would be easy to stick the gun on you, but it would be hard to take off because of the pain from the stickiness of the tape. Other than that, you'd have to have duct tape hidden beforehand on you."

"And other than that, once you've taken out the duct tape, there would be marks on your leg." Sagiso grinned confidently. "I got it now. If someone had tied the gun around their leg with duct tape, it'd be easy to identity them because of the red marks."

"None of us exactly wore much makeup too," Kaniza admitted, nodding her head slowly in comprehension. "I doubt anyone of us are masters at makeup too, but then again…"

"Hey, don't look at me!" Sheina threw her hands up. "I'm innocent!"

"Doesn't this clear the girls of suspicion though?" Kamui looked over to Minori, raising his brow. "This does indicate that the girls couldn't have hidden the gun."

"I'm surprised you even thought of this idea," Sagiso playfully said, eyeing the pseudologist with a small grin. "You're just writing yourself into a corner."

"Ah, no, it's fine." Minori chuckled, scratching his head. "As long as we can find the killer in the end, there must be some rocky roads to go through."

The mortician nodded his head slowly. "Yes, but this also indicates that Kaniza is cleared of suspicion, and now we need to focus on Seiga."

"Right." Seiga smirked dryly. "I'm next on the chopping block."

"How does it feel?" Sheina asked, curious as she leaned her head to the man's direction. "It must annoy you as much as it annoyed me, right?"

"Pfft, this is nothing compared to being under my stupid brother's light." Seiga chuckled. He rubbed his hands together and looked over to the pseudologist. "Alright, so I just need to defend myself, right?"

"If you can." Minori nodded. "We'll see if we have any problems in what you're saying and if we can't find anything that proves your complete guilt or innocence, then we'll most likely focus on someone else."

"It's quite difficult to prove your innocence if you were one of the people to use the restroom though," Sagiso admitted, eyeing the stunt double worriedly. "We all fell unconscious during the party too."

"Whatever everyone wants, I'll give." Seiga shrugged. "Let's do this."

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Case File #005 | Dart | Rin's Back | List of Small Events During the Party | Kamui's Testimony**

 **Fumio:** Hm…

 **Sagiso:** Honestly, how are you going to prove your innocent with _**so little evidence**_ turned for your safety?

 **Seiga:** I mean, I can't say much, but I'll just say what I can.

 **Seiga:** First of all, I want to make a point that I haven't taken up much time in the restroom _**as Kaniza did**_.

 **Kaniza:** R-right.

 **Sagiso:** I mean, Kaniza did have trouble _**finding her bracelet**_.

 **Seiga:** If I seriously was planning to murder, I'd be taking up my sweet time to go over what shit I was going to do, right?

 **Saori:** You can argue differently.

 **Seiga:** Eh, true.

 **Minori:** You admitted that so easily…

 **Seiga:** Okay, other than that, I have another point to make, and that is regarding that the murder's obviously **[planned out]**.

 **Kamui:** What is wrong with that?

 **Seiga:** The murderer had Rin planned as their victim.

 **Seiga:** Compared to accidental murders, this murderer had Rin planned as their victim from the get go. If this murder had been accidental, then there wouldn't be so _**little evidence**_ to go off with.

 **Saori:** What point are you trying to make though?

 **Seiga:** The killer had a _**motive in killing Rin**_. I haven't talked to her for as long as I had talked to some of you, and honestly I don't see why I would kill her.

 **Seiga:** To be honest, if I had to kill someone, it definitely _**wouldn't have been a jewelry thief**_.

 **Sagiso:** … True, you could've gone for someone injured like me.

 **Seiga:** Kamui or Saori as well, given they're the ones who examines bodies every single damn murder we end up in.

 **Minori:** I see. That's a good point to make.

 **Saori:** Though honestly, is that truly a reason for your innocence?

 **Seiga:** I mean, not a hundred percent, but decently enough? I really don't have anything else to go off with that, so…

 **Sheina:** A dead end. Oof.

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: "... Planned out …"**

 **Sagiso:** I believe that's right!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Sagiso nodded her head, her fists having slammed down into hard wood. "Ahem. Now that Seiga had mentioned it, we haven't gotten a chance to discuss why Rin would be targeted."

"Ah, that's right." Kamui cupped his chin as Sagiso's words shocked him. "Hm, I would've said that Rin would've been targeted because of what Monokuma said about her, but…"

"Someone must've gotten a bad vibe from her." Saori frowned. "Either that, or she was a target none of us could pinpoint a murderer to."

Fumio pursed his lips, worry expressed on his face. "But I don't understand it. Rin was someone who could fight back."

"Yeah, true." Minori held his breath, unsure of what to think. "... Rin's agile, I would suspect, given her actual talent. However, she's still smaller than a lot of us and the fact that she would've been shocked that she's being carried to her death would give the killer a chance to kill her swiftly."

Kamui shook his head. "The killer took into account that she would wake up though."

Sagiso frowned, face hardened. "As long as the killer shot her with the dart, they would be fine."

"But…" Kaniza trembled slightly. "Ugh… This is hurting my head…"

"Let's not talk about who could've carried her then," Minori said, "and focus on the motives for the killer wanting Rin dead."

Seiga raised a hand. "Guess we're not focusing on me then?"

"Not yet." Minori waved the man off. "We need to think of a few ideas, since this will raise quite a bit of questions and possibly solve more."

The stunt double was unsure of the sudden change of topic, but sighed and forfeited with the words, "I guess…"

"Alright then!" Sagiso clapped her hands loudly to avert all attention to her. "So, what motives would the killer have for killing Rin?"

Minori frowned, cupping his chin. He was thinking to himself, deep in thought as he slowly raised his voice to answer, "Well, first of all, there's the obvious one- Rin was actually the Ultimate Jewelry Thief and had lied to us about her talent."

"So, Rin was killed because she lied about her talent?" Kaniza shook her head. "I don't think that would make sense though… She never established herself as a bad person."

"Jewelry thief isn't the same as a murderer. I doubt she'd be called that if she had killed people during her nightlife as a thief," Saori added in, pursing her lips. "Nezumi hadn't admitted to murdering anyone either."

Kaniza's eyes widened and she immediately lowered her head. The mention of her boyfriend's name had definitely shocked her. "W-well… Nezzy only stole in order to live. He would never murder."

The body broker eyed Kaniza worriedly. "Yeah…"

"However," Seiga began, "I believe that anyone can kill given the right motive. Who's to say Rin couldn't have killed someone?"

"True." Saori slowly nodded her head, agreeing with what the stunt double had said. "It is in everyone's nature to prioritize themself over others."

"There isn't any evidence to prove Rin had planned to kill someone though," the stunt double said, downplaying his last statement. He was awkwardly smiling at the group. "Er, I just don't know though. Is killing Rin because of her being a jewelry thief and lying to us really going to make us kill her?"

"Exactly. I don't think that's the case at all." Kamui smiled softly. "I believe it is in Rin's nature to care for people to the best of her abilities… even if it meant…"

"Hey, I got what you're saying. I know." Sagiso immediately disrupted Kamui from his thoughts. She had her arms crossed. "Let's not discuss that now though."

The mortician nodded. "Of course. Sorry I even mentioned it."

"No, it's fine. You didn't mean it." The woman smiled in return. It was an obvious attempt to comfort the poor mortician. "If anything, I'm glad you mentioned that since it makes you sound like you care about Rin more."

"I guess…" Kamui smiled awkwardly. "I just don't like thinking about what happened during that time, and somehow I ended up spilling it so easily now…"

"It's fine." Sagiso frowned. "We're not here to judge. Don't worry about it."

The mortician nodded slowly, but kept his head low and stayed silent. He was obviously worried that despite everything Sagiso had just said, he only increased the tension within the group.

"Then what other reason would there be to kill her?" Fumio asked, biting into his lips. "It's not like the killer randomly chose Rin out of a ballot or something… uh, right?"

"Choosing a victim randomly isn't quite a clever move. Rin wasn't the weakest person around and the murder was definitely elaborate." Minori held his breath once he retorted Fumio's claim, pondering. He was unsure of what to think now that was decent as an argument, reaching nothing but a stalemate on the killer's motive.

 _Possible motive… possible motive…_

 _Just think about it, Minori. What other reason could there be for targeting Rin? There should be an answer… it should be close…_

 _It should be close. I just need to think more. Think, Minori, think! I definitely know there's an answer to this, so… I just need to think things through!_

* * *

 **PSYCHE TAXI**

…

 **Question 1: Is there any other reason for killing Rin other than the obvious?**

 **A. The only reason would be that she was chosen randomly.**

 **B. It was an accidental murder.**

 **C. The killer chose Rin because they felt like it.**

 **[D. There is another reason for killing Rin.]**

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Question 2: Who would've been the one to instigate Rin's murder?**

 **[A. Monokuma.]**

 **B. The murderer.**

 **C. Rin.**

 **D. One of the Ultimates.**

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Question 3: Why did Monokuma reveal Rin's talent?**

 **A. Because it was a way to instigate fear.**

 **B. To give the killer a reason to kill.**

 **[C. Rin was chosen as a target to be killed.]**

 **D. Because he felt like it.**

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Question 4: Why would Monokuma decide to have someone be killed despite the motive?**

 **A. The motive was not going to work.**

 **[B. Monokuma and the killer are working together or the killer had been manipulated.]**

 **C. Monokuma wanted to have fun and joined in the murderer's plan.**

 **D. Rin was annoying.**

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Minori:** _The answer's right there!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori looked straight towards the group, arms crossed and expression hardened. "There might be another reason to why Rin was killed."

"Really?" Kaniza's eyes widened. "What is it?"

"The fact that Monokuma was the one who thought it was wise to reveal Rin's true talent." Minori noticed the bafflement on everyone's faces, but stopped them and raised a finger up. "There is no real reason for Monokuma to reveal Rin's true talent. He would've known we wouldn't care about it or that we would've ignored his warnings regardless of what we thought of Rin. To announce her talent right when we were given the motive is suspicious."

"That… That is true…" The astrophotographer cupped her chin, sweat trickling down from her slightly pale face. "Why would he do it though?"

"I know!" Sheina announced. She stood up straight from her seat. "He's trying to mess with us! It's a psychological response!"

"Are you just trying to sound smart now?" Seiga deadpanned, staring at the egyptologist.

Minori shook his head. "It's not that. If Monokuma really had wanted to mess with us, revealing Rin's true talent isn't going to work. If he had revealed it much more earlier at a time when we weren't at all that close to one another, I can understand that, but at this point we seem comfortable with each other. Monokuma would've had to reveal something much more sinister than Rin's talent."

"Boo." Sheina pouted. "At least I tried."

Saori crossed her arms, calm in her expression as she looked at the pseudologist. "So, it was done on purpose."

Minori nodded. "Yes, there was definitely a reason for calling Rin out. It wasn't to make the killer choose Rin as a target. If anything, learning that she's a thief would deter anyone from fighting her."

"Hm…" Sagiso thought to herself for a moment, then snapping her fingers and widening her eyes. "Oh! I see now… But… Why?"

Fumio frowned, bewildered. "Uh, so what is it?"

The pseudologist bit into his lips. "If Rin's true talent hadn't been used as a way to make the killer choose her, then I'm assuming it is a way to make certain that Rin was the one that should be killed."

"Huh?" Kamui was taken aback. "What does that mean?"

"Monokuma wanted Rin dead and made sure the killer would have her killed."

Silence rang throughout the room. It seemed like hours passed before anyone spoke.

"No way…" Seiga shook his head. "There's no fucking way."

Kaniza was shocked, eyes widened. She was stuttering, unable to speak a coherent sentence. "R-really…?"

Sagiso released a deep breath of air and composed herself, slowly stating, "Having revealed Rin's true talent was to act as both a disguise for the killer and a way for the killer to make sure that Monokuma wanted her dead. We would've thought that Rin died because of her revelation and have trouble pinpointing an exact reason for her death, but in reality that was a ruse to make certain Rin was chosen to die."

"But, I mean…" Saori bit into her lips. "How are you so certain that's true?"

Minori shook his head, throwing his arms out. "The fact that Monokuma has been manipulating the trials? What's to say he hasn't been manipulating this trial, nor this entire murder case?"

Kaniza gulped. She was sweating nervously, hands cupped as she looked up to the king of the palace- Monokuma himself. "That's…"

"There's only one way to find out then." Kamui looked over to Monokuma. "Speak."

Monokuma grinned as a simple answer. It wasn't a verbal answer, but an expressive one that told everyone all they needed to know.

"Asshole." Seiga gritted his teeth. His eyes were almost glowing out of fury. "You really had Rin killed?"

Monokuma laughed. He leaned back on his throne and kicked back his legs. He was staring down at the Ultimates, expression that of a condescending mood. "Even if that was true, did that really bring you closer to figuring out who killed your precious friend?"

"Why are you doing this?" Kaniza was teary, shaking horribly. "Why did you have her killed? Why?"

"Why?" Monokuma smirked coldly. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know? Would you, Ms. Tsukitaiyo?"

Kaniza gulped. "Uh…"

"Okay, stop messing with her." Sagiso immediately turned the bear's attention away from Kaniza, the auburn-haired woman glaring furiously. "Just tell us the reason."

"Will that even help you guys know who killed Rin?" Monokuma chuckled. "I rather not."

"Okay, fine." The woman scoffed. "But I know you'll reveal it sooner or later. That's how you always work."

"Aw, come on now." The bear rested his head against his palm. His elbow rested easily on the arm of the chair. "It's not like I don't treat you all equally. I just treat all you people like my coworkers tell me too. If you're chosen, then that's not my fault."

"What's so special that you'd have Rin killed?" Kamui was clenching his fists. "Whoever you and the others are… Rin did not do anything!"

"She was just chosen, and the killer helped her die." Monokuma shrugged. "Nothing wrong with that. If people want to kill someone, why not do their higher ups a service?"

"Oh, just shut up." Seiga groaned. "You're so fucking annoying."

The bear raised his hands up in a surrendering position. "Alright, alright, don't look at me so fiercely now. I was only trying to help. Not my fault if the killer was willing to help me."

"Help you?" Sheina shook her head. "I refuse to believe such a thing! You are nothing more than the devil!"

"Wow, I take that as a compliment." Monokuma grinned. "Thanks."

"Y-you fiend!" The woman scoffed. "You take this lightly!"

The bear only laughed in response. He was mocking the Ultimates greatly with his condescending posture and obnoxious grin.

Minori bit into his lips as he glared at the bear. Monokuma was mocking them, and the pseudologist knew they won't get anymore information out of him easily. He slowly focused his attention back to the group. "The killer helped Monokuma then."

"Willingly or unwillingly?" Saori frowned. "Whichever one it is will make a huge difference to us."

"True…" Kamui cupped his chin. "Hm…"

"Why would the killer help out Monokuma willingly though?" Seiga asked, baffled. "Monokuma's nothing more than our enemy."

Saori shook her head. "The problem is there's a mastermind lurking with us. They could've done it."

"I… I don't think so?" Fumio tilted his head. "Uh, I mean, I don't think it's likely the mastermind would do that. They've never revealed their identity, and I doubt they'll reveal it now."

"Secretive, huh?" Kaniza awkwardly laughed. "The mastermind…"

"If the killer killed Rin unwillingly, then we could easily say that the killer is one of us." Minori smirked dryly. "It's hard to think that one of us would be willing to help Monokuma and kill someone who's obviously part of us."

Kamui shook his head. "I don't see why Monokuma and his coworkers wanted her dead though. She had never done anything out of the ordinary."

"But that's what we only see in the outside," Sagiso retorted, thinking deeply. "She could've easily been lying to us."

Seiga frowned. "Then wouldn't Minori notice it?"

Saori bit into her lips, expression immediately hardening. "With what Monokuma has been doing to us, I wouldn't be surprised if he made sure Minori wouldn't notice anything wrong with Rin."

"True, he has been trying to manipulate us." Fumio sighed deeply. "Then, I'm assuming it is possible that Monokuma manipulated the killer into killing someone."

"That's so sad though…" Kaniza shook her head sadly, fearful of such a thought, "I-if that was the case though, wouldn't Monokuma be the killer then? He was the one who wanted Rin dead and basically brought someone over to do his job…"

Saori groaned. "If only having Monokuma killed was that easy."

Monokuma scoffed, rolling his head back and kicking his leg up- definitely a drama queen. "Wow, if I was going to die, I would take you all with me."

"Uhuh…" Fumio eyed the bear suspiciously. "Sure."

"Ignore him." The body broker bit into her lips, glaring at Monokuma. "The killer is much more important right now."

Kaniza awkwardly cupped her hands, rubbing her fingers together. A shaky breath had escaped her lips. "I don't know who the killer could be though…"

Saori frowned. "... I might have an idea on who could it be."

"Really?" Sagiso's eyes widened. "Who?"

The body broker was instant in her answer- "Kaniza."

"W-what?" Kaniza blinked. Again, and again. It took a few seconds until she registered what the woman said, her eyes widening instantly and her face paling. "S-Saori?!"

"Kaniza?" Seiga cupped his chin. "Hm… I see…"

"Wait, huh? Why do you think that?" Sagiso asked, eyes slightly widened. "It's not just because of the whole bathroom scenario, right?"

"Of course not." The woman frowned. "I have another reasoning."

"B-but…" Kaniza bit harshly into her lips. "I-I would never-!"

Kamui awkwardly scratched his head. "Well… what's your reasoning then?"

Saori crossed her arms, serious in her expression. "It's simple, really. Once you think about it, everything starts to add up."

"B-But I didn't kill her!" Kaniza was shaken up, teary. "T-that's too cruel!"

Sagiso quickly shook her head and pointed a finger out. "There's no way Kaniza could've killed Rin! I refuse to believe it."

"Why? Because you're her friend?" Saori frowned. "I thought everyone was a suspect."

The psychogeographer gritted her teeth. "Y-yes, but-!"

The auburn-haired woman held her breath. She was unsure of what to say, wanting to slam her hands down and call Saori out. She wanted to call out the idea of Kaniza having killed anyone to be preposterous, but she couldn't. She was at a loss on what to do, grinding into her teeth before eyeing Minori and the others.

Specifically Minori. The pseudologist was eyeing her curiously, wondering what she would do.

She inwardly sighed. She wasn't sure what the man was thinking, her focus now turned to Saori.

The body broker was not going down without a fight. Sagiso had to do something.

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Dart | Wet Floor | List of Small Events During the Party | Kamui's Testimony**

 **Seiga:** Why do you think Kaniza's the killer?

 **Kaniza:** H-hey! I-I'm _**not the killer**_!

 **Fumio:** It's because Kaniza took _**the longest time**_ in the restroom, right?

 **Sheina:** And the fact she's a _**dear maiden**_ like some of us here?

 **Kaniza:** Guys…

 **Saori:** Well, yes, but I do have another reason as well.

 **Saori:** It relates back to the previous trial. Remember who died?

 **Minori:** … It was _**Nezumi**_. He was the one closest to her.

 **Kaniza:** S-Saori! Stop it!

 **Seiga:** Yeah, I get that, but so what?

 **Saori:** It's concerning why Nezumi died. Ryoichi killed him because he wanted to _**protect Rin**_ , remember?

 **Kamui:** Wait, are you implying that she could've killed Rin because of…

 **Fumio:** Because _**Rin was the reason Nezumi died**_.

 **Kaniza:** That's-! N-no way! Why would I think that?!

 **Sagiso:** Just because of that?

 **Sheina:** Ha… But, my sweet love, I would think that Rin was the one who acted quite cold to Kaniza in the first place, and was the one who tried opening up to her later though…?

 **Minori:** Yeah, but even if that's true, would Kaniza really trust whatever Monokuma told her?

 **Saori:** She could've been _**blackmailed**_.

 **Seiga:** So, she thought of this _**meticulous plan**_ and had Rin killed to avenge Nezumi's death? It does make sense actually.

 **Kaniza:** W-what?! N-no, why would you believe that?!

 **Minori:** Kaniza **[doesn't** **have an alibi]** regarding the murder, huh.

 **Fumio:** None of us have one, I would think.

 **Saori:** Yes, so it's obvious that Kaniza left the party not to find her jewelry, but to throw away the evidence!

 **Saori:** Kaniza _**is guilty**_!

 **-Lie Bullet Created: "... have an alibi…"**

 **Sagiso:** I'll bring this to an end!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Kaniza didn't go to find her jewelry out of pure bad luck," Sagiso began, forcing herself to look directly into Saori's eyes.

"Huh?" She could hear Minori, confused at the sudden statement.

"Kaniza went to find her jewelry because of me." Sagiso bit into her lips, expression hardening as seconds passed by. "I intentionally hid the jewelry from Kaniza as a prank. I wanted to pull a friendly prank on her."

"A prank?" Saori frowned. "Why would you prank her? That's unlike you."

Sagiso quickly shook her head. "I only did it because I didn't want Kaniza to worry and to have fun. She was still worried over the motive, and I wanted her to focus her mind off of that. I'm not that tight-lipped and serious of a person y'know."

She noticed Minori smiling painfully at her, but changed it to a stern frown and cupped his chin.

"I wouldn't say it's that kind of a prank, but I suppose you're not that much of a prankster," Kamui noted, chuckling a bit at his own discretion.

Sagiso chuckled. "Not really. I was thinking of throwing cake at her face, but that'd ruin her dress."

Kaniza quickly jumped at this opportunity, nodding her head wildly. "Y-yes! I knew Sagi pranked me, but I didn't want anyone to blame her…"

Seiga raised a brow. "Why? Because you thought we'd blame her next?"

"Mhm!" The woman's eyes were wide. "Y-yes!"

"No." Saori shook her head. She was glaring at Sagiso. "That doesn't mean Kaiza's not guilty of murder."

"What?" Sagiso gritted her teeth. "But I was the one who pranked her! She didn't know until the party!"

"Maybe she allowed it to happen?" Fumio awkwardly smiled. "That could be a reason."

"What? You too?" Sagiso pursed her lips, shocked beyond comprehension. "That's stupid! Kaniza's not guilty!"

"Yes, I do have to admit," Kamui began, averting his gaze, "Kaniza doesn't seem like someone who would kill, at least not Rin…"

"Hmph!" Sheina huffed and threw her hands to her hips. She stood up with glee and victory. "Whatever you say, you can choose to believe that! But I'll believe in whatever my fair maiden say!"

Kaniza was silent, baffled. She was unsure of what to do now.

"Well…" Minori bit into his lips. "I have to admit, the evidence against her is piling up."

Sagiso's eyes widened. "Minori! But you always fought for people's innocence! Why-?!"

"If I know for certain." The pseudologist frowned. "I want to know for certain she's guilty or innocent."

Minori then thought for a moment, then shaking his head. "I do have a couple of reasons why Kaniza can't be the killer though."

Kaniza's lips curved. "M-Minnie-!"

"Do you now?" Saori frowned. "I have a couple of reasons why she's guilty though."

Seiga scratched his head awkwardly, eyeing the astrophotographer. "Yeah, I can only think she's guilty too. Guilty as charged like my stupid brother, anyways."

"Ooh, do I smell something coming up here?!" Monokuma immediately jumped from his throne and threw his hands to the air. He was laughing maniacally. "Puhuhuhuhu! Guess what?! It's a fucking scrum debate!"

"I knew it," Saori murmured.

"Let's get this started!" Monokuma immediately sat down and rubbed his paws, the familiar buttons appearing straight in front of the bear. He giggled to himself before grabbing his wine glass and suddenly smashing it down to that one particular button.

The engines whirred. The glass shattered and fell into the ground as numerous broken pieces. The Ultimates looked at one another as they began to raise up, higher and higher to the air.

To prove Kaniza's innocence, or her guilt- the Ultimates had to find a victor.

* * *

 **SCRUM DEBATE**

 **Question:** Is Kaniza guilty?

 **LEFT SIDE "NO":** Minori, Kaniza, Sagiso, Kamui

 **RIGHT SIDE "YES":** Saori, Seiga, Sheina, Fumio

. | . | . | .

 **Sheina:** Kaniza is guilty as charged! There is no need for further _**explanation**_!

 **Sagiso:** There is a need for more _**explanation**_! We need to know the full story!

.

 **Seiga:** Kaniza could've _**planned**_ this whole shit out. She did it and helped Monokuma.

 **Kamui:** Not to be rude or anything of the like, but I doubt Kaniza could've _**planned**_ this type of gruesome murder!

.

 **Fumio:** It makes sense. Kaniza did this to _**avenge Nezumi**_.

 **Kaniza:** I would never _**avenge Nezumi**_ in that way! I want to stop Monokuma!

.

 **Saori:** We have enough _**evidence**_ pointing to Kaniza's guilt.

 **Minori:** That's not true! We don't have enough _**evidence**_ to pinpoint anyone completely as guilty!

.

 **Seiga:** Think about it! It _**makes sense**_ that someone would kill the person who ruined their lives!

 **Kamui:** It also _**makes sense**_ that someone wouldn't do that! You don't know what Kaniza is like!

.

 **Fumio:** We still _**don't know**_ if Monokuma could've blackmailed Kaniza into doing it or not.

 **Minori:** But, if by the chance that Monokuma didn't blackmail Kaniza, we _**don't know**_ if she's that emotionally stable to think of such a murder without his help!

.

 **Sheina:** Kaniza's guilty! There's a _**reason**_ why she's the murderer!

 **Kaniza:** A-are you kidding me?! Everyone has their _**reason**_ for wanting someone dead, not only me!

.

 **Saori:** I do not understand why you are so _**adamant**_ on proving Kaniza innocent. Everything points to her as the murderer.

 **Sagiso:** Why are you so _**adamant**_ on proving her guilty? If anything, you could be the killer yourself!

.

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Just stop and think about it!" Sagiso cried, almost screaming at this point. She was tired from all the yelling, sweaty and pale. "Kaniza would never be able to plan this type of murder! Given everything that has happened to her, do you think that she'll stop to help out that bitch named Monokuma and go through this whole shit again?!"

"S-Sagi…" Kaniza averted her gaze. "I…"

"Let's forget about blaming Kaniza for a moment!" The psychogeographer threw her arms out, whipping the air. "She is not capable of a murder like this!"

"But, even so…" Seiga scratched his head. "There's no one else to blame."

"Besides, have we forgotten about what we mentioned about the restroom?" Sagiso gritted her teeth, arms crossed. "The gun was found in the boys' restroom! If there's anyone you should blame, it should be Seiga."

The stunt double frowned. "Only because of that? I admit I don't have a fucking alibi like my son of a bitch brother does, but still."

Saori nodded her head slowly, composing herself back into her usual demeanor. "The only evidence piled up against Seiga are that the gun was found in the boys' restroom and that he's the last person to get out of the party to use the restroom."

Minori sighed. "The odds are stacked against us, huh?"

"We also made the point that the guys are able to hide the weapon easily," the psychogeographer added in, almost too bitterly at that. "Seiga was one of the few guys who went to the restroom."

Fumio cupped his chin, humming to himself. "Hmm… I doubt Kamui would've killed Rin, given he explained what happened before with Ryoichi's room…"

"That…" Saori bit into her lips. "I can argue against that, but it's weak. I can't genuinely argue against that point."

Kamui nodded with a small smile. "If I was the killer, I would not talk about that. That would compile evidence against me."

"Oh, what, so we're blaming me again?" Seiga smirked dryly. "I really don't have anything to defend myself with, so you're just throwing me in boiling water right now."

Fumio was hesitant. A look of worry escaped his face. He seemed unwilling to say something for a second, but it changed as he slowly turned to eye Minori. "When people lie, they tend to word themselves differently, right?"

Minori frowned. He observed Fumio, from top to bottom. He observed his every movement before slowly nodding his head. "Yes, why do you ask?"

Fumio gulped. "Then it's possible someone could be intentionally or unintentionally exposing their own motives, right?"

Minori raised a brow. "What do you-"

An epiphany struck him. His eyes widened and his face paled within milliseconds. He had to hold himself back from gasping, from throwing his hands over his mouth. He couldn't care less about the confusion everyone had, looking at him with raised brows. All Minori could care about was what Fumio said, and the smirk Monokuma was throwing at him.

"What's wrong with you?" Minori began, scowling at the bear. "I don't understand you at all!"

Monokuma laughed, shaking his head. He kicked his leg over his other one, another glass of wine in hand. "What are you talking about, Minnie? I'm in pain right now, do you hear? Thinking of me in such a light."

Kaniza gulped. "What's going on? What is Monokuma talking about?"

"This is so dirty." The pseudologist gritted his teeth, fingernails digging into his skin. His heart was beating erratically as he continued to glare at Monokuma. "You're fucked up."

Saori shook her head, baffled at what was happening. She slammed her hands down and pointed to Minori. "What are you talking about? Please explain it to us!"

Minori sighed deeply. He took a breath in, and let it out. He slowly diverted his attention away from the bear and turned to the group. A cold expression rested on his face. "Monokuma blackmailed the killer."

"What?" Kamui blinked. "H-how do you know that?"

The pseudologist was silent. He looked over to Fumio who gulped. The scholar had no choice but to take the lead.

"I've been thinking about it for a while now," Fumio began, cupping his hands together and rubbing them nervously. "Given what happened during this trial, and even thinking back to what happened with that person… I think they've been blackmailed into killing Rin."

"Who?" Sheina fronwed. "Just stop being cryptic and tell us the answer!"

Fumio held his breath.

* * *

 **CHOOSE YOUR ANSWER**

Minori Watanabe

Fumio Fujiyoshi

-Kakuma Arakaki-

-Nezumi Jirokichi-

Kamui Setsushi

 **Seiga Kosoku**

-Haruko Yoshikawa-

-Ryoichi Homura-

-Fuwari Akatsuki-

Saori Arai

-Rin Hoseki-

Sagiso Hazuki

Kaniza Tsukitaiyo

Sheina Yakamuro the 12th

-Amyto Uchida-

-Asami Karihime-

 **Fumio:** You're the only one!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"I'm sorry," Fumio began, averting his gaze. A pained, anxious expression had overwhelmed his entire face. He was breathing shakily. "The killer's you, isn't it, Seiga?"

Seiga was silent. He looked at Fumio for a second, his pink eyes staring straight into the scholar's orange. It took seconds before the stunt double moved, smirking dryly as he crossed his arms. "You think I've been blackmailed into killing Rin then, huh?"

Fumio closed his eyes, thinking to himself for a moment. A second passed. Another passed. A final second passed before he opened them up again, now staring straight at Seiga's face. Determination struck him as he nodded his head, pointing accusingly at the stunt double. "You're the killer."

"Why do you think that then?" Seiga asked. He tapped his foot eagerly against the floor. "Are you seriously pinning me as the killer because I can't defend myself that well?"

Fumio shook his head. "No, it's because of your motive and everything makes sense with you in the picture."

"You fucking real right now?" Seiga frowned. "Then tell me- why did I kill Rin?"

The scholar held his breath. He had a feeling he would be right, he just needed to see Seiga's reaction once he said it.

* * *

 **THINKING TIME**

 **Question: Why would Seiga kill Rin?**

 **A. Because he hated Rin.**

 **[B. Seiga's brother had been used to blackmail him.]**

 **C. His personality has been warped into that of a killer's.**

 **D. It was out of pure fun, nothing else.**

 **Fumio:** _This is the right answer!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Fumio clenched his fists. "Monokuma blackmailed you by using your brother."

Seiga's eyes widened. His mouth fell slightly agape. He was frozen in place, staring at the scholar in shock.

The scholar held his breath, fists shaking. "You've been mentioning your brother ever since this whole murder went down. Actually, now that I think about it, you've been going on and off with your brother throughout the entire killing game. You've mentioned him once before, but you never mentioned him again until now."

"That's…" Seiga laughed dryly, shaking his head. "That's bullshit. There's no way."

Sagiso's eyes widened as she cupped her chin. "It… It's true. Seiga hasn't mentioned his brother much before until now. I would've expected him to mention his brother then during the first motive Monokuma gave us then, given we were all unsure of what to do or who would live at that time, but for him to mention his brother now…"

"Are you fucking serious? Just because of that?" Seiga stood up from his seat, smiling anxiously. "You're fucking going to accuse me just because of that stupid reason? My brother's not a concern, so don't just accuse me because of that."

Minori shook his head. He refused to look at the stunt double, melancholy. "... I never told anyone this, but before Nezumi, Kakuma, and Ryoichi died, you were staring at that DVD cover before in that storage room."

Seiga's face paled. "That- That was nothing! I was just shocked Monokuma had Raiden Shoumetsu, okay?!"

"That could be the reason, sure." Minori bit into his lips. "You could've missed your brother, and that was all there was to it… But, let's take in what you've done that time."

"Minori…" The stunt double gulped. He was shaking his head, fists clenched. "I never meant to be an asshole to you and Fumio… That was my choice."

"I believe that, but that was also the time when Monokuma was toying with our entire personalities." Minori gritted his teeth, heat rising to his head. "Monokuma toying with you was an experiment to him. If your brother was held hostage, then Monokuma could've easily manipulated your personality and in this case… had you kill Rin."

"T-that's stupid!" Seiga shook his head. "That's bullshit! Monokuma wouldn't do that type of shit!"

"Who knows though?" Saori slowly crossed her arms and eyed the man. "We don't exactly know why he even kidnapped us, forced us into this killing game, and change our personalities left and right."

"Yeah!" Sheina threw her arms out. "We don't know! Only the Gods do!"

Seiga gritted his teeth, red with anger. "Why would Monokuma target me?! I've never done anything to him!"

Fumio held his breath. "... None of us had done anything to Monokuma other than survive and try to escape his killing game. I don't know if he's targeting specific individuals knowingly, or if his coworkers or the mastermind are the ones targeting us."

"Most likely both." Sagiso's expression hardened. "Monokuma likes to mess with us, after all. He knew our personalities were being altered and willingly lied to us that it was a mistake."

"But I didn't do it!" Seiga stomped his feet on the ground, stepping forward. "I never killed Rin! My brother doesn't have anything to do with this!"

"Seiga…" Fumio gulped. "Just admit it. You're the killer. You have the physique that gives you the chance to resist Rin. You were the last person to use the restroom and given the evidence-"

"Shut up!" Seiga screamed. "Just shut up! I didn't kill Rin! I'm not involved in anything! I'm not guilty!"

Fumio held his breath. Everything seemed to depend on him.

* * *

 **ARGUMENT ARMAMENT**

 **Seiga:** I didn't do it!

|BREAK!|

 **Seiga:** Just fuck off! I'm not the killer!

|BREAK!|

 **Seiga:** You're wrong!

|BREAK!|

 **Seiga:** My brother has nothing to do with this!

|BREAK!|

 **Seiga:** Monokuma never blackmailed me! Never!

|BREAK!|

 **Seiga:** I'm not wrong! I'm sorry if you're still mad at me!

|BREAK!|

 **Seiga:** But I am not the killer!

|BREAK!|

 **Seiga:** I would never kill Rin!

|BREAK!|

 **Seiga:** Even if you think so, you're wrong!

|BREAK!|

 **Seiga:** I literally have no motive to kill her!

|BREAK!|

 **Seiga:** Besides, I would never allow Monokuma to blackmail me!

|BREAK!|

 **Seiga:** I'm not the person you should be accusing!

 **FINAL BLOW**

 **Seiga:** I'm not the one who killed Rin! I can prove the others' guilt!

 **NOTHING | PILES UP | AGAINST | THE OTHERS**

 **Fumio:** This is the answer!

 **ANSWER:** _**Nothing piles up against the others.**_

 **Seiga:** That's not true! I…

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Fumio couldn't help but avert his gaze, noticing the obvious look of hurt and desperation on Seiga's face. "The girls cannot be the killer because of their attire. Many of us couldn't have been the killer because we haven't used the restroom, nonetheless the boys'. And given the testimonies everyone has given us and putting in the idea that the killer and Rin fought… The answer could only be you, Seiga."

Seiga's heart dropped. He was staring at Fumio, betrayal written across his entire face. "But that's…"

"Sagiso couldn't have killed Rin, given her injury." Saori crossed her arms, frowning. "Kaniza… she's too weak, to put it bluntly. I doubt I could've fought Rin either and Kamui had plenty of reason to not be a killer."

"Just admit it." Fumio gulped. "You're the killer. Monokuma blackmailed you into killing Rin, right?"

"No, that's wrong!" Seiga shook his head, complete desperation over his face. "I've never been blackmailed! You're wrong! I…!"

"Upupupu!" Monokuma reeled his head back, suddenly laughing out of thin air. "Puhuhuhuhuhuhu! Upupupupupupu!"

"W-what?" Kaniza whipped her head back. "Monokuma's…"

Monokuma was laughing maniacally, psychotically. He was kicking his legs back and forth, tears flying out from his eyes. He wiped them with a snicker, amused as he slowly got up to his feet. He stood on his two feet, right atop of the throne. He was looking down at the Ultimates. "You guys are just hilarious. Just fucking hilarious."

"Monokuma!" Sheina growled. "You heathen! Why is this funny to you?!"

"Because it is! I love watching you idiots struggle and cry." Monokuma smirked grimly. He then turned towards Seiga, chuckling. "It's alright. You don't need to fight back."

"N-no!" Seiga shook his head. He stepped forward, almost running to Monokuma's feet. "Fuck, I-! I'm sorry! Just don't fucking kill him!"

"This is…" Kamui slowly got off from his seat, moving to the side to eye Seiga. "He's the killer…?"

"W-what is happening?" Kaniza asked, pale. "Seiga?"

The bear laughed, jumping off of his throne. He skipped over to the stunt double, tilting his head with a mocking smile, cheerfully singing, "Oopsies~ Don't worry~! Your cute older brother's already dead~"

Seiga's heart shattered into a million pieces within an instant. He was staring wide-eyed at the bear, shaking his head. He couldn't even register the tears that were beginning to fall from his reddening eyes, trickling down his paling skin. "W-what…?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Monokuma smiled innocently. "Hiro's dead!"

"Y-you…" Seiga began to laugh, breaking. "You're funny… That's fucking funny…"

Fumio shakily shook his head, almost scowling at the sight. He gritted his teeth and turned away from the scene.

"This can't be happening." Kaniza smiled forcibly, painfully. "So Seiga was the killer, but he's been blackmailed by Monokuma and the person he was trying to protect was already…?"

"Seiga…" Minori's stomach churned. His heart had dropped. "I…"

"I… I still don't understand." Sheina was nervously rubbing her hands together. "Why did Seiga…?"

"Heh. You still need an explanation?" Monokuma smirked as he looked at the egyptologist. "You're so stupid, y'know?"

"What?" The woman's eyes widened. "B-be quiet, dwarf!"

"Hmph, can't help it then!" The bear chuckled. "Someone tell this stupid idiot here what happened! How did Rin die, and why! Please go explain it to her!"

Minori frowned. He knew that the bear was eyeing him. He took a look at Seiga, then at Monokuma. He was worried for the stunt double, sure, but he knew that the bear would not let Minori just ignore his 'request'.

"I suppose I have no choice then." He cleared his throat. "Alright, I'll explain to you all what went down."

* * *

 **CLOSING ARGUMENT**

 **Minori:** This is what happened.

First of all, the motive of this murder wasn't simple. We could create a weapon of our choice. Our creativity was the motive of this murder, but there were a few limits that Monokuma gave us:

The first one was the types of weapons and their strength. The types of weapons we had were swords, bow and arrows, guns, and axes or hammers. We could only create a weapon that our MonoPads given us, and the strength of our weapons depend on their colors. A green weapon would mean a slow and painful death, a blue one is a normal, timely death… and a red one, a red one means an instantaneous death.

We cannot create a weapon that is different from what we see in our MonoPad. If you have a blue gun, for example, you cannot turn that gun into a sword. You cannot turn the blue into red either. Sure, you could change the weapon as much as you would like, but the mechanics would still be in place.

… There is also the fact that telling anyone what you have will cause you 'eternal punishment'. I do not know what that means, but I assume it's nothing good.

Now, this is the motive that was laid out in front of us, but what the killer got was simple- a motive that was working as their weapon, and horrible information that acted as their motive.

The killer had gotten blackmailed. I do not know why Monokuma wanted Rin to be dead, but Monokuma used the killer. He blackmailed the killer into killing Rin by using the killer's most loved one- their brother.

We do not know for sure when the killer heard from Monokuma about their brother's kidnapping, but we do know that it caused the killer to act. The killer and Monokuma struck a deal- to keep their brother safe, and to have Rin dead. Sadly, the killer didn't know that Monokuma's not that well of a secrets holder…

Alongside the motive that Monokuma announced, he had something else. That something else would later act as our main conflict and confusion during the trial- Rin's true talent. We didn't know why Monokuma decided to reveal the fact that Rin was the Ultimate Jewelry Thief and not a jeweler, but the killer knew- it was to confuse us, and make certain that the killer would act on this.

The killer's perfect opportunity to have Rin killed would be during the party. Luckily, Sheina had planned out a party in order to lift our spirits up. It was supposed to be a party that'll make us all happy and give us the confidence to stop Monokuma, but instead it acted as the killer's safe haven.

Before the party happened, however, Kamui told us he saw someone walking into Ryoichi's room. Monokuma had came out of the room and told Kamui that he was doing some renovations, which isn't true. In fact, the killer was inside of the room, getting Ryoichi's MonoPad out. Monokuma was just trying to save the killer's hide!

What Monokuma failed to tell us before was that the deceased's MonoPads could be used. Their MonoPads were actively working and the motive was active there! While Monokuma failed to tell us, he told the killer. That is why Kamui noticed something about Ryoichi's door and Monokuma came out. The killer had gone inside the night before the party to grab Ryoichi's MonoPad! The killer was going to use that MonoPad to have Rin killed!

The party started the following day. It was normal throughout the entire day. I helped cook the food with Kamui and Saori. Kaniza and the others had prepared their gowns and suits, and the killer had gotten their weaponry and plan ready.

During the party, we didn't notice anything. That was a given. We were all happy and excited, after all. We failed to recognize that the killer's plan was already in action.

The killer had used one of the weapons they created to drug the fruit punch when we weren't looking. It was a small water gun that they created, but instead of the gun being filled with water, it was a drug that would work on only us, not them. It was a clever way of thinking, honestly. To have us be infected and not the killer… it was clever of them, and we never noticed it.

After the killer used the gun to inject the fruit punch, they easily hid it on themselves. Whether in the pocket of their pants or in their undershirt, it didn't matter. They hid it from our view and acted the same as everyone else did. They most likely went out to use the restroom after that though, and threw away the gun in the trash can when using the restroom.

Coming back, the killer acted with Sheina to have us all drunk. On the pretense of having fun and joking around, the killer egged us on to drink. Sheina was the main motivator for making us drink, but the killer was one as well. We all drunk and had fun, that is, until we became drunk and fell unconscious… There, the killer's plan was in action.

The killer had faked their unconsciousness. They pretended to fall faint with us when in reality they were not, and easily they grabbed ahold of Rin and brought her over to the changing room, where her inevitable deathbed will lie…

During this time, the killer knew that Rin would wake up sooner or later. They took off their clothes because of this and set them to the side, keeping their clothes from any spilt blood that would inevitably come. The killer had also brought in a white mask and wore it over their face, making sure Rin would not be able to see who the killer is.

And, like they thought, Rin woke up. Rin was most likely shocked and confused by this, and noticing that she was being dragged, tried to fight back. She and the killer most likely had a scuffle before Rin was shot and left for dead. This is evident by the wound on Rin's back and the blood that spilled on the floor. The killer must've shoved her during the fight before shooting the dart at her neck, slowly decaying her life.

With Rin fading to death, the killer quickly ran to get some wet towels to wash the blood. They wanted to make sure evidence of their fight was nonexistent, and so they washed the blood off the floor and threw the towels away. They also quickly wore their clothes again and before leaving Rin to die, lifted her body up on a pulley that Rin either fortunately (on the killer's perspective) landed on or the killer had dragged her to, and left. Rin was now left to die atop, close to the ceiling, dying slowly and slowly.

The killer was at ease at this point, and went back down to where everyone had last stayed unconsciousness. The killer was safe now, and pretended to lie unconscious before being awakened.

The killer was definitely at fault for killing Rin, however can you really say that when they were the ones who were blackmailed? They didn't know why Rin was chosen to die by Monokuma, and they were blackmailed! Can we really say that the killer was at fault?

… But, fault or not, they killed Rin. That seemed to be all that mattered in this case.

Seiga Kosoku, the Ultimate Stunt Double, is the murderer of this case.

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"T-that's what happened?" Sheina gulped, blankly staring at Minori. "But… for Seiga to be twisted into such an act…"

"It's too cruel!" Kaniza shook her head, shooting up from her seat. She pointed angrily at Monokuma. "Why?! Why did you do this?! Oh my god, and it was all for nothing for him! Seiga's…!"

"Why are you feeling bad for him?" Monokuma grinned, amused at Kaniza's anger. "He killed Rin."

"You had her killed!" The woman screamed. "You wanted her dead and made him do the work for you!"

"Why did you want Rin dead though?" Fumio asked, holding his breath. "What has she done to you?"

Monokuma looked at Fumio for a second. He was observing the scholar, silent. It was until a smile escaped his lips did he begin to talk. "Puhuhuhu, do you really want to know? It's dangerous."

"Huh?" Fumio raised a brow. "What does that mean?"

Seiga's tear-filled eyes widened and he suddenly whipped his head to Fumio. "Hey, don't-!"

 _Bang!_

Fumio flinched, eyes shut closed. He was shaking, trembling violently before forcing himself to move, opening an eye. It was at that point did he snap out of his fear, shrieking. "Seiga!"

Seiga had jumped in front of the scholar, a bullet dug deep into his right shoulder. He screamed and fell to his knees. "Fuck-! That hurts!"

"N-no…" Fumio immediately began to fall into a fit of broken breathing and gasping. "I… I…"

"Do you understand now?" Monokuma grinned. His grin, however, wasn't normal- it was deformed, almost that of a monster's with their sinister mouths stitched straight, up to their entire heads. "I wanted Rin dead because of you. It was your fault."

"M-my fault…?" The scholar was shaking, unable to register the cries from everyone. He couldn't even register the people around him and Seiga, defending them. "N-no…! I-I thought you didn't care…!"

"What is going on?" Kamui began, interrogating Monokuma with a deadly glare. He had his arms stretched out, ready to defend and attack at any given moment. "What did he do to you?"

"I need an explanation for this." Saori was besides the mortician, protecting her companions with a fierce gaze. "Now."

"Well, since I tried to kill him, I guess I have no choice. I'm so bad at aiming, y'know?" The bear laughed, almost mocking himself. He began to pace around in circles, eyeing the Ultimates with a chuckle. "You see, Rin and Fumio work under the same cause. It's just that Fumio knew it and Rin didn't… that is, until a few moments before I had her killed."

Kaniza gulped. "What?"

"Though I had your memories altered and all that shit, Fumio still knew the basics. Don't know why though. I still need to ask my boss." Monokuma smirked, eyeing the scholar. "He and Rin are enemies of my business. He still doesn't know who my coworkers are nor our ultimate plan, but he knows the basics- the name of the company I work under, and the fact that he and Rin are supposed to stop me."

"H-huh?" Sagiso was taken aback. "W-wait, so Rin and Fumio are like spies…?"

"Mhm." Monokuma nodded slowly. He took out a remote from his hands, however didn't press anything… yet. "He struck a deal with me beforehand since I had confronted him about his memories, but he told me he won't tell anyone and try to keep everything 'normal', and so having Amyto die instead of you all was part of it. The reason why Fumio struck a deal with me that time during Rin and Amyto's death was not simply for my 'entertainment', it was to protect himself and Rin. Sure, he wanted to keep himself and you all safe, but he needed Rin. Rin was supposed to be his ally, but she didn't know it yet."

Sheina was shaking her head. "T-this isn't making any sense…"

"Pfft, you always say that." Monokuma rolled his eyes. "Anyways, Rin only figured out she was supposed to help Fumio right before I announced the motive and had Seiga act as my little slave. I know that my coworkers loved messing with Seiga because of how optimistic he is, so having him be our guinea pig for our personality shifting shit worked out well. It was only by pure coincidence I had him kill Rin, and that was because my coworkers were stupid enough to have her realize her role and Fumio talked to her about it!"

"T-that's…" Fumio lowered his head. "I…"

"Too bad, huh? If only Rin hadn't decided to act upon her true role to expose everything about me and all that shit, then she wouldn't have died!" Monokuma laughed. "Too bad, Fumio! Your cute plan to keep your identity safe and keep Rin safe was all for naught! Maybe you should've just let me kill you all back then! Amyto wouldn't know anything anyways!"

"Seiga…" Minori turned to look at the stunt double. The man was currently being tended to by Kamui. "Did Monokuma tell you all of this?"

"Y… You're asking that now?" Seiga groaned, forcing a small smile. It was not a true smile, however, but a broken one. The glow in his eyes had already faded. "Yeah… I knew. Monokuma told me everything… about Rin and Fumio being his enemies, and Fumio's deal to protect himself from being stopped in his investigation… I knew everything…"

"No way…" Sagiso shook her head, pursing her lips. "Then what about your brother?"

"Hiro? Yeah… Monokuma told me everything because he had my brother captured…" Seiga laughed bitterly, tears flowing from his eyes. "He showed me pictures… videos of my brother being so weak, so scared… to see him like that was traumatizing… to see someone you love, being beaten and tortured to no end…"

Seiga began to sob, shaking his head. He couldn't even register the blood flowing from his shoulder, the pain of his words hurting him. "I knew he had little to no time living… I should've known he would've been dead, but Monokuma… he told me Hiro would be fine if I killed Rin… C-can I be honest?"

Everyone nodded their heads.

"Hearing that Rin and Fumio were supposed to stop Monokuma… it made me angry… it made me believe they were useless, fucking idiots…" Seiga sighed shakily. "... I was so stupid. I got mad because… I thought they were never going to save us… why couldn't they save Hiro? Why couldn't they just tell us? Especially Fumio… Honestly, I just felt like treating you like shit was worth it… even if it was out of my personality being altered or not… oh god, I was such an asshole…"

Fumio shook his head. "Just, please, stop. You don't need to explain yourself."

"I need to…" The man laughed softly. "I'm not a hero… I was never a hero, and I finally realized that… I was nothing more than a coward who wanted to believe in somebody else to… to do my bidding for me… What did that do anyways? I just ended up here, waiting to die…"

"I'm sorry." The scholar began wiping the tears off from his eyes. His breath was shaky. "If I hadn't made a deal with Monokuma before and kept it through, then-!"

"Stop it." Seiga frowned. He was eyeing the scholar with a gentle smile. "You made a deal to make sure you and Rin can continue investigating into this whole shit… that's not something you should apologize for… idiot…"

"B-but I…" Fumio sobbed. "I haven't done anything to save us all…"

Seiga frowned, shaking his head. "Idiot, that's-"

"Oh my god, this is so boring." Monokuma groaned, suddenly ruining the tension in the air. He was smirking at the group now, their attention having forcibly turned to him. "Let's get on with the show already. We know Seiga's guilty, so let's just get the execution started."

"W-wait a second!" Kaniza raised her head. "W-we haven't even voted yet!"

"Pfft, that's why I have this remote!" The bear showed his remote to the whole world, the red button on full display in the middle of the object. "It automatically makes you all vote for the murderer!"

"What?" Sheina's eyes widened. "Hey, wait a minute!"

It was too late. Monokuma had already pressed the button.

* * *

 **VOTING TIME**

 **CHOOSE THE BLACKENED OF THIS CASE!**

Minori Watanabe

Fumio Fujiyoshi

-Kakuma Arakaki-

-Nezumi Jirokichi-

Kamui Setsushi

 **Seiga Kosoku**

-Haruko Yoshikawa-

-Ryoichi Homura-

-Fuwari Akatsuki-

Saori Arai

-Rin Hoseki-

Sagiso Hazuki

Kaniza Tsukitaiyo

Sheina Yakamuro the 12th

-Amyto Uchida-

-Asami Karihime-

* * *

Monokuma grinned as the results began tallying themselves up. He was even dancing around in his spot, uncaring about the looks of disgust and horror everyone threw at him.

* * *

 **VOTING RESULTS**

 **Seiga Kosoku -** 8 Votes

 **RIGHT!**

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL END!**

 **PLEASE RISE!**

* * *

"Boom! See that?! See it right there?!" Monokuma pointed at the results, laughing. "Now Seiga can be executed without rebellion!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Kaniza shook her head. "You did that, not us!"

Monokuma tilted his head, feigning confusion with an innocent smile. "Yeah, but everyone knows Seiga's guilty."

"B-but you were the one who made him kill Rin!" The woman cried. "You blackmailed him! He didn't do it willingly!"

"He was the one who physically had Rin killed." The bear frowned. "Just shut up and accept this as reality, bitch."

Kaniza gritted her teeth, forced into silence.

"It's fine…" Seiga slowly got stood up, wincing from the pain. The bullet was still hammered into his being.

"S-Seiga!" Kamui quickly grabbed ahold of the stunt double, balancing him. "Are you sure you can stand?"

"I'm fine…!" Seiga turned to the mortician, smiling at him. It was forced, lips quivering. "I-I can handle this…"

Saori held her breath, averting her gaze. "This is too much for me."

"Is it? Well, wait till we get to the good part!" Monokuma suddenly jumped to his throne, grabbing a javel from thin air. "You ready?!"

"No!" Minori stood up from his spot. "You can't do this! You-!"

Monokuma laughed. "You guys are so dramatic. It's just a show, y'know? An awesome execution scene."

Seiga pushed Kamui out of the way. He turned to look at Monokuma. "It's alright… I'm ready."

"This is so not fair!" Sheina screamed, pointing accusingly at the bear. "You're such a heathen! Burn! Burn yourself and leave Seiga alone! You were the one who had Rin dead!"

"Let's do this!" Monokuma threw his javel down. "One execution coming right up!"

Seiga laughed bitterly, uncaring about the chain that would lock him up and drag him to his death.

He couldn't really care less about the screams that everyone threw. He just wanted to die.

He deserved this, after all.

He just didn't understand that everyone else didn't think so.

* * *

 **GAME OVER**

 **Seiga Kosoku has been found guilty.**

* * *

 **EXECUTION START!**

 **The Roller Coaster of a Lifetime**

* * *

Seiga was thrown straight into a simple block of wood, having nothing to hold onto for support other than a simple iron bar that was hooked over a simple zipline. Looking down from where his two stood on was nothing more than emptiness- more, however, darkness. The stunt double couldn't see what was below. He figured it was an endless pit or something akin to that, but he couldn't tell. All he knew was that he had to hang onto the bar for support and keep his feet close together, barely keeping them together on that small wooden block.

A second passed before the wind brushed against his face. Cold, cold wind was brushing against his face as he was suddenly hanging onto support, grinding his teeth in as his course of adventure began.

He was ziplining down and down, going faster and faster. He felt a few droplets of blood touching his cheek. He briefly looked down at his injury, wincing as he just recognized that his suit was soaking badly. The sharp pain was beginning to make him dizzy.

He continued to hang on, biting into his lips as the zipline changed course. He was falling downer and downer into the dark abyss, and the unknown was beginning to lurk over him. It was becoming darker and darker, and soon Seiga couldn't see anything more than complete darkness.

… Complete darkness, and thousands of mirrors which began to glow upon Seiga and surround him. His eyes widened as he looked around, his reflection shining upon him. It was a confusing and strange sight, seeing himself from all angles.

He continued to stare at himself blankly, baffled before he registered a faint sawing sound. His eyes widened as he looked behind him, finding a saw coming straight towards his way.

He ducked, the saw scraping the iron bar before falling down into the abyss. Seiga gritted his teeth, half relieved and half shocked. It was unexpected.

Another sawing sound. Seiga tried to look where the saw was, but saw nothing but his own reflection and the pain that came from the inch atop of his left elbow.

The saw fell down, and Seiga winced, blood trickling out from his newly obtained wound. Sharp, sharp pain continued to course through his body.

More. More sawing sounds. More and more and more and more and more.

Seiga couldn't even see where the saws were coming from. All he saw were his own reflections and the blood spilling. He tried to maneuver his way around, ducking and jumping and spinning. Saws continued to cut his body.

As he spun, he was hit by another upcoming blade. As he tried to jump and soar, he was cut and put to inches closer to death.

He was wincing every single second he was hit, and he could hear the blades scraping continuously against his wooden block and the bar keeping him safe.

It was going to break.

Seiga gritted his teeth. He could hear an upcoming saw coming towards his way, but, like everyone else- he saw nothing but his own reflection.

He was bleeding everywhere too. The blood was beginning to make him blind, and he was dizzy. He couldn't see anything and was stuck, like a bird who couldn't fly.

The saw was coming. He could hear it coming, straight towards where his torso was.

Seiga could jump and avoid the saw, but he'd allow the saw to cut through the iron bar. He could hang on the zipline, but another saw would be coming straight for his head.

Death was coming for him anyways though. He didn't really need to try anymore. He was tired, and the pain was overwhelming him at this point.

A smile escaped his lips.

Honestly, he had forgotten why he even bothered to try. Was he actually afraid of death? Well, that didn't matter now.

He wasn't afraid anymore, and sweet, sweet death would release him.

Blood flew everywhere into the abyss. One last breath escaped the stunt double before he fell, straight, straight down into darkness.

* * *

Minori was not sure of what to say. Should he even say anything? He was at a loss for words. He didn't know anymore. Was there even anything to say?

No, there wasn't, and so he was quiet.

"And there we have it!" Monokuma cried out, unaware of the horror on everyone's faces. "Yet another one has died! God, Seiga was useless. Didn't even let me kill Fumio."

"Y-you…" Fumio shakily turned to eye the bear. "D-does that mean I'll be gone next…?"

"Huh?" The bear turned to eye the scholar. He observed him for a moment before grinning, shaking his head. "Nope! Now that I think about it, it'll be interesting to see you try to stop me. I mean, now you have everyone knowing who you really are though."

Fumio was silent. He was just there, shaking, sobbing.

"Are you going to continue using us like this?" Kaniza began, gritting her teeth. She was teary-eyed as she pointed accusingly at Monokuma. "Are you going to continue making us kill each other just for your sake?! When will this end?!"

"When me or the others feel like it." Monokuma chuckled, uncaring about the woman's mental state. He simply stepped down from his throne and walked to the corner of the room. "We still have a lot to evaluate, after all."

"What? Are you going to choose another victim?" The woman was trembling. "Are you going to manipulate someone like Seiga again? Are you going to target another person now?"

"Hah, whatever, whatever." The bear shrugged. "Just keep whining. You won't really do anything anyways."

"I swear, we will stop you." Saori stepped forward, glaring at Monokuma. "I can assure you we will put an end to this."

"... Hm, really? Is that so?" Monokuma snickered. "I do look forward to that. Remember, this all happened because of Fumio."

"That's not true." Sagiso clenched her fists. "This was because you were scared Rin and Fumio could actually stop you."

"Heh, you take me for a coward." The bear rolled his eyes. "But that's fine. I know this won't end until none of you are left anyways. That's how things always are."

"Huh?" Kamui frowned. "What does that mean?"

Monokuma said nothing now, chuckling. He turned to the group and snapped his fingers, the sound of the elevator door opening. The bear smiled and walked towards the door, ignoring the baffled looks everyone threw at him. He stepped inside and pressed onto a button. The door slowly closed.

"Buh-bye~ I'll see you all later!"

And they closed. Monokuma disappeared.

Everyone was left everyone, back in the same mess they were before, over and over and over again.

Will this ever end? Will this tragedy ever end?

Minori gritted into his teeth. He didn't know. He was unsure at this point. He was unsure of victory at this point.

Monokuma had much more plans up his sleeve, and Minori wasn't sure what the bear would be planning next.

* * *

... And that's the end of the trial. I hoped it was to your liking, haha. I had a bit of a hard time planning the whole murder case down and outlining it all, but I feel like it did work out in the end.

Anyways, what do you think? Hopefully you enjoyed this, at least in the slightest bit. Okay, now, I'm going to eat! I don't need Requiem here to tell me to post pictures of anime food again! AAAH! I'll see you all next time!


	40. Chapter 4 - Part 2, Part D

Hello, and I am back with a new chapter! As always, we always have an aftermath chapter for each trial, and as always it is shorter than normal. Sorry about that! I assure you the next chapter will be longer (if it isn't you can kill me). Anyways, I am very happy that you all seemed to enjoy this case! I had to admit that I had quite a bit of a difficult time planning the entire case out and thinking of the murder. I thought it'd just be another boring and obvious case, and as someone who usually have trouble hiding who the culprit is, I'm glad you all seemed to enjoy this case, if not the least bit slightly! That makes my day, hehe. You guys are the best!

 **Ziggymia123:** "Hehe, well, Seiga would've actually been involved in the fifth case if I went with my first ever outline for this story. I'm glad you caught onto him talking about his brother before Fumio mentioned it though! Poor Seiga though. Haha, I'm glad the reveal worked well in my favor. Monokuma and Fumio should be best friends, they definitely have the chemistry for it, upupupu~ Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!"

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Haha, I'm glad no one seemed to expect what happened there. I'm happy I made it this far, hehe! Seiga deserved justice, we must give him justice. Rin definitely suffered through a lot, oops, I just noticed how much I put her through. Sorry for her, and to Seiga as well. Haha, well, when I was writing that part I was scared I'd end up scaring you, in all honesty. XD I want everyone to be happy, but at the same time, I don't, oops. Monokuma always has his ways, don't worry. He'll make you all suffer~ Hehe~ Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get everything done~"

 **TheLlamaLord:** "Aha, rip to Seiga. Fumio is definitely going to be put under the spotlight now, huh? Kaniza seems to be under your watch a lot, huh, hehe. Thanks a lot, it means a lot to me!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "I can tell, hehe. Thanks so much!"

 **FruitlessKitty_74:** "Aww no. Don't cry, be happy~ Rest in peace for Seiga and Rin."

 **Emma2448:** "Oops, didn't mean to make anyone cry. Let's all just write happiness for the characters the moment the suffering stops XD They need it."

 **ToonGuy:** "Yes, Seiga. Nothing goes well in a trial. Let's just cry and pretend everything's okay. Monokuma loves calling people names, hehe. Very neat indeed! Seiga suffered a lot, oops. Haha, glad you enjoyed the whole chapter!"

 **zephryr:** "Yay, my favorite person! I always love reading your reviews, especially since they help me improve on my writing with all you have to say! Very interested to know what you have to say~ Hm, interesting perspective on Seiga. I honestly haven't thought of it in that way, but everything you said does make sense. I do feel like I've been more concerned over building up everyone else's characters and arcs, so (as you've probably noticed before) I tend to shove some people aside to make room for the others. Your point makes sense and it's understandable! I understand the reasoning there. Puhuhu, interesting thought. Fumio's behaviors does make everything suspicious since he's our cute little Fumio, after all~ Don't worry, hopefully everything will be explained (just reminder to tell me off in the reviews if you see any plot holes, rip). Sagiso was biased there, hehe, you noticed~ Good job, Zeph! Yeah, true, Kaniza's been through a lot and is probably the most realistic there, I agree. Ooh, yes, Saori being the mastermind is a new one. Yay, character meanings! Very interesting indeed! Always enjoyed seeing these, hehe."

* * *

It should've been the same as every other time. Someone had murdered someone, that someone would be found, and they would be executed and the Ultimates left would feel nothing but emptiness.

Strangely, that emptiness was heightened. Minori wasn't sure whether or not that was because of Monokuma manipulating them, but honestly he couldn't care less anymore.

He felt completely empty. He had no idea where he was and what was happening anymore. He was just… there, staring silently at the people around him.

Fumio was on the ground, wiping the tears off of his face. Kaniza and Sagiso were comforting the scholar, asking him if he needed help. Saori was silent, unsure of what to say. Sheina was looking away from the scene, as if she was trying to escape reality herself.

Kamui tapped onto Minori's shoulder. A worried smile escaped his lips as he murmured softly, "What… What should we do?"

The pseudologist bit into his lips. He noticed the fear on the mortician's face, but he couldn't do anything at this point. He didn't know how to relieve the poor man of his stress. "I'm not sure."

Kamui's smile became bitter within seconds. "... I should've known. What happened was just… unfortunate."

That was obvious, Minori looking down at his tuxedo. He couldn't help but grimace now, disgusted at his own clothing. It reminded him so much of what had happened- Rin's body, Seiga's horrid execution… just about everything.

Minori sighed. His head was beginning to hurt again, and he wasn't even sure if it was because of the beings above manipulating his entire body, or if he was truly exhausted.

He hated it. He didn't even know what was real or not anymore. Was anything true, or was it all a lie?

Fumio forced himself back on his feet. He lightly shooed Kaniza and Sagiso away, keeping himself steady. He rested a calm demeanor on his face as he eyed the Ultimates in front of him. He bit into his lips and bowed his head down. "I'm sorry!"

Kaniza's eyes widened. "F-Fumio?"

The scholar held his breath. "I should've told you all about me and Rin. Not telling any of you all this only caused us to lose more lives. I'm… I'm very sorry!"

"You should be." Saori had her arms crossed. She was looking down at the scholar with a stern, calm gaze. "I think we all deserve an explanation."

Kamui quickly shook his head and stepped in front of Fumio and Saori. "Now, now! Please calm down. I'm sure Fumio has a reasonable explanation for this…"

The body broker eyed the scholar warily. "You do have one, right?"

Fumio nodded. "I do."

Saori went silent, now thinking for a moment. A few seconds passed before she moved. She simply nodded her head slowly in response and stepped back, allowing Kamui to sigh in relief.

"So…" Sagiso took a long look at the scholar, eyeing him from top to bottom. "You and Rin are spies…?"

Fumio heaved a small breath of air, averting his gaze. He nervously played with the sleeves on his tuxedo. "Yes, that's right. We willingly allowed ourselves to participate in this game in order to try stopping Monokuma. We just didn't expect him or his coworkers to know, nonetheless try erasing our memories…"

"I remember Monokuma mentioning that your memories of you being a spy weren't erased." Saori crossed her arms. "I'm assuming they forgot to erase those memories from you, but, well, what do you remember other than being a spy?"

"Well…" Fumio awkwardly smiled. "I unfortunately only remember that Rin and I were spies sent by an organization called Theia, and that Monokuma works under a company called Libertas."

"Theia and Libertas…" Kaniza's eyes widened. "Those names… They're based on the Goddess of Light, and the Goddess of Liberty."

Sagiso turned to Kaniza. "Are they from mythology then?"

"Yes!" Sheina immediately jumped into the fray. "From Roman Goddesses, to be exact. Not as interesting as our Gods above, specifically Osiris, but Gods nonetheless."

Kaniza nodded her head slowly. "Yeah… but I don't think Monokuma's company is exactly liberating in any way, shape, or form."

"Mhm, true." Kamui couldn't help but chuckle. "It's a good thing we have so many astrological people here."

Fumio's posture relaxed at that statement, noticing the playful tone of Kamui's voice and the smiles and nods that came after. He couldn't help but chuckle a little before continuing where he left off. "I'm sorry though. I don't know much about Monokuma's company nor my own. There are parts that are still a little foggy to me."

Saori grunted. "Is that so?"

"Uh, I understand that sounds suspicious," the scholar said, awkwardly eyeing Saori, "however it is what I know."

Minori thought for a moment, then crossing his arms and humming, "Hmm… well, tell us about your company first then. I think we should know where your company stands."

Fumio blinked. "Stands?"

"Yeah." The pseudologist awkwardly smiled. "I know your company are enemies of Monokuma's, but I want to specifically know their goal and their morals. I think that'll account for how trustworthy you are."

The scholar bit into his lips.

"Besides," the man glanced around the room, "even if they don't look like it, everyone's on the edge right now."

"I think that's obvious." Saori scoffed, shaking her head. "It's hard to even commit to doing anything if everything becomes more difficult and difficult. We don't even know if our current behaviors and mannerisms are ours any longer."

"Saori…" Kaniza pursed her lips. "I'm sure Fumio is trustworthy though. He never did anything bad to us."

"How are we sure of that?" Saori crossed her arms, stern in her expression. "He didn't save us in the second trial. He did to save himself and Rin."

"I mean…" Sagiso frowned. "Fumio nonetheless still saved us."

"It's in human nature for us to be selfish." Minori sighed. "I think that doesn't mean anything. In the end, we're still here, alive and not dead because of a choice I wrongfully made."

Sheina's expression saddened. "The one about choosing Amyto, huh."

"I'm just trying to think about this from an outsider's perspective and not as a friend of his." The body broker averted her gaze, suddenly feeling sick in her stomach. "Thinking about who the mastermind could be and who could die next…"

Kaniza's eyes widened. "Saori…"

"Well, we'll never know if he is suspicious or not unless we hear it from him." Kamui quickly focused everyone's attention back to the scholar. He threw Fumio a gentle expression, almost trying to relax the man's posture. "So, what is your company like?"

Fumio slowly nodded his head, cautious as he chose his words carefully. "Well… Theia is just another recreational therapy business on the outside. Theia acts like another psychological business, collecting statistics and creating new medication to treat patients of all kinds."

Minori frowned. "So, they experiment on people."

"... Yes." The scholar averted his gaze. "Theia acts on the purpose of advancing human society. They collect data from people in order to see which types of medication is most effective and use it to create other drugs. Uh, they experiment with any given group of people. No matter the race, sexuality, disability- they experiment simply to benefit society in the future."

"Theia works as a psychological and experimental lab then." Minori thought for a moment, then raising a finger up. "You said they act as psychologists experimenting with different ideas to benefit society on the outside, right? What do they actually do then?"

"H-huh? No, they do want to benefit society though." Fumio gulped. "They do benefit society though. They've made books detailing on counseling and made medications on how to slow down aging and-"

"It sounds to me you're advertising at this rate." Saori raised her hands up, interrupting the scholar.

"I… I'm not." The scholar averted his gaze, nervous. He was sweating. "I… I just wanted to let you know that in comparison to what Theia does, Libertas is obviously the enemy."

Sagiso frowned. "Then what does Theia do in the inside?"

"Ah… right." Fumio cupped his hands together, rubbing his fingers. "Theia holds an underground organization where spies are sent out to check on the progress on other rivaling companies, especially to gain information if they're doing anything suspicious."

Fumio looked over at the Ultimates, eyeing them carefully and with caution. "We work directly under the government's defense and force agency, yet we are sponsored by them as well to help advance society."

"Right…" Kamui cupped his chin, thinking. "So, you work under Theia as one of the spies in their company."

"Mhm." The scholar nodded. "Libertas is one of Theia's main rivaling companies. Libertas came shortly after Theia was formed all for the purpose of running Theia down."

"Why?" Kaniza asked. "Why would Libertas target Theia?"

Fumio frowned, biting into his lips. "Their CEO has a grudge against Theia's CEO. That's all the reason there is to it."

"Really?" Sheina tilted her head. "Huh."

"That's really petty," Minori began, hiding the suspicious tone in his voice, "But, I suppose that can't be helped. What does Libertas do then? I'm assuming the company is similar to your's given you called Libertas a rivaling company, right?"

Fumio hummed approvingly to the pseudologist's words. "Libertas also works like Theia. They experiment on people and try to advance society. Because of their similarities in goals and experiments, nonetheless, well, the CEOs' rivalry against one another, they compete and check each other 24/7. Well… however, Theia always tended to be on top."

"That makes sense though." Kamui crossed his arms. "Theia is funded and supported by the government."

Fumio nodded. "In order to catch up to Theia, Libertas had to resort to… well, more sketchy and underhanded tactics."

Kaniza gulped, averting her gaze. "Which includes trapping us in a killing game."

"Mhm." Fumio heaved a deep breath. "My head is a bit foggy around this area, unfortunately, but, er… while I was gathering information about Libertas, I ended up hearing something that relates to our situation right now."

The scholar took a second to calm down, relaxing himself. He slowly adjusted his tie before continuing. "'Are Ultimates truly the best of the best, or are we the same as everyone else?'"

Everyone went silent.

Fumio took a step forward, sweating. "One of the Libertas employees said that, but I do not remember the context behind it other than it relates to us, the Ultimates. I've been thinking over what that employee said for a while, and the only thing I can think of is that it relates to our situation right now in one way- since we're Ultimates, the best of the best in Japan, if not, well, the whole world, Libertas is trying to test our brains, our minds."

"That makes sense," Saori began, speaking slowly in ponder, "Ultimates are teenagers. Teenagers still have the capacity to grow, and considering we're considered to be the best in our line of work and throughout Japan, it would make sense Monokuma and his coworkers would consider us 'the best'."

Kamui frowned, shaking his head. "I understand that, but then why would Libertas purposefully manipulate with our behaviors? You can argue that caused Seiga's death."

"Seiga…" Kaniza shook her head. "That's not fair to him at all…"

Minori snapped his fingers, a sudden epiphany striking him. He pointed a finger up, directing his attention to the mortician. "To see if we could overcome them."

Kamui's eyes widened. "What?"

Dark green eyes stared into Kamui's light brown eyes. "They're manipulating with our emotions, our behaviors, our own abilities simply to see if we can overcome them. Seiga was chosen as a victim simply because of how eccentric he was, and given he probably had a few problems with a few people around here ever since the game was in play, he was manipulated and it led to his death. He failed."

Minori then turned to Sheina. "Amyto was already crazy, and Rin was alive… till now. Sheina wasn't chosen as to be manipulated to Seiga's extent simply because of that. We were all manipulated to an extent, but not as much as Seiga was. That's what I'm going to assume."

"I guess…?" Sheina awkwardly laughed. "I mean…"

"That makes sense, but at the same time it doesn't?" Kaniza bit into her lips. "I don't know, it just sounds off… I don't know why though?"

Saori shook her head, frowning. "They should know that Ultimates have emotions though, and our own minds? If they wanted to see if we can overcome any hardship thrown our way, then why manipulate us?"

"I… I don't know." Fumio bit into his lips. "My head is foggy at that point."

"So, let's assume they're targeting Ultimates then." Sagiso raised a finger up, staring at the group with a hardened expression. "Then the schools which holds Ultimates, not only from Japan, but throughout each country's own batch of Ultimates- are they targeting them?"

"Right." Kamui crossed his arms. "We're not the only Ultimates around here, nonetheless throughout the world… why would they choose us anyways?"

"Random?" Kaniza tilted her head, pondering. "We couldn't have been chosen specifically. Each person has their own talent, so unless they're targeting a specific field, then…"

Minori shook his head. "We don't have anything in common though. My talent centers around lying. There is nothing here which suggest any of you guys' talent are similar to mine."

Sheina snapped her fingers. "Oh! Maybe our personalities?"

"Personalities?" Saori raised a brow. "I mean, we know Libertas has been manipulating with our behaviors, but… is there anything similar in us that we share in common?"

"Not really?" Kaniza pursed her lips, toying with her slightly bloody hair. "I mean… some of us weren't the nicest people in the beginning…"

"Kakuma." Fumio bit into his lips. A moment passed before his eyes widened, his head turned to Minori. "He was used by Libertas, but I still don't know why…"

"Because he made a deal to find the mastermind. That probably meant he had a vague idea of who the mastermind was, or he was planning to overthrow Monokuma and Libertas altogether." Saori took a look at Fumio, examining him carefully. "I admit I still find this entire thing suspicious, but if the information given to us is of this extent, then that means we might actually be getting somewhere."

Fumio's eyes widened, and he quickly averted his gaze and nodded. "Y-yes…"

Kaniza suddenly clapped her hands together and smiled. "But if we actually think about it, shouldn't Theia be coming for our rescue? Since Fumio and Rin were spies, then-!"

"That's a possibility," Sagiso began, giving the woman a soft smile, "but there's also the possibility that they don't know where we've been kidnapped, and they can't find us. That's why we haven't seen any trace of escape yet."

"If they can't find us, then they're hopeless causes." Saori stared intensely at the scholar. "Shouldn't they be keeping an eye on you and Rin anyways?"

Fumio gulped, shaking his head. "I think Libertas severed our connection with Theia. We don't have any access to the outside world from here too."

"Hm…" The woman tapped her foot on the floor, idle. "That does show how incompetent the government is though. If they're the ones who's been funding Theia and allowed for us to be kidnapped by a company they've been monitoring since who knows when, then doesn't this whole mess come as a result from how careless they were?"

"I-I mean…" Fumio bit into his lips. "The government also has to fund other projects as well…"

"There would still be people who'd be paid to watch over Libertas though." Saori frowned. "If Theia truly came as a result from the government, then it's strange they allowed us Ultimates to be kidnapped and trapped here… nonetheless for days, even weeks already."

Fumio shook his head, taking a step back from the woman. Sweat was trickling down from his forehead. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say. My head is hurting… I can't think of anything else to say. My memories are foggy at this point…"

"Hey, Saori." Kamui placed a hand on the body broker's shoulder. It was a gentle yet firm grip on her, an obvious gesture that told her to calm down. "I'm sure we'll figure everything out later. Fumio's most likely exhausted right now."

Saori looked at the mortician for a second, then at the scholar. She sighed, nodding her head and stepping back.

"I'm sure we're all tired," Sagiso announced, quickly trying to lift the mood with a friendly smile. "We should all sleep. I think we'll need it."

"I guess." Sheina awkwardly scratched her head. "I'm still confused about a lot of things, but sure! I'm in the mood to sleep and meet our wonderful God again!"

Kaniza giggled at that. "So you dream about God a lot, huh?"

The egyptologist laughed. "Of course! It is everyone's rightful duty to think of Osiris in a time and place like this!"

"Not surprised you'd say something like that," Saori said, groaning and sighing at the same time. She then turned to Sagiso, her expression softening, if not slightly. "I do feel exhausted though. I feel dirty, so I would love to shower as soon as possible."

"Same." Kaniza awkwardly smiled. "I… I don't look that great right now."

Kamui nodded slowly, eyeing the blood stains on the poor woman. "... Yeah."

Minori sighed, biting into his inner lip. "I guess we should all take a breather and sleep. We can discuss more about everything tomorrow."

"I'm fine with it." Fumio smiled softly. "I would really like to rest right now."

"Guess we should go up, huh?" Sheina urged, having gestured over to the elevator at the far right. It was open, almost as if it was beckoning for the Ultimates to enter. It was a dark space inside, having nothing but a dim light to act as comfort.

The Ultimates took a look at one another. They were hesitant glances that meant nothing but uneasiness and worry. It was as if they wanted the other to enter inside first, to take the first step- but there was nothing, and the Ultimates had to move. A second or so passed, and the group had no choice but to all move and step inside.

The door closed as their footsteps came to silence. Slow. The elevator began to rise, and it was a slow ascension back up to reality.

The rumbling of the elevator. Silence loomed within the Ultimates. That horrible, tense silence overwhelmed the atmosphere. It was almost choking them, honestly.

Minori took a glance around the room.

 _Well… I think everyone's exhausted anyways. I think it's best if I don't bother them, especially Fumio and Kaniza._

Minori sighed. With no other idea in mind, he closed his eyes, deciding to try gathering his thoughts into one area of his brain.

 _Fumio told us that he's a spy working under Theia, a company that is funded by the government. They're against Libertas, which is Monokuma's company._

… _They both participant in human experiments, and although Fumio said that it's mainly to help advance society such as creating new medicines, gadgets, and whatnot… Libertas ended up targeting Ultimates and we ended up in a killing game._

 _Why though? Ultimates are considered the best of the best, and I'm pretty sure the others and I haven't been chosen for any specific reason._

 _We were chosen out of pure bad luck, but then again… what will these people use with the idea that we're Ultimates anyways? There's nothing that special about us other than we're a little better than average at our talents at best._

 _We're still teenagers and act abrasively. We're not that special in terms of personality or behaviors, or anything…_

"Minori?"

Minori's eyes widened. He looked back to find Kamui eyeing him strangely, a worrisome look on his face.

The door was opened, and everyone seemed to have already gone outside. They were all inside of the auditorium-

-or the room where everything happy turned bitter.

The room which should've looked chaotic and messy was now clean and sparkly. It was sparkling clean, no dirt or grime to be seen.

Had Monokuma cleaned the room? That thought seemed to rest on everyone's mind, but no one dared to ask. It was common courtesy not to, or the mood will dampen even further.

"Sorry," Minori said, quickly bowing his head down. "I was just wondering about something. Don't mind me."

"Hm." Kamui continued to give the pseudologist a worried expression, but slowly nodded his head and turned towards the auditorium, walking out.

The pseudologist sighed to himself, walking out as well. A brush of cold air touched his face. It shocked him. He must've been used to the humid air of the courtroom already.

He clicked underneath his tongue, forcing himself to ignore that thought.

Minori took a look around the room before moving outside, following the Ultimates straight towards the dormitories. He had to force himself to not look at Seiga and Rin's doors when he made his way into the dormitories, keeping himself composed as he went straight towards his door and opened it.

He heard everyone around him wish their goodnights and sweet dreams. He smiled at everyone and headed inside his room.

The door locked behind him.

A sigh escaped his lips, and he slowly made his way to the restroom.

He looked at himself in the mirror. A smirk escaped his lips.

As always, he looked like a mess. Every single time after a trial he would be a mess. His hair was slightly disheveled, bags forming under his eyes, and face pale. A mess he always was, he wasn't even surprised that he looked even worse than he thought he'd look like.

He shook his head, shifting his attention elsewhere. He began loosening the tie around his collar, cracking his neck for a second before tossing the tie aside. He then unbuttoned his tuxedo and took off his clothes.

The water turned on, and soon he found himself melting underneath the showerhead.

A warm, warm shower.

He definitely needed it, for he wasn't sure when he'd actually believe that the idea of surrendering and giving up on the truth would be satisfactory.

He always felt like he was close to figuring out the truth, yet he was far.

He was far off from the truth, and now Minori wasn't sure if anything he's been given was a truth or lie.

That was frustrating.

He's supposed to be the Ultimate Pseudologist, and yet he couldn't tell what was the truth or lie anymore. It was pathetic. It was just pathetic.

He didn't even know if it was because of Libertas manipulating and toying with his head, or if it truly was because of how incompetent he was.

Maybe it was a mixture of both. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.

The scariest thing, however, was not about him, but about everyone else.

Was everyone the same, or are they different? How was Minori supposed to know if they aren't acting out of free will, or if those damn Libertas assholes fucked with their heads?

It made Minori think back to everyone else.

Asami, Haruko, Fuwari, Amyto, Kakuma, Nezumi, Ryoichi, and now Rin and Seiga…

Were any of them tainted by the fingers of these psychopaths? Were they brought to their deaths out of their own will, or had they been manipulated into committing these crimes and died for no reason other than to satisfy the higher beings above?

Other than a couple which were confirmed to have been manipulated in some way, the rest were unknown.

Minori gritted his teeth. The warm water was hitting against his bare back.

He had to find a way to avenge their deaths. He had to stop more deaths from happening.

He had to do something. He had to do something, anything, just anything to stop this whole shit.

His mind reflected back on the dead.

His mind reflected back on what Asami told him, on how friendly Haruko acted towards him at the time when everyone was at a frightened state, how Fuwari actually tried to help, how Amyto acted so normally until the whole trial, on how Ryoichi wanted to save Rin, how Nezumi grew and wanted to protect Kaniza…

… and Kakuma.

Kakuma was willing to become a 'traitor', acting as Monokuma's mole. He was willing to do such a risky thing in order to help the group.

He risked his life to try saving the group, and yet Minori couldn't do anything but allow it to happen and mope over it.

Honestly, everyone had tried to do something, yet all Minori did was mope and shake his head over it.

He had done absolutely nothing of value at all.

Minori clenched into his fists.

He had to do something. He had to take action, and he knew-

-he had to do it now, or escaping Hell will never be possible.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - END**

 **Our Poor Subconscious Minds**

 **Survivors: 7**

* * *

 **Would you like to save?**

 **[YES] | NO**

* * *

And that is the end of the fourth chapter! We are soon reaching into the fifth chapter, which honestly, I never expected to happen! It's still shocking that I made it this far, and to think it'll end soon is making me both anxious and excited at the same time! I am just hoping I won't fail all your expectations you have on me, hehe.

Uh, anyways, I do have my third SYOC up if you do want to check it out! There are also a lot of other new SYOCs which have recently came out, so please go check the Danganronpa main page here if you feel like submitting a character! All of them are very interesting and I can assure you they all have their own unique charms that'll definitely draw you in~

And with that, I'll see you in the next chapter!


	41. Chapter 5 - Part 1, Part A

Hello, and I am back with a new chapter! I hope I didn't keep you all waiting! I am hoping you will all enjoy this chapter, so let's get straight to it!

 **TheLlamaLord:** "Hehe, aftermaths are always short. It's a lot of information which hopefully showed some background, but I'm glad it's enough to keep you guessing! Poor Fumio. Personality twister sounds like a fun game. Aww, thanks!"

 **limenightsky:** "Hehe, isn't that great?"

 **ToonGuy:** "Hooray, backstory time! Aww, yay, Fumio is given the benefit of the doubt! We need to protect Fumio as much as possible. It's a great mind game, upupupu. I do wonder that as well, hehe. Haha, what a great theory. Yes, Minori, yes."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "I'm glad you enjoyed it! Minori is a great person, you should trust him~ Killing games are fun."

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Hehe, of course the plot will thicken. Oof, well, glad you like the unique plot! Hopefully it wasn't bland~ Hehe, glad you like the idea! Mind games and experiments are fun, aren't they~ How dare Minori is a pseudologist, kill him. Hehe, I do wonder if that's right~ Yay, I'm proud as well, and yeah, sad at the same time since the story will be ending sooner or later~ Trials are hard, oof, but glad you like them! Yes, get ready for character development overload! Saori is my best girl, don't kill her please. Development is the best. Kaniza's a sweetheart and she suffered through a lot, poor girl. Oof, I'm glad you think so! Thanks! Thanks so much~"

 **Ziggymia123:** "Yes, lore! Plot! Stuff! Isn't that great? I do think that a lot of other SYOCs would have this sort of story since I'm not the most creative person, hehe, but thanks! I love despair~ Upupupupu! Saori is Tsumugi confirmed, mwahahaha. I ship Minori and Kakuma too, yes."

 **FruitlessKitty_74:** "Definitely a lot of information to take in! Poor Fumio. Everyone loves a sadistic villain, hehe. Poor Ultimates though. Dumb government! Save the babies! Minori is a great strategist, totally."

* * *

 **BIG THANKS TO MY BETA READER: Prince PokePersona!**

* * *

Another horrible dream was etched into the pseudologist's head. It was a horrible dream that was dark and grim, nothing but a dim light to be seen hanging from the middle of the ceiling.

The daft air was cold against his face. It was almost making him sick, his pale complexion becoming even paler than he previously remembered. Disgusting. It was just disgusting.

"Minori Watanabe."

Minori found himself groaning a little. He was a bit stiff in his position, finding his half-opened eyelids looking down at a white table. He frowned and wanted to stretch a little, but instead found himself pulling on something.

Metal?

Minori tugged on his hands again. A rattle. Yes, he was chained up. His hands were cuffed behind a metal chair, rendering him unable to stretch or even move much. It was uncomfortable to wake up without any movement, but he honestly couldn't do anything.

"It's a miracle, honestly. There are cuts and bruises all over you, yet you still look half-decent in that state."

Minori slowly lifted his head. An unfamiliar face was eyeing him, judging him. The person in front of him was an interrogator, an officer.

"How are you?"

"How am I?" Minori's voice was strained. It was hurting him to even talk. "... I don't know. All I remember was fainting, and then… Ugh…"

"So, you don't remember what happened?"

"No…?" Minori raised a brow. "Where's Fūmi and Suiko anyways?"

"They're fine. They're with my coworkers right now."

"Why?" The man frowned, staring at the officer. There was a look of uneasiness on his face. "Why are they there? Shouldn't they be back home…?"

"Well, yes, but no."

Minori made a disgruntled noise in response, confusion written all over his sickly face.

"I want to ask you a few questions, okay?"

"Huh?" Minori blinked, sudden worry and fear in his face. "Why? Why am I even chained up here…?"

The officer eyed him for a moment. A look of disgust was plainly seen on his face.

"There are a certain amount of evidence which links you to your father's murder."

Minori's eyes widened. His heart almost stopped after hearing that.

"What?"

The officer continued to observe him closely. He slowly took out a pencil and notepad, placing them on the table.

"From what investigators said, evidence seems to be piling up against you."

"I didn't do it though," Minori began, suddenly staring at the officer with a pitiful look. "Please, I'm not guilty. If you brought my siblings here because you think I'm guilty, then that's wrong. I'm-!"

A sudden slap on the cheek. Minori gasped as he felt a burning sting on the right side of his face.

"You're such a liar."

Minori looked up at the man in shock. Adrenaline was running through his veins, fear written all over his face.

"You know how long it took them just to pile up the evidence against you? Two fucking weeks."

Minori was silent, averting his gaze.

"Two weeks of drugging you and demanding answers from you, yet you continued to say that you didn't know anything. You're a smart one, brat, even avoiding the lie detection."

"I didn't lie," Minori began, suddenly finding himself using a tone of smugness. The frustration on the officer's face was annoying him. "The people you've placed your trust in are framing me. They couldn't find anything for two whole weeks, and so they've decided to pin the blame on me."

The officer frowned. "Really? Is that really the case?"

Minori rolled his eyes, sneering at the man above him. "The fact that you've been drugging me and beating me really doesn't hold you accountable as a legit officer either, huh?"

"You bitch!"

The younger man smirked as he felt another burning sting, now on his left cheek.

He didn't know long it took till the officer stopped, but he supposed it was for an hour or so. A groan escaped the white-haired man's lips as he felt the officer's hand roughly grabbing his hair.

"... pay… you…"

Minori couldn't hear much of what the man said, and his vision began to blur again.

A few seconds later, and he fell into darkness.

* * *

Minori found himself waking up in cold sweat. At the same time the morning announcement sounded, Monokuma screaming as high and loudly as he could.

"Yo, yo, yo, it's morning! Wake your fucking asses and get out of bed! Kids should be up and moving! You ain't old hags!"

The pseudologist groaned. He found himself wanting to toss and roll over, but remembering what he promised himself to do from last night- he quickly jumped his head out of bed and stretched.

It was going to be another long day, he was betting. He had a feeling everything was going to go downhill from here, but then again, he knew-

-everything always went downhill. He shouldn't even be surprised at this point.

His hair was still slightly damp, most likely from the shower he took. There were cold beads which stuck to his forehead, but it wasn't much to fret over. If anything, what bothered Minori was about the dream itself.

 _Hm… this dream… it's definitely related back to my past._

Minori smirked dryly. He found himself strangely calm.

 _Right, the past. I still haven't told everyone about my secret yet. Hm… let's see…_

The pseudologist slowly stood up from his seat, cracking the stiffness away from his body. He rolled his arms around and kicked his legs out. He looked around the room for a moment before walking over to the restroom, deciding to clean his face and brush.

 _How will I stop Monokuma? He knows everything about me and the others, and considering what Fumio said about Libertas and Theia…_

Minori gurgled and spat into the sink.

 _My past… past…_

 _Monokuma… secrets…_

Minori frowned, now staring at himself in the mirror.

… _Would that work?_

The pseudologist stared straight into his dark green eyes. He held his breath, thinking deeply about a certain idea of his.

 _I think that'll work. I can't tell anyone about this, and as much as I'd love to tell them my plan…_

… _It's fine. I'm a pseudologist for a reason. I need to stop letting Monokuma and his pawns change my behaviors and stop them once and for all._

With that settled in mind, Minori easily washed his face with a wet towel and walked outside the restroom. He kept the door to the restroom closed and then wrapped one of the spare scarves in his closet around his neck.

He made sure it wasn't tight. Not too tight, and not too loose. A couple of careful movements, fingers lacing each flap here and there.

Perfect.

Minori held his breath. He counted himself to three.

One.

Two.

Three.

Minori threw on a confident, stern expression and immediately called out for that cursed name- "Monokuma."

A second passed. Two seconds. Three seconds. A moment passed before a noise disrupted Minori's tense silence.

"Upupupupu!" Monokuma suddenly appeared from above, jumping straight down from the ceiling and landing perfectly in front of Minori. He winked at the pseudologist, a cute smile on his face. "What's up, my cute little Minnie Mouse?"

"Right." Minori threw the bear a cold look, crossing his arms. "Let's cut right to the chase- I want to propose something."

Monokuma whistled at the statement, putting his paws over his face. Genuine shock was on his face, though rather than shock, amusement overwhelmed his expression. His beady black eye and bright red eye began to sparkle. He leaned over to the pseudologist, panting, "Please! Please, please, do tell!"

The pseudologist forced back a grimace, slightly having to step back from Monokuma's sudden leaning. "I will, so calm down for a second."

"Of course. Sorry about that." Monokuma quickly composed himself, crossing his arms and looking at the man. "So, what's up? Got something nasty in mind?"

Minori nodded. "I have a motive I want you to present."

Monokuma stared at the man for a moment. His eyes widened, shock written all over his face. "Wait, what?"

The pseudologist raised his hands out, almost forcing the bear back. "I want to propose a motive for you, Monokuma."

"Well now." Monokuma slowly grew out of his trance, grinning widely at Minori. "This is an interesting turn of events. Minnie, are you actually pulling my leg?"

"I'm not." Minori frowned. He was glaring madly at the bear. "I genuinely want you to make my proposal true."

"Really now?" Monokuma's grin immediately became darker. He slowly took a step back, making his way over to Minori's bed and taking a seat on top of the mattress. He kicked his legs up, and then chuckled. "So, what's good, milady?"

Minori rolled his eyes, but nodded and slowly crossed his arms. "Libertas has the capability to toy with our heads, right? That's why we don't remember how we were kidnapped, why we are here, and our changes in behavior."

"Aw, so Fumio told you about us." Monokuma snickered. "Yes, that's true. So, what is it you want? Do you want to join us?"

"Nothing of the like," Minori scoffed. He pointed accusingly at the bear, anger in his face. "The motive I want you to give out has something to do with our memories, and especially with toying with them."

Monokuma frowned. He looked at the pseudologist for a moment, then nodding. "Okay then. What's up?"

Minori sighed. "I want you to make everyone learn about each other's past."

"What?" Monokuma raised a brow. "So, you want me to give people each other's pasts like a Russian Roulette game or some shit?"

"Yes, something like that." The pseudologist adjusted the scarf around his neck, slightly loosening it. "I want you to reveal to people what each other truly are like- their true past. I don't want you to choose specific people to have been given memories from a specific person, but in a randomized and fair manner."

"Hm, I see." Monokuma grinned, suddenly finding himself intrigued. "That sounds like a fair motive idea. Why do you want it anyway? I won't tell your friends, I'm just curious."

Minori frowned. "So someone will actually have the knowledge of who the mastermind is and for us to truly either believe in each other, or realize that person was lying to us this whole time."

"So, it's a risk." Monokuma chuckled. "You want to get rid of the mastermind and anyone who's working under the mastermind then."

The man nodded. "I know the chances of me getting the mastermind's background is the same as everyone else's, but that's fine. As long as someone knows who the mastermind is, we can act accordingly."

"It's not like I'll give you guys the freedom to tell each other's pasts so easily though," the bear said, grinning. "What, are you going to look at facial cues and body movement?"

"Of course." Minori smirked dryly. "I know you won't let us beat you so easily. I believe that in order to have a chance at defeating you, there must be drastic measures taken. It's the only way you can feel like you're being driven into a corner, right, Monokuma?"

Monokuma eyed Minori, interest completely overwhelming his face. "Upupupu, that's quite the confidence you have there! Honestly though, I don't mind. In fact, the motive does sound interesting. It'd be such a waste to not use it."

The pseudologist's eyes slightly widened. "You're just going to let me have my way then?"

"Who said that I'm letting you have your way? I'm obviously not here to make you stop me. I'm here because I'm entertained by this idea." Monokuma smirked, crossing his arms. "I don't mind giving you a glitter of hope anyways. It's cute to see you kids trying to get off from your despair only to be beaten down to a pulp. Damn, it makes me wet just thinking about it~"

Minori gritted his teeth, clenching into his fists. "You're so sick. You, the mastermind, Libertas… all of you are all fucking sick."

"Wow, now you're attacking everyone including me. Rude." The bear feigned hurt, wiping the nonexistent tears from his eyes. "You make me cry, Minnie. You're making your husband here cry, Minnie Mouse."

"I'll just pretend I didn't hear that." Minori's expression gloomed. "So, we have a deal then?"

Monokuma nodded his head. He jumped and twirled on the ground, winking at Minori and saluting. "Of course! You have yourself a deal, my cutie!"

Minori rolled his eyes. "Good."

"It was great doing business with you!" Monokuma bowed his head down, acting akin to a butler's mannerisms. He grinned as he looked back up. "Alright, guess I'll get going! Don't want you to keep your little buddies waiting, right?"

Minori was silent, simply staring at the bear.

The bear said nothing in response, clapping his hands. He gave Minori one final nod before twirling around, jumping up to the ceiling and suddenly disappearing from sight. The bear was now gone, and so Minori was now alone.

Minori couldn't help but sigh, shoulders slumping. He almost felt like falling down to his bed, but held himself back.

 _Pretty sure everyone's already at the dining hall. I should go there._

Minori nodded to himself and began walking. He opened the door and made his way down, going over to the dining hall where he opened the door, revealing the rest of the remaining Ultimates inside.

As always, the mood between the group was tense. It wouldn't make sense if it wasn't, after all, Monokuma wanted nothing more than to inflict despair into them.

"Hey." Kaniza was the first to speak, waving at the pseudologist. She gestured him to sit down, then pointing to the food lying on the dinner table.

Minori slowly took his seat, grabbing ahold of his plate. He silently grabbed the food on display, eyeing the others. A piece of sausage was plopped into his mouth.

"So…" Kamui awkwardly looked from person to person. His smile was overwhelmed with anxiety. "We're all here."

"Yeah." Saori bit into her food, gulping it down. "There's so few of us left."

Sagiso turned to eye the body broker disapprovingly. "I mean, yeah, but to mention that so loudly right after…"

Saori shrugged. "We can't just neglect what happened."

"I understand that." Kamui quickly brought his hands up, waving them around to disrupt the impending tension. "But I do have something to admit."

Sheina curiously turned to the man. "What?"

The mortician pursed his lips, eyebrows furrowed. "I checked Rin and Seiga's rooms a few hours ago. Since I woke up earlier than everyone else did and couldn't sleep, I decided to investigate Rin and Seiga's rooms since… well, I do think it might be important."

Kamui glanced at the group for their reactions. Finding comfort in their silence, he continued. "I didn't necessarily see anything in Seiga's room, however I did come across something that bothered me for a while now. Let me ask- none of you felt an earthquake, correct?"

Everyone looked at one another. They shook their heads.

"I see. Well, while I was inside Seiga's room, I ended up being disrupted by an awkward momentum. It wasn't of small magnitude either- every object in Seiga's room ended up falling and I stumbled and fell off balance. It happened within an instant though, and after that it was silent." Kamui frowned, crossing his arms. "It makes me wonder though- was I the only one who felt the earthquake because I was inside the room, or was I just imagining things?"

"But…" Fumio hummed, cupping his chin. "Well… I mean, if you were imagining things, then what was the purpose behind it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Saori threw Fumio a cold stare, almost scaring the poor scholar. "It's to mess with his head. Monokuma is trying to toy with our emotions and behaviors, so playing with our heads will not be above him."

Fumio averted his gaze. "W-well…"

Saori sighed, noticing the awkwardness between her and the man. "Look, it's not like I am not willing to believe you, but it's hard given our circumstances. We always need to have the benefit of the doubt."

"Y-yeah, I understand." Fumio smiled softly in response.

Sagiso couldn't help but smile awkwardly at the body broker. "Saori, you're so blunt."

"I'm not." Saori frowned. "I'm just speaking the truth."

"At least sound nicer with it." The psychogeographer eyed Fumio worriedly. "It's not like he'll take advantage of you."

"Aren't you the one who's always bossing people around?" Saori averted her gaze, mumbling.

Kamui quickly threw his hands up in an attempt to disrupt the impending tension. "Earthquake or not, this is something I wanted to bring up. I was hoping to get your inputs."

"No!" Sheina huffed, a cocky expression written on her face. "Do not fret about that, blessed one. The sinners are trying to smite you."

Sagiso frowned as she glanced at the egyptologist, but shook her head and turned to the mortician. "Uhuh. What did you find in Rin's room then, Kamui?"

Kamui smiled slightly at Sagiso's acknowledgment. "Well, on the contrary to Seiga's room, I didn't feel anything similar to a disturbance. However, I did found something she wrote."

The mortician dug into his pocket and took out a crumpled piece of paper. He slammed it to the table as everyone began leaning towards it to witness its writing.

["I only got my memories (or what I think are my real memories) after Fumio told me. I don't know how much he knows or even if what he said was true, but I'll just note what I feel:

— I went to wherever the hell this place is myself. I didn't know anyone here other than Fumio, but memories of him are hazy.

— I heard somewhere (idk where) that this experiment (the killing game) was going to advance society. Fucking psychos.

— I heard something about "grouping". There's a reason why me and the others were grouped together, but I don't know the reason.

— Whether true or not, I'm trying to figure out what Monokuma's planning with Fumio. I didn't see much yet.

— I'm going to freak out. I don't know what to do. I trust Kamui and the others, but at the same time I don't know if they're working under Monokuma. I don't even know if what Fumio said is true. How did he know? Why weren't his memories erased like the rest of us? Was it done on purpose? Are they even real?

I don't know, but I can't just tell everyone about it. Maybe writing it into this notepad will get my mind off of things. I'll probably hide this note somewhere too. Hopefully it won't look so desperate of me to write here. I'm not sure what to do. The party is coming up too, and I hope nothing happens to the others. I don't know what Monokuma's trying to do any longer. I wonder if Kamui will get mad at me if he sees how stressed out I am about this. He hates it whenever I don't emote myself- something about how it's bad for my health or something. Kaniza and the others will definitely worry, but I'm sure it'll all be fine."]

Kamui bit into his lips as he glossed over the words, eyes a bit teary. He quickly sniffed in the snot daring to fall from his nose and composed himself, breathing out deeply. "I don't know when she wrote this, but I assumed it was a few hours before the party. She hid this in her closet."

"Rin…" Kaniza gulped. "She sounded so scared."

Saori looked over to the scholar. "Fumio, why did you tell Rin this again?"

Fumio jumped, flinching. "Oh, uh, because the chances of us stopping Monokuma would rise… Rin had a hunch about her being a spy back then and mentioned it to me before, so…"

"You shouldn't have told Rin about that."

Fumio's eyes widened.

"I'm not close to her as Kamui, Kaniza, and to an extent you are," the body broker began, crossing her arms, "but after the stunt Ryoichi pulled because of his aimless love for Rin, she was definitely not in the best spot for you to suddenly reveal that."

"B-but…" The scholar averted his gaze, sweat trickling down from his head. "She wouldn't stop asking me about it, and after I told her she looked fine."

"'Looked' is the key word here." Saori bit into her lips. "I understand that Monokuma targeted her because she actively tried to stop him, but at the same time she was not in a healthy spot to suddenly realize that she was supposed to have been stopping Monokuma."

"What?" Fumio paled. "But Rin…!"

"If she figured out that she was supposed to stop Monokuma all this time, then what were these last few weeks worth to her?"

Fumio was silent. He eyed the body broker in silence, shock written all over his face. Tears began to fill his eyes and he shook his head. He quickly dashed out of the room.

"H-hey, Fumio!" Kaniza quickly jumped out of her seat and chased after the man.

"Saori!" Sagiso gritted her teeth as she eyed the woman. "You shouldn't have said that!"

"I'm just telling the truth." Saori sighed. "I can't let this slide."

"Your argument runs flat though!" The psychogeographer clenched into her fists. "If you think that Rin wasn't in a spot to suddenly have her secrets spilled, then you definitely shouldn't have told Fumio that! He was not in a position for you to suddenly talk like that to him!"

"He's not a baby!" Saori found herself irritated, heating up. "You're just saying that because you're his friend. If he wasn't, you'd be going against him too."

"What? Of course not!" Sagiso growled. "Can you just not talk to him like that?! He's been through enough!"

Saori gritted into her teeth. "I've had enough too!"

"Guys!" Kamui quickly moved himself between the duo. "Wait just a second, please! Let's calm down!"

"Kamui." Saori turned to the man. "I'm surprised you're not mad. You already know why Rin died."

Kamui's eyes widened. He eyed the woman for a moment before shaking his head, laughing awkwardly. "Just calm down. I know Monokuma has been playing with our emotions, but we need to conquer that and-"

"Is that what it is?" Saori suddenly fell to a quiet tone. She was eyeing the mortician with a cold stare. "That my emotions don't matter any longer? That my words aren't accountable for just because I allowed you all to lead instead?"

Kamui's face paled. "N-no, that wasn't what I meant! Monokuma's been manipulating us, so-!"

"It's fine." Saori began walking away, taking a step back from Kamui and Sagiso. "I guess I'm too emotional right now."

The mortician shook his head. "No, Saori, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I…"

Saori frowned. "Maybe he is amplifying our emotions, manipulating us. I wouldn't know, but seeing the lack of care everyone is beginning to have is… it's irritating me."

"But we do care." Sagiso bit into her lips, anger in her face. "Why do you think that? We're not that apathetic."

"Do you not get it?" Saori walked towards the door. "I know much about the dead, but we're not focusing on them. Rather, we're focusing on ourselves and our memories of the others tend to drop."

Sagiso frowned. "That's not true."

"... We care too much about ourselves that our purposes about the others just died." The body broker sighed. "They're 'dead' to us. We don't care about their souls any longer."

Minori stood up from his seat. He took a look at Saori. He couldn't help but frown as he eyed her. "How are you so sure of that?"

"Apparently, because I've been 'manipulated by Monokuma'."

Sheina reached her hand out. "Saori, wait-!"

The door shut closed.

Silence loomed in the room.

"I-I'll go find Saori!" The egyptologist shook her head and ran.

The door shut closed again.

Kamui was the first to react, groaning and shaking his head. "I know she's worried, but still… I think I went too far."

"You didn't." Sagiso crossed her arms, dismayed. "Something's wrong with her."

"No, I doubt that." The mortician's expression was soft. "She does have a point."

"That we're apathetic?" Sagiso frowned. "But we do care about Rin and the others. That's why we want to stop Monokuma and Libertas."

"That's the thing." Kamui bit into his lips. "She doesn't really express herself well, but we know she cares. She thinks that we don't care because we don't focus on lamenting them enough. I have to admit I'm guilty of that as well."

Minori eyed the duo for a moment, then sighing. "Should I go find her and Sheina?"

"I think she's more comfortable with Sheina," Kamui admitted. "I'll talk to her later."

"I hope she's fine." Sagiso made a disgruntled noise as she crossed her arms. "If Monokuma manipulated her in some way, then he's definitely trying to get her to do something."

"The thing is- we honestly don't know." Kamui sighed. "We don't know what we say is from us being genuine or Monokuma messing with us anymore. I think that's part of Saori's problem too."

"Hm…" Minori thought to himself for a moment, then pointing a finger. "Kamui, has Saori ever discussed with you about each other's values on murder and death?"

"No?" Kamui blinked confusingly. "Why?"

"You two seem close," the pseudologist began, "so I think instead of me or Sagiso trying to talk to her, you should go chase after her. I feel like she trusts you more than she trusts us."

"N-nonsense." Kamui awkwardly smiled, shaking his head. "Why would she trust me? Besides, I'm sure she's speaking to Sheina at the moment."

Minori frowned. "Well… I feel like she's wary around us, though I'm assuming it's because of Fumio right now. He's been revealed as a spy, and the people he's talked to most are me and Sagiso at the moment."

Kamui bit into his lips. "But Minori, I…"

The pseudologist gave Kamui a small smile. "I feel like you'd understand Saori the best given how similar you two are. You two act as our unofficial mother and father anyways."

"O-oh, nothing of the like!" Kamui blushed, waving his hands about. "If anything, consider it my repentance for committing such a horrible act at the beginning!"

"With Asami and Ko…" Minori's face saddened, but he quickly shook it off and nodded. "I just want to make sure everyone's alright. I'm sure tensions are running high, without Monokuma's interference or not, but we need to keep ourselves composed and steady."

 _It'll make my job easier anyways._

Kamui smiled at this. "I suppose you're right. I'll try to talk to her soon then."

"Sheesh." Sagiso scratched her head, sighing loudly. "I've honestly never seen her act like that. I didn't think she'd yell at me either."

"Well, let's just get that out of the way for now." Kamui eyed Sagiso kindly. "The fifth floor is open now."

Minori's eyes widened. "We have a fifth floor?"

"Mhm, surprising, given that I haven't seen anything from the fourth floor connecting to an upper floor." Kamui took out his MonoPad and began tapping into it. He went over to the maps and pointed his finger over, hovering at the fifth floor. "See? It's right here."

Sagiso and Minori took a look at the screen.

From what was laid out, apparently the fifth floor only had two rooms available within the entire area. There was one which spanned on the right, and one on the left. Both of them were offices, strangely enough, given that the offices seemed to be big and spacious. They were taking up about most of the area, after all.

Sagiso looked over at the mortician with a steady stare. "I'm guessing you haven't checked it yet."

"No, I haven't. I wanted to investigate with you and the others." Kamui awkwardly laughed, scratching his head. "Although, I am quite unsure if going together is the smartest idea now."

The psychogeographer nodded slowly. "I see."

"Should we wait for them to come back?" Minori asked, curious. "I feel like Fumio and Saori won't be willing to come back here for a while."

"I mean, they better come back." Sagiso frowned, crossing her arms. She gestured over to the plates on the table. "They can't just leave us cleaning the plates."

Kamui laughed for a while. He calmly looked at the woman. "I doubt you'll do most of the cleaning anyways. How's your injury?"

"Oh, my leg?" Sagiso looked down at her bruised and bandaged leg, then shaking her head and grinning. "I think I got a handle on this. It's healing really well."

"That's good," the mortician mused. "It's hard to move when you're injured, especially going up and down from the stairs."

The auburn-haired woman rolled her eyes as she looked over to Minori. "This guy here probably loves that I'm injured though."

Minori's eyes widened. "No, of course not!"

"Aww, come on now," the woman teased, smirking at the flustered man. "Aren't you happy you get to show off your knight in shining armor side towards me?"

Minori shook his head. "Nothing of the like. Geez, you really like to tease me."

Sagiso giggled. "Of course I do."

Kamui chuckled as he eyed the duo. He smiled at them sweetly before grabbing ahold of his plate. "It's fine though. I'll clean up whoever's plates are empty and wait a while before grabbing the others'."

"Are you sure?" Sagiso asked, frowning slightly as Kamui grabbed her empty plate. "You don't have to do all the work."

"I think I'll be fine," the mortician mused. "You two can go ahead and investigate the top floor. I'll investigate myself if no one's coming."

Minori raised a brow as Kamui grabbed his plate, then leaving the room and into the kitchen. The pseudologist couldn't help but frown, letting out a disgruntled noise before eyeing Sagiso. "Should we go?"

The woman nodded her head slowly. "I guess? You don't want to wait for Kamui or the others?"

"I mean…" Minori awkwardly laughed. "I feel like Kamui would just nag us, and I'm not sure how the others are doing right now."

Sagiso scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Geez, how about my leg?"

The pseudologist grinned as he eyed the woman. "You said you were feeling better anyways. Besides, if you want, I'll carry you there. If not, I'll investigate myself."

"Hm." Sagiso chuckled. "You're just making me want to stay put."

Minori rolled his eyes in return. "Okay, okay, fine. I'll probably go look for Fumio and the others to see how they're doing before checking the place. You want to follow?"

Sagiso thought for a moment. A look between awkwardness and hesitation arose before she shook her head. "I think I'll be fine. I'll just… think for a moment."

"You sure?" Minori frowned. "You can go to your room to rest if you're sleepy."

The woman shook her head again. "No, I'm fine. I'll stay here for a bit. I just want to empty my head right now."

Minori couldn't help but throw her a worried look, but knowing she wouldn't tell him anything, he nodded and left the room.

A sigh escaped his lips once he heard the door closing.

 _Let's see… where would the others be? I'm not sure if they're even in their rooms right now. Should I even bother trying to look for them? I feel like they're hiding or something._

Minori thought for a moment, then looking over towards where the staircase was.

 _I should probably just go check the fifth floor. It's better if I know what's up there and see if there's anything important inside._

That thought settled within his head, and finding himself confident in the idea, he marched his way towards the staircase and straight over to the fifth floor.

Upon ascending towards the fifth floor, Minori found himself entranced by the staircases leading up to the floor. It was a beautifully polished redwood, almost sparkling somehow because of its shine. The handles were crafted in spirals, twirls and exquisite designs to be seen. The walls to the left and right were a soft red velvet fabric, with a natural brown and forest green diamond designs woven into the red. The ceiling was a mere dark purple color, but the diamond-shaped light bulb that hung from above made Minori feel like he was walking towards a palace of sorts.

He stepped onto the last staircase, and soon found himself eyeing the hallways in the fifth floor.

Similar to the walls and ceiling of the staircase, the fifth floor was a soft fabric of red velvet and purple all over. Even Minori could feel the softness of the floor against the soles of his shoes. There were paintings lined up parallel and evenly along the hallways- paintings of Leonardo de Vinci, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh… There were paintings that while Minori didn't know the name or ownership of, it was too iconic for him to forget.

The doors were all the way down from the hallways, Minori did notice how spacious the hallways were. There was even enough space to fit a glass table in with a bouquet of red roses on a glass vase, and also a black sofa to the middle along the left side. Diamond-shaped light bulbs hung from above, shining brightly like a diamond would.

Well, other than the exquisite (although gaudy?) look, Minori knew better than to be distracted. He made his way down the hallways and towards where the doors were.

Two doors. There were only two doors to be seen.

The first door, on the left, was an exquisite polished wooden door with a golden knob. It had an exquisite pattern of dragons and phoenixes on the door, almost as if it was a painting. The dragons coiled around each other like a snake, and the phoenixes flew about and screamed their fiery bursts of flames about. Definitely a strange, but intricate design.

The second and last door, on the left, was definitely not something Minori expected. It was a black and white door, the left half being black, and the right being white. The knob on the door was shaped to that of Monokuma's head, complete with the red eye and the usual toothy smirk on the bear's face. A horrific door to witness, definitely.

Minori obviously decided to check on the Monokuma door first. He grabbed ahold of the knob and tried turning it, but it wouldn't budge. A frown escaped his lips and he tried to pry the door open, but nothing. It seemed like it was locked.

 _Hm… Tying this to the similar-looking door from the MonoLottery room, this definitely is important. I wonder if Monokuma lives here or something?_

Minori wasn't sure, but he would have to ask the others on their input. Sighing, the pseudologist turned around and began focusing his attention on the exquisite door on the left. He tried to budge the door open, but nothing.

He couldn't help but bite into his lips, annoyed. He had a feeling he couldn't open the black-and-white door, but he honestly didn't expect to be unable to open the door to the left. If anything, his investigation led him nowhere, and Minori had to wonder why Monokuma even allowed the Ultimates to check the fifth floor.

 _Maybe he's just mocking us… Whatever, I should tell the others._

And, with a defeated sigh, Minori went back down the stairs and into the first floor. He walked back over towards where the dining hall was, opening the door and heading back inside to find Sagiso and Kamui inside. He also noticed Kaniza who was inside as well, eyeing Minori with a shy wave.

"Oh." Minori eyed the astrophotographer with a smile. "How's Fumio doing?"

Kaniza scratched her head with a nervous laugh. "Pretty down if I had to admit. I tried asking him if he wanted to come back here, but he said that he'll rest for a bit. Sheina and Saori haven't come back either it seems."

"It's fine." Sagiso gently looked at her friend. "I'm sure they'll be fine. The tension's just getting to us."

"Yeah." Kaniza pursed her lips, but quickly threw on a cheerful composure as she looked at the pseudologist. "Where did you go anyways?"

"I checked the fifth floor." Minori quickly put a hand up to keep the others from talking. "Everything there is locked. There are two rooms it seems- one with a door that's been crafted with dragons and phoenixes, and the other which is most likely where Monokuma resides in."

"Monokuma?!" Kaniza's eyes widened. "So we reached the point where we can see his room?"

"Well, I mean, it's locked though." Minori awkwardly laughed. "So, unfortunately, we can't access anything."

"Really?" Sagiso frowned. "Damn, that sucks. Hm…"

"At least we know something about the fifth floor," Kamui began, giving the others a kind smile in response to their pessimistic tones. "We'll definitely find a way to open the doors. It's just a matter of when."

"True!" Kaniza smiled instantly. "I'm sure we'll be able to open the doors if we work together. We should probably tell Fumio and the others though, huh?"

"Yeah." Kamui softly spoke, "I'll see if they're in their rooms. I'll tell them what you found. Thank you, Minori."

Minori blushed slightly. "I mean, it wasn't anything special, really."

Kamui left the room.

Sagiso glanced over to Kaniza. "So, you still want to teach me more about the constellations?"

"O-oh!" Kaniza jumped. "Right, I forgot what we were talking about for a second there!"

The woman laughed. "It's fine, we're too focused about the situation anyways to think about the fun stuff."

Minori eyed the duo awkwardly, feeling immediately out of place. "Uh…"

"Shush, cutie." Sagiso threw the man a small wink. "It's a thing between me and Kaniza."

Kaniza couldn't help but giggle. "We can talk in my room. I made a lot of notes about the different constellations! I found it calming to do so, hehehe…"

"Really? That makes your job easier then." Sagiso smiled, slowly bringing herself up from the table. "Alright, lead me to your room."

Kaniza grabbed ahold of the woman's arms to keep her movements steady, and happily walked with her away from the room.

The door closed, and Minori found himself back in his loneliness.

… _Well, guess I'll see how Fumio's doing. Hopefully he's in his room._

Minori found himself walking back outside, now heading straight towards the dormitories. He made his way over to where Fumio was, taking a deep breath of air and exhaling before knocking on the door.

One. Two. Three.

Now he waited. A moment passed with Minori waiting, the pseudologist tapping his foot against the floor. He breathed comfortably as he heard a click, the door slowly creaking open.

"Uh…" Fumio was peeking his eyes out. They widened as they looked upon Minori's face. "O-oh! Minori?"

Minori gently smiled at the man, waving. "Hey there. Is it alright if I come in and talk?"

Fumio gulped. He thought to himself for a moment, hesitation clear on his face. A moment passed before he released a small sigh, slowly bringing the door open. "Sure…"

Minori nodded as Fumio stepped to the side, allowing him in. He closed the door behind him as he watched the scholar moving to take a seat on the bed. The pseudologist decided to sit down as well, keeping himself grounded with the man.

"So," the pseudologist began, eyeing the scholar, "did Saori's words hurt you that badly?"

"G-getting straight to the point, huh?" Fumio awkwardly smiled, then sighing. He began kicking his legs back and forth, up and down. "... I guess you can say that. I feel like I only ran away not because what she said was true, but because I got scared."

Minori smiled softly. "Rin did help you out though. I understand she was feeling paranoid when you revealed it to her, but it's not your fault she died. It was Monokuma's fault."

"I can't help but believe that's wrong," the scholar muttered. "I felt cornered since I didn't know what to do, and so when Rin began getting an idea of being a spy, I couldn't help but throw that burden onto her as well."

"I mean, you honestly never know what she'd feel." The pseudologist sighed. "I am worried about Saori though. She suddenly pounced at you there."

"... It's okay, I deserved it." Fumio shook his head sadly, slightly shaking. "She knew I did it because of my selfishness. I couldn't do anything, so I took advantage of Rin to make her do the work for me… it only caused her to die, and even Seiga…"

"That's Monokuma's fault." Minori frowned. "It we weren't in this shithole to begin with, this would've never happen. It's Monokuma's fault for feeling cornered, not you nor Rin nor even Seiga. He just had Seiga kill her because he was afraid she'd figure something out."

"But Saori's right." Fumio's eyes began to water. His hands began clutching onto the locket around his neck tightly. "I-I didn't cry back there because Rin and Seiga were going to die. I cried because I knew it was my fault…"

Minori was shocked. "But Fumio, that's not true."

"You don't know me either, so I'm sorry, but I can't accept that." Fumio's lips were quivering. "I should be used to this by now… being insulted constantly from left and right, but I ended up becoming scared and running away again…"

The pseudologist eyed the scholar for a moment, then biting into his lips. "Look, everyone handles death differently. It's okay if you didn't cry for Rin and Seiga because they were going to die. It's still kind of you to cry because you felt something. It's better than feeling nothing at all, Fumio."

"I'm just not good with this," Fumio admitted, shaking his head. "Saori's right though. I'm suspicious, so I shouldn't even be bothered that she'd be suspicious of me, but at the same time… I don't know. I-I just feel like a mess right now."

"And I'm sure Saori's feeling the same thing." Minori's lips curved to a soft, gentle smile. "I'm sure Saori will learn to trust you, and I'm sure she has her own problems. Kamui and Sheina are talking to her right now, so I'm sure they know what she feels. Just give her time."

Fumio sniffled. "H… Has she talked to you or Sagiso yet though?"

"Not yet," Minori admitted, "Kamui went to check up on her. I'll see if I can talk to her tomorrow or later."

The scholar nodded silently.

Minori glanced at Fumio for a moment, then grinning. "I haven't said this, but you looked really nice wearing a tuxedo last time. Makes you handsomer than you already are."

"W-wha-?!" Fumio's eyes widened, and he quickly hid his face. He was turning bright red. "W-why would you say that so suddenly?! Don't tease me!"

Minori laughed, amused. "Sorry, just trying to cheer you up. You really did look nice wearing a suit though."

"Minori…" Fumio pouted, then sighed and smiled softly, unable to hold back a snort. "Geez, you're so weird sometimes!"

Minori's composure relaxed as he comfortably watched Fumio. Seeing the scholar relax and smile made him at ease.

"Anyways," Fumio began, forcing back a chuckle, "have you checked the new floor yet? I haven't been able to check it out myself, so I was wondering if you checked it."

"Oh, yeah, I did." Minori nodded. "The rooms were both locked."

"Really?" The scholar frowned. "That's suspicious."

The pseudologist bit into his lips. "Mhm, one of the rooms was black and white too. It's similar to the room we saw in the MonoLottery room."

"Really? Maybe Monokuma has something there then." Fumio tapped onto his chin, thinking. "Hm…"

"It's alright." The man chuckled. "We'll figure it out later."

Fumio nodded slowly, eyeing the pseudologist. "True, but it still makes me wonder."

"Yeah."

Silence continued.

The duo glanced at one another before Minori stood up, stretching his body. "I think I should get going. I feel like resting my head for a bit-"

The bell sounded. That familiar-sounding voice rang into the air.

"Upupupupupu! I'm sure you all know what time this is!"

Fumio gritted his teeth. "The motive…"

"Already?" Minori frowned. "He's so eager."

Monokuma laughed again through the speakers. "Anyways, come to the auditorium! I have a great surprise waiting for you! I'm sure you'll love it beary much! Upupupupupupu!"

The speaker turned off. Everything went silent again.

Fumio looked over at Minori. "I… I guess we should get going."

Minori bit into his lips. "Fuck. I hope it's nothing bad."

The scholar gulped, sudden worry apparent on his face. "I hope not. I don't want another murder to occur… I don't want to risk any chances."

Minori smiled gently. "I'm sure we'll be fine. We just have to be careful."

 _I already know what it the motive is though. I'm sorry, Fumio, but risks need to be taken._

Fumio pursed his lips, but nodded his head and jumped off from his seat. A shaky sigh escaped his breath. "I… I guess we should get going."

Minori smiled and walked over to the door, opening it. He and Fumio walked outside the door, closing it behind them. They gave each other knowing glances before heading their way straight into the auditorium.

The door was opened. Everything was fully in view. Kaniza's worried gaze, Sagiso's look of determination, Kamui's uneasy look, Sheina's annoyed look, and Saori's cold gaze.

Fumio gulped as he noticed Saori's cold gaze. He followed Minori inside, almost hiding behind him.

"I'm surprised the motive's happening so suddenly," Sagiso murmured, disgust apparent in her voice. "What's he up to?"

"It's obvious he's here to mock us," Saori answered, indifferent. "He wants nothing more than to make us suffer."

Sagiso eyed the woman coldly. "Yeah…"

"Don't worry about it!" Kamui cried out, clapping his hands together. He put a carefree hand on Saori's shoulder. "I'm sure we'll be fine."

Saori softened, if not slightly. "Hopefully. I'm not ready for this."

Minori walked over to Sagiso, leaning to her ear. "You didn't apologize to her?"

Sagiso shook her head, chuckling bitterly. "She's at fault here. I'm… I'm not willing to admit I'm at fault right now."

"I mean…" Minori threw her a look, then eyeing Saori. He sighed, giving up. "Alright then, but it's not good to dwell on it."

Sagiso's shoulders slumped. "I know," she replied, smiling at the pseudologist.

"Where's the sinner?" Sheina asked, loud as she glanced around the room. "I swear by the Gods I will bring him down to his rightful place."

Saori raised a brow. "And where is that exactly?"

The egyptologist grinned, proudly putting her hands on her hips. "In Hell, of course!"

"I wish we could do that," Kamui admitted, smiling awkwardly. "Monokuma doesn't deserve redemption in the slightest."

"What the fuck did you say about me?!"

Kamui jumped. "Woah!"

Everyone immediately whipped their heads forward, finding themselves staring at an angry Monokuma. The bear was standing in front of the group, arms crossed and expression mad as can be.

"Oh, you're here." Saori couldn't help but speak in a monotone fashion. "Great."

"I'm not surprised you're not happy," Monokuma said, rolling his eyes. It didn't take long for him to smile again, laughing and throwing his hands up. "Anyways, aren't you happy you're going to get your cute little motive soon? It's a great present, huh!"

"Shut up, sinner!" Sheina pointed accusingly at the bear. "You won't get us this time!"

"You sure about that?" Monokuma smirked evilly. "Because I don't know about you, but I have a great motive to give you all."

Kamui gulped. "W-why?"

"No." Sagiso gulped. "You can't be serious right now."

"Stop messing with us," Sheina growled. "You're messing with us! I want you to stop!"

Monokuma grinned, looking down upon the egyptologist. "Well, it doesn't matter. Whether you like it or not, I'll let you all get it then. Puhuhuhu, hope you'll fucking enjoy it!"

Within seconds a light flashed, blinding everyone inside the room.

Flashes.

Minori found himself gasping, eyes widening as he suddenly saw flashes of memories. No, not his own memories, but of someone's.

That someone who was Saori Arai, the one and only Ultimate Body Broker.

The first bits of the woman's memory appeared in his head. Saori running around the house, grinning and laughing happily. She seemed to be teasing someone, a few people. They were her older and younger siblings, and she was having fun with them, mischief written all over her face. She seemed to have something in her hand, a doll it seemed like. She waved it around to and fro as her parents suddenly appeared, grabbing the doll and lecturing Saori who simply smiled.

Another memory came by quickly. The family were in an airplane, Saori's eyes brimming with delight as the plane descended. The pilot announced they were right in the US, and Saori smiled at her parents happily. Another scene flashed by with Saori speaking excitedly to her new classmates, easily making friends with them. She was laughing, happy in this life of her's.

Another flashback, and now Saori was older than before. She was back in Japan with the others, and she looked sullenly at her parents. They gave her a kind look, but their faces were sickly and deteriorating. She silently walked around her spacious, large house as she heard her siblings arguing with one another. Something on the phone, and the father ended up falling into depression. He yelled at his wife, and Saori quickly grabbed one of her older and younger siblings, and they ran away.

Time changed. Saori had to live with her siblings by their lonesome. No one was going to help them. Saori was walking down the street alone, and she heard someone calling her over. A perverted, sweaty look was on the old man's wrinkled face, and she shrugged, following him into an alleyway.

A hospital. She brought her younger sibling in, and then money raised an issue. She frowned as she went back to their hideout, eyeing a body of someone familiar. A moment of pondering rained over her face, and the next thing Minori saw, the young girl was talking to an adult man who nodded his head and eyed the body parts, amused. Her expression was blank at this point, and the man raised a question while waving bags of money around in the dark- it was most likely a question that led Saori to where she was now.

Flashes of memories now came through. Saori's business, her talk with the man, illegal body selling, making talk with her dealers, her starting her own business, her parents… Flashes of memories continued to flash through Minori's head until suddenly-

-it stopped.

Minori gasped, sweat dripping down his face as he found himself looking back at Monokuma, the bear smirking at him. The look on the bear's face told him everything he needed to know.

" _You got what you wanted, right? Now gauge everyone's reactions and decide who earns your suspicion."_

"What… What the hell?" Saori found herself flabbergasted, face paling. "What is this…?"

"Why are you giving me… this…?" Kamui was shaking. "This person's…"

"I see." Fumio gulped, lips quivering. "Y… You're giving us this to make us suspicious of our given person's memories?"

Monokuma chuckled, throwing the scholar two thumbs up. "Yup! Now, you can't tell anyone specifically whose memories you got unless the situation calls for it or shit. I don't know, like if you're a dead body or if shit's obvious. Anyways, telling each other whose past you got will result in immediate punishment."

Sagiso's face was entirely pale. "You're really taking this lightly, aren't you? You're so messed up. Why would you give us something like this?"

"Because it's fun." The bear cackled. "It's very fun indeed! Upupupupu!"

"Ugh." Saori glared at the monochrome being in disgust.

"Sinner!" Sheina screamed loudly. "You are not worthy of redemption! You're worse than the beings below combined!"

"Yeah, yeah, like I give a damn." Monokuma waved the woman off with a yawn. "Anyways, it's getting too late for me, so I want to leave."

"Seriously?" Kaniza shook her head. "You're kidding. Give us an explanation for this-!"

The bear suddenly disappeared from sight. He was gone, and everyone was left silent and dumbfounded inside the room.

Kamui was the first to speak, loudly clearing his throat and eyeing the group. "W-well," he began, still white in his complexion and shaking, "Let's not think much about it, alright? I'm sure we're all guilty of something, no matter how horrible our pasts seem."

"I seriously don't like where this is going," Sagiso growled. "Monokuma's planning something here."

Minori thought for a moment, then putting his hands out. "It's alright. If anything, this gives us an advantage. We're closer to each other, even if it's in a weird way."

"I mean…" Kaniza sighed. "I guess? But still, this is…"

"How about we go sleep?" Fumio suggested meekly, slightly pale. "Everything that's been happening today is making me a bit tired."

"Hmph." Saori eyed the scholar for a moment, then sighing. "True. I want to clear my mind off of this for a while."

"You don't want to eat?" Kaniza asked, frowning. "I mean, even so, your health is important."

Sagiso shook her head. "I think we should be fine. We can cook later. Besides, there are leftovers in the fridge, right, Kamui?"

Kamui nodded. "Mhm, I have leftover sausages and bacon in the fridge. Please do not hesitate to microwave or cook something new if you're hungry."

"That's kind of you," Minori mused.

"Well…" Sheina awkwardly scratched her head. "Guess we should rest for a bit. Saori, love, do you want to hang out?"

"No," Saori instantly shutted the woman down. "I feel like I should be by myself."

"Oh." Sheina gave the woman a dejected look, but nodded her head. "Alright then. I'll walk you out at least."

Saori sighed, but nodded as she allowed the egyptologist to follow her outside the door.

"Well…" Kaniza awkwardly smiled. "I'll get a snack. Anyone want to join?"

Sagiso shook her head. "Sorry, Kaniza, but I want to rest for a bit."

"No, it's fine!" The woman instantly put on a kind smile. "I'm not here to force you to follow me anyways, Sagi."

Sagiso smiled at Kaniza, then limped her way outside. Kaniza followed suit a few seconds later.

Fumio sighed. He looked over at Kamui and Minori. "I'll rest my head for a bit. I'll see you guys later, hopefully."

Kamui chuckled awkwardly. "If any of us see each other when we eat, sure."

The scholar smiled softly, then left the room.

The mortician took a moment to eye Minori. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," the pseudologist said, hiding the paleness on his face. "I'm more worried about you though. You don't look fine."

"It's nothing." Kamui awkwardly laughed. "I'm sure everyone else aren't in the brightest moods either right now anyways."

"True." Minori crossed his arms. "Are you going to eat with Kaniza?"

"I'm not sure. Most likely, yes." The mortician sighed. "I do feel like snacking, unfortunately."

"Well, don't push yourself."

Kamui chuckled. "I won't, I won't. I'll see you later."

And with that, Kamui left the room.

At this point, Minori decided to think to himself, gauging what he saw from the others. He'd obviously have to gauge everyone's reactions as days continued to pass, but he knew it wouldn't be long before whoever figured out who the mastermind was, nonetheless any traitors, revealed themselves. He would have to seperate stress from paranoia, and he'd have to be observant.

He believed he can do it, of course. He has to do it.

Minori yawned softly to himself. He supposed he should take a nap before eating. He looked around the auditorium for a moment, noting its spaciousness, then left the area and walked straight back to the dormitories. His hand reached for the doorknob, and he walked inside, falling straight on his bed and closing his eyes.

Black. Nothingness. Emptiness.

An hour or so passed, Minori assumed, before he heard a knock on the door. It was a faint knock, and the pseudologist had to register the faintness of the sound before even slowly opening his eyes.

He stretched his body, arms and legs spread out. He cracked a few bones before releasing a quiet yawn, hearing a knock again. He brought himself to his feet, and began walking over to open the door.

One step. Two steps. Three steps.

He brought his hand over the doorknob. Fingers felt the coldness of the handle. Slowly, he creaked it opened.

"Hello-"

Whoosh!

Something sharp grazed his cheek.

"Woah!"

The door closed. Minori found himself being tackled down to the ground, someone falling on top of him.

The pseudologist let out a soft groan. He looked up to find a knife raised. Wide dark brown eyes stared down upon him. Beautiful brown hair swayed back and forth.

Minori's eyes widened. "Saori?!"

Saori gritted her teeth, face as pale as can be. She had the knife raised high in the air. Her arms were shaking.

 _Shit. This is bad._

Minori had to think fast. He quickly spat at the woman's face, causing her to recoil back in shock. The knife dropped and he pounced back, making her fall against the wall. He quickly grabbed her arms together and locked her in place.

Saori shook her head and began kicking at the man. Minori grunted as his grip on her tightened. "Saori, calm down! I'm not going to hurt you!"

"Liar," the woman growled, glaring at the man. "I'm going to kill you."

"What?"

 _So she was the one who got my memories?_

Saori quickly tried to struggle against the man, grunting. "Let go of me!"

"Hey, wait a second!" Minori quickly shook his head, eyeing her sternly. "I can assure you I'm not guilty of anything."

"That's a lie." Saori frowned, clenching her fists. "You killed your father and became the Ultimate Pseudologist because you wanted to escape jail time. Instead of allowing yourself to repent for what you did, you decided to become the Ultimate Pseudologist in order to escape your crime. That's definitely suspicious."

Minori sighed, throwing on a calm expression. "I think you're misunderstanding something here."

"Like what?" Saori growled. "That the person who told you to become the Ultimate Pseudologist was interested in seeing you grow to their desire?"

Minori rolled his eyes. "Like the crimes you've committed weren't better than that one crime?"

Saori's eyes widened. "W-what? But you killed your father-"

"I see." Minori released his grip from Saori. He slowly stood up from his position, eyeing the knife on the ground and kicking it to the side. "Look, I think it's obvious by now that we only got fragments of each other's pasts."

"Fragments?" Saori looked at the man for a moment, her eyes widening. "W-wait, then that means-"

"Well, I suppose it's obvious by now." Minori awkwardly smiled. "I know your past, Saori."

"That's…" Saori averted her gaze. "I don't really care about that. What matters is your's. It definitely pins you in a negative light there."

Minori shrugged. "Well…"

 _It'll be suspicious of me if I don't reveal myself to Saori. Then again, I don't know too much about me like Monokuma does, but I think she got only what I know. Same with Saori on her's._

… _I guess Saori will prove useful in helping me against whoever the mastermind is. Seemed like Monokuma bended the rules because he knew this would happen too. Heh, how kind of him._

Minori raised his hands out, eyeing the woman with a warm smile. "Don't worry. I'll tell you everything there is to know about me."

"What if you're lying though?" Saori asked, slightly quieter than usual. She looked over to where the knife was, then biting into her lips. "I tried to kill you."

"You failed though. That means you have an inch of trust in me." The pseudologist chuckled. "The moment I released my grip on you, you could've knocked me out."

Saori's eyes widened at this, but she quickly shook her head. "Yeah, so?"

"Look, I'll tell you what I know, and I'll also tell you about your past so you can trust me." The pseudologist eyed the woman gently. "Do we have a deal?"

"I mean…" Saori frowned. "The rules…"

"It's bendable enough for us to be able to do this." The man crossed his arms. "I think we should be fine. Monokuma would've been here by now if we broke the rule."

"True." The woman sighed. "Okay then, fine. You better not lie to me."

Minori nodded. He slowly observed the woman, stomach churning in the process.

He knew better than to falter now.

* * *

… And here is the end of the first chapter to this fifth case! Hopefully it's enough to make you all excited and like it, hehe. Anyways, I have set up a poll on my profile for Free Time Events! Please feel free to choose who you would want to see in the future. I might make this case a bit more fast-paced, depends.

Here are a few Danganronpa SYOCs which are interesting and are currently open (other than my third one called **The Pitiful Plague Called Ignorance** of course, haha):

 **Prince PokePersona's** **Danganronpa: Remnants of my Heart**

 **SanityRequiem's** **For Whom the Rabbits Mourn**

 **QueenOfChocolateWinx's** **Danganronpa: Distorted Dreams**

 **QueenOfChocolateWinx's** **Danganronpa: Family's Loss**

Anyways, that's all I have to say! See you next time!


	42. Chapter 5 - Part 1, Part B

Hello, and welcome back to Disparity! This chapter will be a bit shorter than usual, but I hope it's good enough to satisfy you all~

 **Ziggymia123:** "Hehe, well, we'll have to see, now don't we~? Maybe he knows, maybe he doesn't. Everything is ambiguous at this point, if not slightly. No one knows for now~ Oof, why don't everyone just die then? It'll be easier to just not guess and have everyone die~"

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Haha, I'm glad you enjoyed the escalation. Minori will always be my one and only hoe, hehe. He's such a strange boy. Saori will be my one true love. I'm glad you get to know more about her and all that~ Let's pray Saori won't be hurt. Fumio is a sweet person, don't hurt him. I would hug him, haha. Fumio will be everyone's love~ Haha, well, no one will know and time will tell~ I love thickening plot. Kaniza is our sweet cinnamon roll. Lol, rip. Saori's backstory is very detailed and fun~ I love dynamics. Haha, let's just kill them both ;) Yay, I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for beta reading~"

 **TheLlamaLord:** "Aww, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Haha, there was a lot of action and tension during the last chapter. Kamui will be our fatherly figure right now. Oof, well, only time will tell with that."

 **Emma2448:** "Sheina loves her beautiful girl ;)"

 **a fan:** "Lol, hello there XD"

 **FruitlessKitty_74:** "Omg, I just realized that. Yes, give me those Minori and Kakuma comparisons, hehe~ All we know is that we must protect Saori. Let's make her a happy girl. Screw money! Poor Saori~"

* * *

 **BIG THANKS TO MY BETA READER: Lupus Overkill!**

* * *

Time ticked by.

Minori and Saori were looking at one another, their breaths filling the tense air. The pseudologist was confident on convincing the woman of his innocence- it was only a matter of when.

"So," Saori began, now on a chair- slightly calmer. She was still looking at the pseudologist with a suspicious stare, lips pursed and expression hardened. "Explain yourself."

Minori chuckled. "Of course. Well, let me ask you first- what have you gotten out of my memories?"

The body broker nodded, pursing her lips. "Sure. Do you want me to mention everything I've seen?"

"If that's what you prefer," the pseudologist answered, calm. "I think it'll be good to compare what you know compared to what I know. I'll tell you what I learned from your memories too after."

"Alright." Saori seemed satisfied with the response, if not slightly tense with her stiff movements. "Well, first of all, you're the older brother of two siblings- their names were Fūmi and Suiko."

Minori nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Suiko should be twelve by now, and Fūmi ten. We were born into a slightly middle class background. My mother, from what I remembered, was a biologist, and my father was a technician."

"Uhuh…" The woman continued to eye Minori suspiciously. "Your mother died when you were young, I remember. You were about ten at the time, if I remembered correctly. She died in a car crash on the way home."

"Yeah, I turned ten a few days ago. She was supposed to come home from work to take us to a buffet, but a car crashed into hers on the freeway." Minori's expression darkened. "It was a stupid drunk driver."

Saori averted her gaze. "Yeah… She died once she got to the hospital. Your father was horrified."

"Of course he was. We all were. She was our mother, and she was my father's wife." The pseudologist sighed, shaking his head. "Ironically enough, my father soon became what that drunk driver was- alcoholic, secluded, and abusive."

Minori smirked as he noticed the woman's uneasy expression. "From what I've last heard from the police officers, the guy who killed my mother was abusive. It's just so ironic that my father took on the man's example."

Saori nodded her head slowly. She observed the man with unsteady worriness. "So, you killed your father because he's been abusing you and your siblings."

"I'm fine if he abuses me." Minori's words were blunt, almost to the point of scaring the body broker. "As long as my siblings aren't hurt, then he can treat me horribly as much as he wants. It's when he began bringing down the books and alcohol bottles on my siblings that I had enough."

"What made you decide to kill him though?" Saori asked, averting her gaze. "Was it intentional?"

"You could say that." Minori shrugged. "He was drunk as always that day and he needed to vent some anger out. I always stayed close to him so he'd attack me, so like always he'd just beat me until Suiko suddenly came by and told him to stop. I always told her and Fūmi to hide in their rooms whenever our dad was drunk, but she came by and yelled at him to stop."

The pseudologist smiled, if not slightly bitter. "I don't know what made her decide she had enough of everything, but she was honestly more blunt and feistier than me, so I guess that's part of the reason. I guess she didn't want our dad to hurt us anymore and she just snapped at him. That obviously didn't bode well for him, and so he shifted his attention to beating her."

Minori went silent for a moment. He looked at Saori who eyed him worriedly, then the man sighing as he continued. "I tried to stop him. I told him to focus on me instead and I tried to protect her, but he was so pissed off over what Suiko said that I never reached him. He was drunk and had the bottle in his hands, and he was about to throw it on Suiko's head. He was going to kill her, and I was not going to let that happen."

Saori gulped. She couldn't help but flinch as she noticed the anger in Minori's eyes.

"I grabbed the vase from the counter and smashed it in his head." Minori was calm with his words, speaking with a slight satisfied expression. "He deserved it. He was going to kill Suiko and threatened to… well, let's not speak on that part."

Saori averted her gaze, heart beating eccentrically. "Did you try to run away after you killed your father?"

"No, there was no point. I told Suiko and Fūmi to run away and hide for a bit though." Minori's expression became softer at the mention of his siblings. "Even if our relatives lived far away, I was hoping they could escape somewhere and wait for me. If anything, I didn't want the police to find them."

"... You didn't run away because it would make you suspicious, but at the same time you could've ran away and left the officers guessing." Saori frowned. "You had no intention of being in jail either, so why?"

"Simply to not be on the run and to give my siblings security. If I was considered a runaway criminal, then it's not only my head which would be wanted on a platter, but Suiko and Fūmi's heads as well." The pseudologist bit into his lips. "Besides, I wouldn't want those two to be worried over me and the police would at least help bring them to our relatives, or at least foster parents."

Saori nodded her head slowly. "You were being interrogated for weeks. How did they figure out you were the murderer?"

Minori frowned. He tapped his foot softly on the ground as he adjusted his scarf. "I'm not exactly someone who can commit crimes perfectly, Saori. My dad is the only person I've killed, and will be the only person that I killed. I did like hearing whatever Suiko said about psychology and I liked playing Mafia with my classmates a lot, so I guess I was slightly good at lying and hiding my expressions? If anything, hiding the fact that my father's abusive and the bruises he's given me, nonetheless pretending I was fine, I suppose I learned from that too."

The pseudologist stared at the body broker. "But, yes, I wasn't perfect. It should've been obvious they'd figure it out sooner or later, and especially if they've been interrogating Suiko and Fūmi constantly. I tried to make sure they wouldn't figure anything out, so they ended up resorting to beating me and drugging me for answers."

"... That's why you tend to forget stuff whenever the interrogators ask you something." Saori gulped, slowly biting into her lips. "In weeks, they figured out you were the murderer and you made a deal with them."

"I didn't want to go to jail. I had to stay by my siblings' side." Minori averted his gaze, sighing. "I thought I had no choice when they figured it out, but they told me they could help me escape from this- to become an Ultimate."

Saori frowned. "Why do they want you to be an Ultimate though?"

Minori chuckled softly. "I'm honestly not sure. All I knew was that they were impressed that I was able to avoid everything up to the point I was revealed as the killer. They only told me that becoming an Ultimate and helping them would serve them well in the future."

"What? How are you helping them though?" Saori asked, biting into her lip.

"Apparently, I just tell them what I do at school. I don't know why my school's their concern over any other school that fosters Ultimates, but I suppose I was their intel." Minori shrugged, heaving a small sigh. "I only know this- I provide them intel and I work out everything with these people."

Saori eyed the man for a moment, then speaking, "I'm guessing they set you up as a pseudologist in order for you to help them run business deals and whatnot."

"That's the gist of things, yeah. Ultimates still learn how to foster their talents further, and so I suppose they set me up as an Ultimate so I could master being a pseudologist." Minori felt slightly bitter with his words. It almost disgusted him. "I don't know who set up the deal with me though. They never mentioned anything other than that I'd help receive information and tell them, and help run business deals."

"... What sort of business deals though?"

"Getting mechanical parts." Minori frowned. "I only saw a few people's faces, but they were usually the people I've been seeing during my interrogation. The deals they wanted me to help them in were either to get mechanical parts or help set contracts."

Saori thought to herself for a moment. She looked at the pseudologist silently for a second, then taking a step away. "I don't fully trust in what Fumio said, but I'll take his information into account- what makes you so sure you're not working under Libertas?"

Minori was silent. He stared silently at the body broker before letting off a small chuckle. He raised his hands out, almost mocking the woman for her question. "I'm not surprised you'd think that. I did think about it for a second, but honestly speaking- if I was, I wouldn't be telling you all of this, now would I?"

Saori grimaced, expression hardening as the seconds rolled by.

"Besides," the pseudologist smiled softly, "we don't even know if the memories we have are actually genuine or not."

"... Good point." The woman sighed. "Monokuma could be skewing some facts, or fabricating certain things. Maybe he even fabricated everything about something."

"Yeah." Minori bit into his lips. "I only told you what I know, but I'm not exactly sure if those are genuinely real or not."

Saori tapped her foot to the ground, annoyed. "We wouldn't be able to know if something's true unless Monokuma tells us."

"For all we know, you came to attack me because you want me to know you're not the mastermind." Minori noticed the pale complexion on the woman's face, and he chuckled. "The mastermind can easily fabricate anything, so what's to say the possibility of you trying to murder me was a ruse?"

Saori scoffed. "But the possibility of someone's actions and words being true are still likely."

"I'm not denying that," the pseudologist easily admitted. "But we need to take everything into consideration."

"I know that." Saori averted her gaze, gloomy. "I already know that."

Minori looked at the woman worriedly, but sighed and stood up from his seat. He smiled at the woman kindly, speaking in a softer tone, "How about I talk about your past next?"

"Oh." The body broker pondered for a second. She then nodded her head, if not slowly and hesitantly. "I'm fine with that. Tell me what you know, and I'll see if it aligns what I know."

"Of course." Minori nodded. He leaned against the wall and steadied himself, thinking over what he remembered. "Well… First off, you have siblings as well, about more than at least five from what I've seen."

Saori averted her gaze, expression slightly softening at the mention of her siblings. It was an obvious expression that Minori knew too well- familial love. "I have about six siblings. Three of them were my half-siblings, and three were my full biological siblings. My parents were both married previously before they met and married each other."

"So, your half-siblings would be older than you." Minori smiled, amused at the fact. "How about your full siblings then?"

"Ah, right." The body broker sheepishly smiled. "I'm the second youngest in the family."

"Oh, really? Aw, that's so cute." Minori couldn't help but chuckle. "I wonder what it's like to be a younger sibling."

"You get spoiled and picked on a lot," Saori mused. She seemed to be enjoying the shift in the atmosphere. The body broker can only figure it's because of their similar love for their family- if not their siblings. "Thing is though, my older step-brother from my mother's side never liked any of us. He didn't like my step-brother from my father's side either. He always picked on us whenever our parents weren't looking at us."

Minori frowned at this, crossing his arms. "I'm assuming he didn't like his mother's remarriage."

"That's obvious," Saori sighed. "He picked on everyone other than his full sibling for a reason. You can say that we were happy once he entered into university and left home. He was eleven years older than me too, so… he hasn't talked to me since."

"I see." Minori instantly noticed the slight sadness in Saori's face, and quickly decided to change the topic for now. "Do you travel a lot? I remember seeing you and your family going to the US."

Saori's face brightened at this. "Mhm. Since my parents both work under the same international company, we travel a lot and are fairly rich. I have American citizenship in the US too. I first went to the US when I was nine… My parents did tell me I had went to Greece and France too when I was younger, but my mind's a bit foggy on those parts, unfortunately."

"Sounds fun." Minori chuckled. "How was it?"

"It's exciting." Saori smiled. "I… Well, I do love traveling and I was able to make friends easily during our trips. Of course some of my siblings weren't that adaptable like me, but we had fun nonetheless. We returned back to Japan when I was eleven."

Minori nodded his head slowly, frowning. "Something caused your parents to change. They began arguing a lot shortly after your return."

Saori averted her gaze, loosely biting into her lower lip. "... My older sibling, Ikuo, got into a sporting accident. It was scary to learn that our brother had been injured and spent a long time in the hospital, but he did recover. It's just… it's just that after that everything seemed to deteriorate."

The body broker's body posture definitely changed, shoulders slumped and eyebrows furrowed. "Our parents were was more withdrawn and unhappy. They worked longer hours and avoided talking to us. They argued with each other and yelled at us a lot as well… particularly at me and my full siblings. I didn't really know the reason for this at first. They yelled at me and my siblings, but never at my half-siblings."

She stopped. Her expression suddenly showed a rougher, harsher side of despair. "... You see, my parents are siblings."

Minori was silent. He stared at Saori blankly, unable to register completely what the woman had just said. He could only sputter a single question- "What?"

Saori averted her gaze, immediately stricken with guilt. "My father was given up for adoption as a newborn by his mother. My mother, on the other hand, was brought up by her who never mentioned anything about my father. My parents never knew this because either no one ever mentioned it to them, or didn't genuinely know or cared to investigate into the case."

"B-but…" Minori gulped. "How did they figure it out then?"

"Ikuo's accident. There was a need for a blood transfusion, and the doctor told them." Saori's breaths were beginning to become shaky. "It's… incest, but they still loved each other, and eventually they began to become abusive towards each other, and to their own children… us."

The pseudologist averted his gaze. "That's why you ran away."

Saori nodded her head slowly. "I ran away with my full siblings, but not Ikuo. Ikuo was too afraid to run away with us, and we had no choice but to leave him."

Minori gulped, sympathy for the woman apparent in his face. "Saori…"

"Ikuo was especially sad that his twin Mutsuko, left as well." Saori averted her gaze. "... Nonetheless, I was in charge of protecting all of my siblings and hiding them from danger as much as possible. I wanted to make sure Mutsuko and Shouya were safe. The authorities will not help us, so we had to live off the streets. I knew people assumed we were dead, if not missing. Our parents did not even bother to look for us, and Ikuo had no idea of what happened to us. We never reached out to him."

Saori then stopped for a moment. An expression of slight embarrassment and guilt filled her face as she turned to Minori. "... You have an idea of what I did to help my siblings."

Minori immediately averted his gaze and gulped. "Yeah." He spoke softer than he expected himself to.

Saori shook her head. "It's fine. I'm… I'm the same as you. I didn't want anything to happen to my siblings, so I was fine with whatever those people did to me. As long as we had a roof over our heads and food, I was fine. I was fine with Matsuko cleaning and protecting me, but I didn't allow her to do the other things. I did everything else… Besides, Mutsuko was getting more and more worried about Ikuo."

Minori smiled painfully, unsure of what to say.

"Mutsuko and I had an argument about getting Ikuo back. Of course I cared about Ikuo. I was worried about him, but…" She gulped. "I was honestly afraid of my parents. I didn't want to see them again, and so Mutsuko and I had an argument which led to Mutsuko trying to run away with Shouya…"

The pseudologist averted his gaze. "That led to one of them being injured, and the need for money."

"Yeah." Saori held her breath, shaky. "... But it's not only that, Minori. Mutsuko died."

Minori's eyes widened. "W-what?"

"I was only able to save Shouya and snuck him into the hospital." Saori bit into her lips. "And about… Mutsuko's body, I had no idea how to hide or bury it. I didn't want anyone to find her body, so I thought for a bit and remembered there was a black marker seller who dealt in… body parts."

Saori held her breath. She seemed to find herself having a hard time speaking. "I wanted to make myself feel safe, and maybe selling her for money could help pay Shouya's bills. It's a horrible thought, but honestly I haven't thought much about it at the time. I remembered there was a man in America, I heard, who was a body broker, and so I wanted to find that man and sell Mutsuko's body."

The woman shook her head slowly. "It was a miracle that I even found him. I explained everything to him and he accepted this. He told me he was interested in my… values, or something, I didn't really care, and he accepted my request and even made a deal with me- for me to help with his business, and him to give me a wage and shelter. Of course, I accepted this without hesitation. I wanted to find shelter, and I wanted Shouya's bills to be paid off."

Minori was silent. He easily sympathized with the woman, listening to her every word with a keen ear.

Saori bit into her lips, speaking in a more softer voice, "Of course he found me attractive and, like all the others, wanted to sleep with me. It didn't matter to me though since I had a place to live. Eventually, it ended up with me becoming good in this business of being a body broker, and he even put me in charge of some parts of his own business."

Saori then chuckled softly, if not bitterly. "I know he was trying to save himself because of the police investigating into the business, specifically in the illegal parts of what he did, but he was safe. He provided me a home and I was able to help him escape from their eye. He even allowed me to move to Okinawa to set up my body brokery business there."

Minori found himself a bit intrigued that the woman was quite honeyed in her words about the man, but decided to say nothing. He had a feeling she would shut him off if he told her about her affection.

"As for Shouya, he actually recovered." Saori smiled sweetly- a rare smile that Minori rarely found in her. "He didn't remember what happened, but I knew I couldn't get him back and he was brought back to, from what the man, Shoutarou, told me, my older half brother and Ikuo. I also heard that my parents were arrested and sentenced to jail as well, and the person who killed Mutsuko was found as well."

"I see." Minori couldn't help but awkwardly scratch his head. "That's… quite something."

Saori blushed slightly at this, shaking her head and standing up straight. "I'm sorry. It's probably too much information for you to process, right?"

"If anything, that just shows you trust me." Minori put his hands up in mock surrender, chuckling slightly.

Saori looked at the man for a moment, then shaking her head and walking over to the pseudologist. She sighed and leaned against the wall next to the man. "I'm sorry for what I did earlier. I was hasty in my plan. I wanted to kill you without learning and hearing from you first. That was foolish of me."

"Don't apologize." Minori shook his head, frowning. "If anything, it allowed us to open up about ourselves to each other… even if what we said might just be what Monokuma wants us to believe."

Saori nodded her head slowly. "I still take full responsibility for what I attempted to do. I should've known better."

"Hey, Saori, stop saying that." Minori sighed. "You'll just make yourself feel bad. Come on, I'm not mad at you or anything. Your action was justified there. I could've been the mastermind."

The woman averted her gaze, moving her hand to bring her locks of hair to the side. "I should've understood your purposes though, no matter how malicious they are. I… I can sympathize with you, about your siblings."

Minori smiled softly, shaking his head again. "You had it worse than me. You shouldn't feel inclined to justify my actions. I'll do that myself."

Saori gave him a knowing nod, then walking over to the middle of the room. She was silent for a moment. She slowly turned to look back at the pseudologist. Her expression hardened. "... I'll trust you, for now. Despite knowing that you're a pseudologist and that your behaviors haven't been as 'natural' as I remembered them, I'll… I'll trust you."

Minori nodded, taking a step forward. He was standing up straight, looking straight into Saori's dark brown irises. "You and I are the only ones who know about each other's pasts. If anything, this gives us a huge advantage if we were to work together."

"So we can cross out who has whose past." Saori bit into her lips, cupping her chin. "It would've been easier if we could just tell each other, but…"

"Yeah." Minori smiled. "Don't worry. I'll try to read their facial cues and body movements as much as possible around each other. All we know if that none of them have our backgrounds."

"That's obvious." Saori frowned. She took a look at the pseudologist for a moment. "Do you fully trust in what Fumio told us?"

Minori's eyes widened. "I mean, I do at the moment. I don't see why he'd lie to us, at least willingly."

"It's dangerous if we believe him fully and everything turns out to be wrong." Saori held her breath, heart beating erratically. "What if there is no such thing as a Libertas, or a Theia? Then how do we progress from there?"

"... Good point." The man bit into his lips. "I don't see why Fumio would lie to us, but I can see Monokuma's purpose in making Fumio believe in that sort of background in order to throw us off."

"Exactly. That's why I'm so worried." Saori grimaced, expression immediately hardening. "I don't think Fumio's a bad person per se, but everyone deserves suspicion."

Minori thought for a moment. The woman had a point, but the pseudologist wasn't sure if he was willing to forfeit Fumio's background so easily. "How about you outline an idea on how we'd proceed if Fumio was lying to us, and I'll think about what we'll do right now?"

"That's if we have a plan though." Saori frowned. "Do we have any idea on how to stop Monokuma?"

Minori nodded slowly. "I'm going to use this motive to my advantage."

"By checking out who has whose past." Saori held her breath. "I see, but how would we use that to our advantage?"

"We pursue and pressure them." The pseudologist crossed his arms. "The moment someone acts suspicious and overly worried, we pressure them as if we were going to kill them. Monokuma said we can't tell anyone who has whose past unless it is inevitable."

"... So like my case." Saori averted her gaze, slightly uneasy. "But what if you guess wrong? What will you do?"

Minori shook his head. "We'll solve it when it comes to that. Don't worry about it too much."

The body broker obviously wanted to speak more, but forfeited and hesitantly nodded her head.

Minori took a glance at the woman before proceeding, pointing and saying, "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll be able to stop Monokuma and get out of here if we try. We just need to believe in it."

"I guess you're right. I'll-"

There was a knock on the door.

Minori and Saori exchanged looks. Saori looked like she wanted to hide, but Minori gave her a reassuring smile and walked over to open the door. He creaked it slightly opened, taking a look at his visitor before fully opening it with an amused chuckle. "Do you need something, Kamui?"

Kamui smiled awkwardly. "Well, I was wondering if you would like to join me and the others for dinner. I was fine if any of you guys wanted to eat separately from us, but I was worried and I wanted to… well, ask."

Minori laughed, amused at the mortician's words. "Don't worry about that. We'll head there and eat."

Kamui looked confused, but popped his head inside and instantly noticed Saori from behind. "O-oh! I didn't know you were here."

Saori slowly waved a hand at the man. "Yes."

"Don't worry," Minori reassured, taking a moment to observe Kamui's facial expression. "I invited her in my room so I can ask for advice on something."

"Something?" Kamui gulped. "Uh, and what is that, if I may ask?"

The pseudologist smirked. "It's just about what sort of clothes we should wear once we get out of here. We're planning on going shopping with you and the others once we escape."

Kamui stared at Minori blankly for a moment, but then quickly shook his head and smiled. "O-of course! I'm surprised you would ask about shopping though, Minori. I didn't exactly pin you as the type of person who cared about clothing."

Minori rolled his eyes. "Is it because I wear the same clothing everyday as, ahem, you and the others?"

"I didn't mean to offend you." Kamui laughed amusingly. "I was just genuinely shocked, that's all."

The pseudologist laughed in return. "Don't worry about it."

Saori walked over to the door, moving to the side to eye Kamui. "Sorry. Did you cook everything by yourself?"

"Oh, that?" Kamui shook his head, blushing slightly. "Please don't worry about it. I knew Fumio and some others wanted to sleep, but I had a feeling they were hungry, so I went ahead and cooked some miso soup for you all."

Saori frowned. "I'll cook next time by myself then."

"What? No, Saori, you don't have to." The mortician laughed nervously. "Please, I'm just worried about you all. You don't owe me anything."

The woman stared at the man for a moment, then sighing. "If you say so."

Kamui nodded his head slowly, smiling. "Anyways, if you two are hungry, please come join us at the dining room. We're just drinking miso soup, but it will still fill your stomachs. Don't sleep with an empty stomach, alright?"

"It's okay, we'll go and eat." Minori took a step outside, gesturing Saori to follow. "Thanks, Kamui."

And with that settled, Kamui led the duo straight into the dining room. As expected, the lights were turned on, and everyone was present inside of the room.

"Minnie!" Kaniza smiled as she eyed the pseudologist. She then noticed the body broker and her smile widened. "Saori!"

Saori nodded her head in acknowledgment, then moving over to take a seat down. Minori followed suit.

Kamui smiled as he clapped his hands together. "I'll get you two your bowls! I'll be right back."

And so Kamui left into the kitchen.

Sagiso turned to eye Minori. She placed her hands on his cheeks, taking the time to observe his face closely. A moment of silence passed between the duo before she spoke, almost in a whisper, "How are you? You look slightly pale."

Minori blushed slightly, grabbing ahold of the psychogeographer's hands and putting them down gently. "I'm fine. I'm more worried about you though. How are you holding up, considering the motive and all?"

"I'm fine." Sagiso averted her gaze. It was an obvious lie. "I'm worried about everyone else anyways to care about myself."

"I think everyone feels that way about each other." Minori took a look at Fumio and Saori. It seemed like the duo were still hesitant to speak to one another. The pseudologist could only help but wonder if he should intervene in their ordeal, or stay silent and wait for them to settle it out.

Kamui came back with the bowls, passing them to Minori and Saori. He threw the duo gentle smiles before heading back to his seat next to Fumio and continuing to drink into his own bowl.

Silence loomed into the room.

"Uh…" Kaniza took a look around the room. The obvious tension was killing her. "So, uh, how's the food?"

"It's good!" Sheina immediately stood up from her seat. Her usual haughty self was still available for all to see, the woman pointing in an exaggerated fashion at Kamui. "You, mortal, make good food! Worthy of a blessing from me, the Son of Osiris!"

Kamui deadpanned. "Yeah… sure."

Nothing special had happened. It was a simple gathering where everyone ate and talked occasionally. Everyone was happy they were around one another, but at the same time nobody spoke much and felt inclined to stay cautious around one another. It didn't take long for the group to split up again, everyone putting their bowls away, thanking Kamui, and leaving.

Minori sighed. He wasn't surprised that nobody spoke much, though he figured he could get a clue into what everybody felt towards each other for at least a moment. Everyone was on edge and unwilling to properly look at one another without feeling nervous. Most likely, he'd have to try initiating conversation later today or tomorrow.

For now, the pseudologist figured, he could go clean himself up and finally head to bed.

Minori headed straight into his room and closed the door behind him. He expected himself to be alone, but instead, he found himself eyeing a bear who was lying on his bed.

"Monokuma."

Monokuma instantly jumped from the bed and to the ground. He grinned as he looked at Minori, bowing his head down. "Salutations, cutie."

"What do you want?" The pseudologist asked in a cold, harsh tone of voice. "If you want to complain about Saori wanting to kill me, then don't bother."

"Oh. that? I don't really give a flying fuck about that." Monokuma shrugged, smirking at Minori mockingly. "I just want to thank you for giving me such a good motive idea. It makes a lot of things much more interesting and easier for me."

"... Good for you." The pseudologist scoffed. "Do you really feel the need to thank me?"

"Of course I do! You were my provider, after all." The bear giggled. "I want to show you something before you sleep at least. It's my way of thanking you."

Minori gritted his teeth. "What, are you planning on showing me some violence or death or something?"

"Well… Not exactly." Monokuma reached into his fur. Out of nowhere, surprisingly or not, he took out his very own MonoPad. He booted it opened and with a whistle, the screen turned on. He snickered as he took a look at the screen, then handing it to Minori who sntached it without much of a kind gesture.

Monokuma snickered as he eyed Minori's fixated expression. "Since the peeps back at the building loved keeping footage and shit on everything, I wanted to show you a recording of something. It may or may not be important depending on what you think. I just thought it'd be nice to show you some footage of your favorite people."

Minori found himself holding his breath, face paling as his eyes were completely fixated on the video that was beginning to play.

" _Hey! What the fuck are you doing?!"_

Minori's eyes widened. He found himself staring at a video of someone familiar- someone all too familiar to him.

It was Seiga. The stunt double was running straight at a couple of wicked crooks, glaring angrily at the older men in what seemed to be his school's uniform. The stunt double was ready to pounce, fists clenched.

" _Seiga! Calm down! You'll end up in jail if you fight these criminals."_

 _Seiga stepped back as he saw someone standing in front of him. He looked baffled for a moment, then shaking his head as he realized who stood in front of him. "But Asami, those assholes were trying to-"_

" _I know." Asami was looking back at the stunt double, a look of clear determination in her brown eyes. The pixie-haired woman's posture was full of confidence and readiness as she turned to the criminals. "Please leave these kids alone. They're kids. They don't know any better."_

 _The crooked criminals were glaring at Asami, but noticing what seemed to be a sword near her belt and the stunt double's bit of muscle on him, the criminals shook their heads and ran away down the street._

 _They disappeared, and Seiga couldn't help but let out a soft sigh. "Sheesh, you really are something, Asami…"_

 _Asami smiled, feeling proud of this accomplishment of her's. She chuckled and turned around, walking over into the alleyway. There, she found herself staring at a couple of badly beaten and bruised children. She bent down and gently ruffled the kids' hair. "It's okay. You guys are safe now."_

" _Sniff… Thank you, Miss…"_

 _Seiga scratched his head, unsure of what to do. "Should we call the police?"_

 _Asami shook her head, reaching into her pocket to take out a cellphone. She began to speak to the children more, asking for their parents' numbers._

Minori was unsure of what to say, shocked. All he could register was Asami and Seiga's faces. They obviously knew each other at the time, if not being partners of justice themselves. If not even that, then the fact that he was even allowed the luxury to see his old friends' faces.

His heart sunk. He never knew how much he missed them already. Seiga, a recently deceased friend, and Asami, someone whom he would never forget.

He continued to stare at the screen for a while before it changed. Minori's eyes widened at the sudden change, static playing. Someone seemed to have fast forwarded the footage, for as soon as the static stopped playing, Minori found himself staring at an unrecognizable man in an unrecognizable room.

 _It was a dark, dark room. There were computers all over the area and files on display. The unknown man seemed to be in his forties, a small beard hanging on his chin. The man was typing something into his laptop, silent._

 _A few minutes passed before the man stood up. He seemed to have noticed the camera, chuckling. "Geez, you want me to report our progress this time? Alright, fine."_

 _He heard mumbling in the back. Whoever was recording the man seemed to have been present in the room. The man sat back down and sighed. "Concerning what we have spoke about beforehand, progress has been made at least with obtaining our chosen candidates. By having our scouts investigate into each candidate's background and watching their daily movements and lifestyles, we have finally chosen who we want to be in the experiment of ours."_

 _More mumbling. The man smiled. "Yeah, I think everyone else already knows who we are going to pick, Boss. Each one of the candidates we have chosen should serve the experiment's purpose well. I don't think you need to review their profiles. We have gotten everything checked, so when this video has been sent to you, please don't think we'll have changed our minds on who to pick. We are certain of our candidates."_

 _The person recording seemed to be pleased with what the man said, for afterwards only applause can be heard._

The video flickered, and now it was over.

Minori was shocked. He was staring dumbfoundedly at the now black screen, unsure of what to think at this point. He slowly looked over to Monokuma who walked towards him and grabbed the MonoPad back from his hands.

The bear snickered as he took a look at the pseudologist's expression. "Yeah, it's very incriminating. I only decided to show you this because you have me such a good motive. Are you happy?"

"I…" Minori shook his head. He couldn't lose his composure. "I can't really say anything. You won't tell me what happened anyways."

"Yup." Monokuma grinned. "Look, Minnie, it's not that hard to decipher- I showed you your friends and one of my coworkers. That's all."

Minori frowned. "That doesn't explain anything."

The bear laughed, scratching his head. "Oops! Guess not then. Well, I just wanted to show you that as a reward anyways. It's nothing that special."

The pseudologist was silent.

"Heh. I should really go now then, huh?"

"Wait." Minori gulped, eyeing the bear who stared curiously at him. The pseudologist wasn't exactly sure how the monochrome animal would answer. "Just… How much of our memories are erased and fabricated?"

Monokuma looked at him for a moment. He simply simpered, shrugging his arms as an answer.

Minori bit into his lips. His hands were clenched into fists.

The bear was not willing to give him an answer, and Minori couldn't do anything as Monokuma left the room, jumping up to the ceiling and suddenly disappearing without leaving so much as a trace. Monokuma had left.

Minori gritted his teeth, clutching at his scarf. He didn't know why Monokuma wanted to show him such a video, other than a 'reward', but all he could figure out were a few things-

One, that Asami and Seiga seemed to have known each other before the killing game.

Two, that it was possible that everyone had know on each other previously, and Monokuma intentionally erased their memories of each other prior to the game.

Three, that the Ultimates were specifically chosen. The man wouldn't have said 'candidates' if so, but rather 'winners' or 'selected'.

Four, that there seemed to be an organization Monokuma worked under. Fumio was most likely telling the truth in this case.

And five, that Minori truly didn't know much about what was happening; he was lost.

* * *

... And that is the end of this chapter! As always, I don't usually have much to say. Chapter 5 in general might be a bit shorter than my usual chapters, though that's mainly because I want to make things a bit faster. We're getting straight into the meat here, after all~

I'll see you all in the next chapter! Upupupupu!


	43. Chapter 5 - Part 1, Part C

Hello, and I am here with another chapter! I hope that this chapter would give off the vibe I intended to, but well, I'll just have to wait and see, now won't I? Anyways, I did have fun writing this chapter, so let's go and do this!

 **Ziggmia123:** "Mwahaha, maybe they did, maybe they didn't. Well, that's quite an interesting theory. I do wonder if that is true, hehe. Saori is a sweetheart. It was a lot to write, but I'm glad I was able to write her backstory and Minori's, especially over their shared love of siblings, haha. Yeah, it was. One will only know when the time comes. Haha, of course you'd go back to the Minori as MM theory. Let's see if that's the case, or not~"

 **TheLlamaLord:** "I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, it is pretty short, hehe. Oof, of course, of course. Nice advice! Uh, well, about how many more chapters, I usually go with the usually five chapters for Part 1 and try to go for three parts for Part 2. It might be different concerning Chapter 6, but we'll see!"

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Hehe, yes, we are! Everyone always want to know more about something, haha. Scientific experiments are interesting to me, so glad they're interesting to you as well! Minori is our baby, but still suspicious nonetheless. That father of his needs some help, bro! Haha, we'll just save Minori along with the rest of the others. Everyone shall be together~ Saori is an amazing character. Saori's past made sense and she's an amazing character. I love her background haha~ The tension in the dining room is such a mood, but yes, of course. Monokuma loves to mess with the kids. He's a big, sadistic ball of fluff. Seiga and Asami are both amazing people as well, the sweeties they are~ Hehe, thanks! Don't worry, no matter what, I'll always love your stories~ Long chapters are very details! Aww, thanks so much! Have a nice day too!"

 **Guest:** "Aww, thank you so much!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Yes, the last chapter was very detailed and in-depth! Scary killing games are always scary. Haha, thanks so much!"

 **FruitlessKitty_74:** "Everyone's a great character, haha, so it's nice to see you liking them! Aww, no, I'm glad that your friend live better now with her dad! Hopefully she's better and happier now! Abuse should never even occur, yet sadly it does. Saori is just amazing, haha. Welp, guess someone else is in the Minori as MM theory boat~ Nope, I tend to forget things easily too, and yes all the attention is on our current survivors! Haha, don't think too much. I don't want your brain to melt! Oof!"

* * *

Minori found himself waking up a bit earlier than usual. Despite knowing he couldn't sleep after the nighttime announcement, about a few hours of him tossing and turning before he could close his eyes, he found himself waking up earlier. Was it an hour before the morning announcement? Was it a few minutes?

Honestly, Minori didn't know, and he couldn't care less. He hated how he found himself unable to sleep now, and he knew he had eye bags under his eyes. It was annoying.

He knew why he couldn't sleep too- it was because of what Monokuma showed him.

Learning that Asami and Seiga knew each other, nonetheless being exposed to the idea of everyone having possibly known each other prior to the killing game and the fact that Monokuma did have a few coworkers, it was stressing him out. Minori found his head hurting the moment Monokuma disappeared, and the pseudologist's head continued to pound as he forced himself to move.

Stress. Pressure. Hurt.

Minori gritted his teeth, rubbing his eyes and stretching his stiff body. He knew he shouldn't complain. He had other stuff to do anyways- especially that concerning Monokuma himself.

He had to stop him. He knew it. He knew he had to. If he couldn't, then no one could stop him, and Monokuma would stand victorious.

Minori sighed, forcing himself to his feet. He hissed slightly at the cold ground, his warmth greatly contrasting the cold temperature of the room. He was about to take a warm shower and hug himself for comfort, but-

-there was a sudden knock on the door.

Minori's head whipped up, eyes fixated on the door frame. A thousand questions rang through his head.

 _Who is it? Why is someone knocking at the door? Should I open it? How?_

Those questions continued to ring in Minori's head, but he eventually forced himself and walked slowly to the door. Sweat trickled down from his head, and he brought a hand to the knob. A second passed. Minori frowned. It creaked opened.

"Oh, Fumio-"

The door closed.

Fumio quickly grabbed onto Minori's sleeve, tugging at him. The scholar's face was covered in sweat and fear, tears daring to escape from his droopy eyes. "C-can I please stay with you? Just for a bit, please?"

Minori's eyes widened. He noticed the desperation on the man's face, and the pseudologist couldn't help but worry something was wrong- something dire. "Fumio, what's wrong?"

Fumio was silent. His hasty breaths and pale complexion caused Minori to say nothing else. He waited for the scholar who tried to regain his composure, his grip on Minori's sleeve loosening after a minute or so passed. His hasty, shallow breaths slowly began to calm as Fumio meekly took a look at Minori. "S-sorry… I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I was already awake before you knocked. It doesn't matter anyways." Minori quickly shrugged off the scholar's words and threw him a worried gaze. "What's wrong?"

Fumio gulped. He slowly looked down at his feet and breathed deeply. "I think someone's trying to threaten me."

"What?" Minori's eyes widened. "Who?"

"I'm not sure." Fumio averted his gaze, shaky. "I just woke up to find a letter underneath the door. It was bloody and when I opened it, it told me that I was going to be killed. The… when I went outside to see if anyone was nearby, there was a puddle of blood in front of the door."

Minori took a look at Fumio's hands. They were slightly stained red. He frowned. "Do you have an idea of who it is?"

Fumio shook his head. "No… I don't know. I seriously don't know who could've done it."

Minori nodded his head slowly. "Do you have the letter with you?"

The scholar nodded, if not hesitant. He slowly reached into his pockets to grab the half-dried up letter, handing it to Minori who opened it carefully.

It was a simple phrase, but nonetheless a phrase that sent shivers down the pseudologist's spine:

[hiiiiii! you will be killed sooner or later, but its a matter of when :D]

Minori realized just how unrecognizable the handwriting of the letter was. It was almost as if a doctor had written it, making it completely sure that it was only readable to the doctor and their coworkers. The swirls and the loops that surrounded each word and tightened each letter together almost made Minori's head hurt. It was a miracle that he could even discern it well.

"... Don't worry about the blood," Fumio began, speaking more calmly as he noticed the worry Minori threw at him. The scholar eyed him closely. "The blood most likely came from a pig. The smell reminds me of it."

Minori frowned. "Are you sure?"

The scholar nodded slowly, pointing at the letter. "It smells…"

Minori's eyes widened as he suddenly registered the smell of rotten pig. He grimaced at the smell, shaking his head at the mixture of iron and raw, rotten pork in the air. He handed the letter back to Fumio and gagged. "It does smell. Ugh, it's horrible."

Fumio nodded and shoved the letter back into his pocket. He averted his gaze, sighing. "I… I just don't know what to think. I don't know what to do. I… I'm scared."

"It's alright. I'm sure you'll be fine." Minori gave the scholar a worried look, arms crossed. "Are you planning on telling everyone?"

"I don't think I can just not tell them," Fumio admitted, shaking his head. "The blood in front of my door would make them question me."

"True…" Minori thought for a moment, then frowning. "I'm fine if you stay here for a bit. You can just sit around until the announcement plays. It's a little under an hour before the announcement plays, so I think you can wait here."

Fumio blushed slightly, guilt written over his face. He noticed the pseudologist pointing to the bed, and Fumio, despite hesitant, decided to take a seat down. He looked down at his locket, grabbing ahold of it tightly and gritting his teeth. "Sorry for bothering you. I'm just… I'm just stressed out right now."

"It's fine," Minori said softly, throwing the scholar a comforting tone. "You can sleep and rest here if you want. I'll wash myself."

Fumio made a soft noise in response, slowly following what Minori said and laying his head down for the time being.

The pseudologist looked at the scholar for a moment. Seeing that the scholar seemed to relax himself now, Minori softly smiled and grabbed his extra pair of clothes before heading into the restroom and locking it.

Minori sighed as he took off his clothes and went into the shower. He turned the faucets on, making sure it wasn't too hot or cold, and turned on the showerhead to wash himself. He grabbed the shampoo and continued his same routine- wash, rinse, wash, and repeat. As always, a few thoughts ran through his head as he thought about what had just happened.

 _It seems like everyone's beginning to take action against one another. I should be extra cautious of how people act around me, nonetheless around Fumio as well._

 _I wonder who could've done it. Fumio's obviously not lying given his anxious movements and facial expressions, but then again… I can't really tell for certain who's targeting who. I'll have to see once we're together at the dining room._

The pseudologist swept his hair back, making sure the water rinsed the soap from his scalp. He released a small sigh as he began to put on the body wash.

 _Crossing out me and Saori from the list, there's still a lot of people who can be suspicious at the moment. Hopefully Saori will try to help and figure out who has whose past._

Minori felt the warm water splashing against his skin. It was relieving, almost purifying to an extent.

… _I wonder how everyone is back home. My siblings, Saori's, and everyone's families…_

Minori couldn't help but bite into his lips, suddenly finding himself melancholic. The moment he had thought about everyone back home, his mind circled over to his friends… his dead friends.

Once he and the others escape, how will they explain to the deceased's families that their loved one had died? Minori wasn't sure whether he even wanted to try thinking about it.

He rather not. He quickly slapped his cheeks and turned off the showerhead.

The chilly air hit his wet skin. He grabbed the towel, dried his body off, and stepped out of the shower. There, he looked over to the bottle of lotion, deodorant, and other essentials. He began to clean and change his clothes.

Minori applied the cream to his face, annoyed at the slight eye bags. He wanted to hide them as much as possible, but noticing that the cream he used wasn't exactly one a makeup artist would use to conceal blemishes, he gave up and simply moisturized himself. He quickly lotioned himself and changed into his clothes (sans the scarf for the time being), and began drying his hair.

He finished off by brushing his teeth, spending an amount of time in the restroom before feeling content with himself. He sighed as he loosely threw the scarf around his neck, then opening the door to move back outside to his main room.

Fumio glanced over to the pseudologist. He seemed to have calmed down, now sitting up from Minori's bed and eyeing him. He awkwardly smiled at Minori, scratching his head. "Um, hi."

Minori chuckled in return, amused at the scholar's playful tone of voice. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"No, I didn't sleep. I just closed my eyes for a bit." Fumio couldn't help but giggle slightly. "Thanks though. I feel much better now."

Minori threw the scholar a thumbs up. "Great, that means I won't have to worry about you messing up the bed sheets."

Fumio laughed, winking at the pseudologist. "Puh-lease, it was already messed up when I came here."

The man chuckled, amused. He scratched the back of his neck as he watched Fumio smiling at him happily, now at ease. He was glad that the scholar found himself relaxing and more calmer now, although Minori worried about the shorter man's mental state. He didn't want Fumio to fall into a breakdown, and Saori still has yet to apologize to him, or from what Minori recalled.

He would've asked the scholar about the body broker, but he was stopped by the morning announcement.

"Ahem, like always, it's morning! Please have a great day today, my little bunnies!"

With the usual static to cut off the speaker, Minori turned over to look at Fumio. The pseudologist awkwardly scratched his head and threw him an awkward, if not slightly goofy, smile. "Er, should we go out now? I have a feeling someone's going to scream sooner or later about your… er, door."

"O-oh yeah!" Fumio's eyes widened. "W-we should go then."

That thought quickly settled into the duo's minds, and so they quickly left the room and went outside. There, as expected, they saw people gathering around Fumio's door, faces clearly pale and faces writhed in both fear and shock.

"I-is Fumio dead?" Kaniza was tearing up, unable to register the blood painting the ground. "Why is there blood everywhere here?!"

Kamui shook his head, forcing himself to still. "I'm going to open the door."

Before the mortician could go in however, the mortician was stopped by Saori who firmly grabbed ahold of his arm. The man looked over at the woman shocked, about to yell at her before she shook her head and pointed behind her. There, Kamui's eyes widened as he saw Fumio.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Kamui immediately was released from Saori's grip. He quickly ran over to Fumio. "I was so worried you were dead."

Sagiso ran over as well, looking over at the scholar. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

"Yeah, who did it?!" Kaniza ran straight over to the man, almost leaning over into his face. "Please tell us you're safe!"

Fumio couldn't help but take a step back, slightly caught off guard from Kaniza's exclamations. "I-I'm not sure. I just woke up to find myself in this mess."

"The devil himself must be cursing you!" Sheina immediately looked down at the scholar and grabbed his hands. Fumio winced slightly, scared as Sheina stared at his bloody hands. "You must relieve yourself of that redness! It is cursed."

"Y-yeah, I know." Fumio awkwardly smiled as he forced himself to not flinch, feeling Sheina suddenly letting go of his hands. He softly cleared his throat, looking around the area. "I… I'm sorry. I scared all of you for a moment there."

"Why do you need to apologize? This isn't the time for you to feel bad for us." Sagiso frowned, looking at Fumio with the shake of the head. "Worry about yourself more, yeah?"

"I-I mean…" Fumio averted his gaze. "Sure, Sagiso."

"Who could've done this though?" Saori asked, looking over at the crime scene. She looked over to Minori to see if he knew, but noticing him eyeing her with a baffled expression, she inwardly understood what he said and walked over to inspect the scene. She brought a finger down to the pool of blood and smelled it. A frown. "... It's animal blood."

"I mean, it's good none of us have been injured, but if this is a prank…" Kaniza bit into her lips, locking her hairs around her spinning finger. "This is just tactless. Why…?"

Kamui frowned, cupping his chin. "If I had to make an assumption, whoever scared Fumio must've been wanting to have him killed. Either that, or they want to abuse him."

"I…" Fumio slowly took out his crumpled letter. "I got this as well."

The mortician grabbed ahold of the letter, opening it up. Everyone crowded around Kamui in order to take a look at the letter.

It didn't take long for the group to react, Sheina immediately getting angered and looking over to Fumio. "I think we need to protect you!"

"I mean, obviously," Saori dryly stated. She glanced over at Fumio before looking at the group as a whole. "We do not know who did it out of us though. It's going to be hard to decipher who pranked Fumio like this."

Sagiso frowned as she looked at the body broker. "Maybe you did it. You were the one who got mad at him in the first place."

"Hey, let's not go there!" Kamui immediately pushed Sagiso and Saori away from each other, biting into his lips. "We can talk about this later. How about this? We'll discuss things while eating, alright? I think Fumio needs time to dissect things too."

Sagiso gave Saori a look of complete suspicion, but nodded her head slowly and looked at the mortician. "Yeah, I think that's good."

Kaniza gave the psychogeographer a pleading look, grabbing at her arm. "Sagi, let's go."

Sheina awkwardly looked over to the body broker. "My love, please do not worry over her anger towards you."

"It's… it's justified." Saori sighed, murmuring under her breath. She looked over at Kamui, Kaniza, and Sagiso who went on ahead to the dining hall, Fumio following close by on Kamui's urging.

Sheina worriedly gave the woman a look, then nodded her head and proceeded down to the dining hall.

Minori sighed, scratching his head. He glanced at the body broker who was now silent. "Sagiso's definitely not happy that you made Fumio cry, huh."

"She's close to him, so it's understandable." Saori scratched her head. "I'm surprised you're not mad at me."

"Mad, huh…" Minori did wonder that as well, but decided to ignore it and smile at the woman. "It's fine. I'm sure you two will get along again. Let's go-"

"OH MY GOD!"

Saori and Minori turned to one another, then bolting straight to the dining hall. They ran as fast as they could, charging in straight before noticing Kaniza and Kamui who were on the ground and Sheina who was holding onto Sagiso in clear shock. Fumio, on the other hand, was just there, standing and shocked.

Minori was about to ask what happened, but didn't have the time to register his words as he followed the group's eyes. He slowly looked over to what the group were looking at, then his eyes widening as he saw words clearly written/painted in blood on the doors leading to the dining room. Clear, clear red, bolded letters were written all over the doors.

["REVEAL YOURSELF"]

Kaniza had thrown her hands over her mouth, suppressing herself from wanting to scream anymore than she had done. "W-why is this… What is this?!"

"This is a stupid prank." Sagiso gritted into her teeth, the hairs on her back sticking up. "This is sick."

"I-I don't understand…" Kamui gulped, looking at the doors. "Why would someone do something like this? This isn't… This is so childish…"

Saori clenched into her fists, walking over to open the doors. She swung it opened and turned to look at the group. "It's just a stupid prank. We just need to clean it up and head inside. We'll be fine."

"But…" Sheina gulped. "The monster who did this-"

"Yeah, we know it's one of us." The body broker frowned. "Whoever is doing this, stop. We have more pressing matters to attend to, so stop distracting us."

"Saori…" Fumio looked over at the woman worriedly, but quickly shook his head and followed her inside. He took a careful look at the group. "... We should listen to her."

The group took a look at one another, but slowly acknowledged this and got up to their feet. They all began to follow Saori and Fumio into the door. Minori walked inside close behind. He wondered if he should close the door or not, but decided against it for the time being and went inside to eye the dishes and plates on the table. It seemed like breakfast had already been prepared.

 _Though now that I think about it…_ The pseudologist frowned inwardly to himself. He waved over to Sagiso as he took a seat next to her. _Kamui was the one who cooked today too, so this whole thing might be his idea… but if not then… who?_

Minori didn't know. He sighed and took his plate, grabbing the food on display. He continued to think silently for a moment and plopped a gulp of peas into his mouth, chewing. _Wasn't Saori going to help out today too? If that's the case… no, but she's supposed to help me. Then again, I can't be too certain, or this is her way of helping me out. I'm not sure._

Kamui glanced over to Fumio, eyeing him worriedly. "So, you woke up to find the letter and the pool of blood? You don't have any idea of who could've done this, Fumio?"

Fumio shook his head, saddened. "Unfortunately not. It must've been whoever had my memories or something… That, or they're suspicious of me in general."

"Hm, but I don't understand." Sagiso crossed her arms, frowning. "If the person just wanted to target Fumio, then that blood prank would've been enough. Why scare everyone else with the one we saw out the door?"

"True." Kaniza gulped, worriedly eyeing the scholar. "Maybe they want to scare us too…?"

"Obviously." Saori scoffed. "I think the perpetrator is trying to scare us all, yes, but they also have plans to get someone to confess something. It might be Fumio, but at the same time what they did to him might've been a ruse."

Sagiso crossed her arms. "So, the prank they did on him was nothing more than to throw us off guard?"

The body broker slowly nodded her head. "I think so. Unless Fumio is lying about something, then I think there's no reason to prank him that badly other than to mess with us."

"Hm." Kamui cupped his chin, then snapping his fingers together after a second passed. "Then, putting Fumio's prank and the one outside the door together, would it be plausible to assume that there'd be more pranks of the like?"

"Seriously?" Sheina frowned, grumbling, "I wouldn't like that at all."

Kaniza raised a hand, baffled. "Wait, but… I do feel bad for even thinking about this, but why couldn't the perpetrator just capture their victim and force them to reveal something?"

"I think the person wants to get everyone's attention." Minori bit into his lips. "That, or maybe they want to throw everyone off guard."

Fumio nervously looked at the group, then pursing his lips. "Is the perpetrator trying to catch the mastermind?"

"What?" Kaniza's eyes widened. "Wait, but would Monokuma really be nice enough to reveal to someone who the mastermind is so easily?"

"It's possible." Saori's expression hardened. "But I'm not sure if the perpetrator can just capture the mastermind so easily."

Sagiso frowned. "Wouldn't the perpetrator still have to make their identity hidden? From what I've got from Monokuma, we cannot reveal whose background we got to anyone."

Minori inwardly smirked at this. He knew this was false, and he eyed Saori who stayed silent about it. "Thing is, though, we're making assumptions. We don't really know if Monokuma gave someone that sort of background or not."

"True." Sheina bit into her lips. "The cursed bear is not so kind as to reveal his demonic allies."

"We have to take a gander at it then." Sagiso pursed her lips, annoyed. "Hm…"

"Will threats even work?" Kamui frowned, crossing his arms. "I do want to point out that Monokuma hasn't given us a time limit to when we have to kill somebody. If anything, these threats should mean nothing to us other than being disturbing pranks."

"So what should we do?" Kaniza plopped a piece of bread into her mouth. "You want us to just ignore it?"

"I think that'd be best," the mortician admitted, though he himself was unsure of it. "The perpetrator would eventually give up, hopefully."

"If anything, the perpetrator has more to lose than gain from doing this." Minori raised a finger up, explaining himself with a concentrated gaze. "The perpetrator has a higher chance of being spotted than not if they continue to do these sort of things. Nonetheless, they are wasting their energy and time."

"Good point, my fellow follower!" Sheina huffed proudly, now confident. "If we continue to not act on this, then the cursed one would eventually stop."

"I'm not sure if ignoring it is really a wise option though," Fumio admitted, if not slightly quiet in his opposition. "It's just… what if the perpetrator doesn't stop?"

"We don't really know who is doing this though. Unless the perpetrator wants to reveal themselves now and confess, then we have no evidence that can point to who would've done it." Sagiso tapped onto her chin, pondering. "... We don't have much of a choice here other than to see what happens and try to find clues that'd point to who the guilty one is."

Kaniza instantly noticed the worry on the scholar's face, and she kindly threw him a soft smile. "I'm sure you'll be safe. Don't worry."

"If you want, we can protect you," Sagiso suggested, throwing Fumio a worried expression. "I'm sure you're not the perpetrator's target though. You already told us who you are."

"Yeah…" Fumio smiled. "Thanks."

"I guess we have this matter settled for the time being." Kamui clapped his hands together, almost as if he were ending the discussion on his own. "How about this though? Let's report each other on what other pranks the perpetrator held up throughout each day. We'll note if there's anything concerning or if the perpetrator's slowly losing their motivation through what we experience or see."

Saori nodded. "I'm fine with that idea."

"I am as well!" Sheina announced, already standing up from her seat. "We shall find this perpetrator and have them confess their sins immediately! If not, I will make them burn at the stake. It is my duty as the Son of Osiris, after all."

The astrophotographer awkwardly laughed at the egyptologist's rambunctious remark. "I mean, if we can find them, that is."

"I'm sure we can," Minori mused, nodding his head at the raven. "As long as we are observant and careful, we'll be able to figure out who is causing all of this mess."

 _Well, at least I will. I need to find both the perpetrator and the mastermind. I need to make sure whoever is doing all of this isn't going to mess up my own plan._

Minori gulped down his glass of water, now finding himself at ease listening to the slightly more superficial conversations everyone began to throw out in the air. He did take the time to observe the group, silently noting their facial expressions and body language. A few things ran through his head as he watched each person.

Everyone was uneasy, though that was to be expected. Everyone was worried about something, and that was reasonable.

Sagiso did seem to treat Saori colder than she would've originally. He suspected that, yes, it was because of what happened between Saori and Fumio, but he believed it does have a tie into stress. Stress was always a factor in anyone's behavior, and Sagiso herself did seem stressed.

Saori did seem to act differently as well, though it was because of what she talked about with Minori. She still seemed hesitant to apologize to Fumio, but she nonetheless stole him looks and was worried about the man. Other than that, the body broker seemed to follow Minori's plan. Her eyes kept glancing back and forth, watching the other Ultimates' movements.

Fumio was the most anxious out of everyone, though that can be concluded from what had happened to him recently. He seemed to be looking at the others worriedly, though noting that Fumio trusted Minori enough to talk to him first, the pseudologist assumed the scholar was suspicious of someone. He knew it wasn't Saori, though his lack of looks he threw towards her made him suspicious of it. He did tend to throw Sagiso a worried eye once or twice. Minori wondered if the scholar wanted her comfort, or if he was feigning that comfort to hide his true thoughts.

Kaniza had obviously assumed the role as the comforter. She was the type of person who, despite the circumstances, tried to cheer up the others. She was jittery and anxious, but Minori knew it was nothing more than her own worries speaking. She was treating Fumio extra kindly and tried to bring up different conversations to settle in the mood, but Minori did notice how the woman was worried about something- about this whole situation, or about her own self, he didn't know yet.

Kamui, on the other hand, was the one who assumed leadership. He was obviously trying his best to calm down everyone and to bring peace into the room. It was not a surprise to find the mortician eyeing Saori and Sagiso worriedly, then throwing Kaniza a worried look who would, in turn, jump up to calm the tension. He did throw Fumio worried looks as well, though he did seem to hesitate because of how pale the scholar looked.

Sheina was the most suspicious out of everyone, or so Minori assumed so far. When he thought she had slightly calmed down from her haughty cries and booming words, she didn't and continued to pursue her own goals as needed. She liked to talk to Saori, of course, and Minori did assume it was nothing more than a little crush (or maybe obsession to a degree) with the woman. That, out of the way, however, her expressions did signal some worry inside Minori's head. She did seem to smirk once or twice whenever spotting Fumio, and at times she'd talk down Kamui whenever he tried to bring order in the room. Intentional or not, it was suspicious.

Minori mentally noted these things in his head, and soon enough breakfast was over. Kamui was now inside of the kitchen to wash the dishes, and Saori was about to move inside until Minori quickly gestured her over. The woman eyed him annoyingly, but sighed and heeded his request.

"Can you watch Sheina for me?" Minori asked, whispering to the woman. He pointed a sneaky finger over at the egyptologist, the woman speaking happily to Kaniza who smiled back at her.

Saori frowned. A sigh escaped her lips. "I will. I'm assuming you're going to check on the others?"

Minori nodded. "I will. Is it too much for me to ask you to watch some of the others too?"

"I mean, I rather stay focused on one target," the body broker admitted, "but since we can never be sure, I suppose I can. As long as they're around me."

The pseudologist smiled. "We're not going to flat out stalk them or spy on them. We should talk to them too and gauge their responses."

Saori couldn't help but eye the man with a raised brow. "I'm not exactly a people reader like you though." She couldn't help but smirk slightly as she noticed the man blushing from the realization. "It's okay. I'm fine watching from the sidelines. I tend to be quite well at that, after all."

Minori couldn't help but chuckle at the reference to the woman's past. "Yeah, alright. Thanks, Saori."

"Uhuh." Saori nodded slowly and began to walk away, finding Sheina leaving with Kaniza out the door.

Minori heaved a soft sigh, scratching his head. _Okay, with that settled, I should start talking to some people and checking around the school for any more 'pranks'. It'd be a miracle if I catch the perpetrator in the act, but… I'll see what I can do._

The pseudologist nodded to himself, confident in his plan. _Alright, I suppose I should help Kamui out, seeing that Saori left to check on Sheina and Kaniza. I'll just help him out and try to look for anything suspicious._

With that settled, the man headed inside of the kitchen. He already saw Kamui with his gloves on his hands, the man's light brown eyes fixated on the plate he was washing in his hands. His straight black hair was tied in a bun this time, the man wanting to make sure his strands of hair wouldn't touch the grime on the dishes. The man heaved a small sigh as he finished the plate.

Kamui grabbed the next plate on the side, however he noticed Minori briefly. He looked over to the pseudologist and smiled friendly. "Hello! Do you need something?"

Minori shook his head, walking over to meet the mortician closely. He stood over to the side. "Do you mind if I help you out?"

"Oh, with the dishes?" Kamui looked over at the dishes to the side, then shaking his head. "I think I can handle it myself. You do not need to feel like you have to."

Minori frowned. "I'm more than happy to help. Here, I'll help you out."

Kamui watched as Minori began making himself comfortable near the mortician. The pseudologist was grabbing ahold of a plate and was now washing it. The mortician couldn't help but awkwardly laugh, slightly embarrassed as he continued from where he left off. "You seriously do not need to do this, but thank you."

"It's not a problem at all." Minori chuckled. "I like helping you out."

"I mean…" Kamui awkwardly smiled. "If you're going to be busy, then please feel free to ignore me and do your own business. Are you sure you want to help me?"

* * *

 **Should I** **y̶o̶u̶ ̶o̶b̶v̶i̶o̶u̶s̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶** **hang out with Kamui?**

 _ **[01111001011001010111001100001010]**_ / 0110111001101111

* * *

Minori winked over at the mortician, amused. "I'm serious. I'm sure I want to help you. I'm not wasting my time being just around you."

"Are you sure?" Kamui took another look at the pseudologist, but seeing the pleading expression Minori gave him, the mortician sighed and let out a hearty laugh. "Well, okay then. I guess you love to clean."

Minori grinned. Happy that he had convinced Kamui to keep him by his side, he can now freely talk to the mortician and gauge for his reactions.

 **Minori:** So, Kamui, how are you so far? Given the situation we're in, I know you're not feeling as well as you could've been, but still.

 **Kamui:** Mhm! I understand, I understand. Well, I do feel worried for the others, which is natural. Other than that, I suppose you can say I'm doing well so far.

 **Minori:** That's good to hear! So, since we're just taking our time cleaning… I want to learn more about you.

 **Kamui:** O-oh! Of course. I am quite pleased that you're interested in me. Uh, this is not about you trying to see if I'm the perpetrator or something similar, correct?

 **Minori:** If I wanted to do that, I'd have other ways to do it. Talking directly to you is not one of them.

 **Kamui:** Ah, that is a good point. So, what did you want to know? Do you want to learn more about my work, or my hobbies? … Oh, do you want to learn about what it's like to be a mortician? I can tell you.

 **Minori:** Well, you look excited.

 **Kamui:** Haha, maybe. We haven't talked much other than about this whole situation, after all.

 **Minori:** That's a good point. Well… hm, how about you tell me more about what it's like being a mortician?

 **Kamui:** Certainly. First of all, being a mortician is quite tedious and tiresome. You have to be quite delicate with the bodies and learn much on how to preserve and make sure the body looks as peaceful as can be.

 **Kamui:** Because, I do have to admit, some of the bodies being shown to me weren't in their most peaceful states. With all the kinds of accidents these people have been through, it's quite hard for even me to take in. I can't help but feel for the dead whenever I work.

 **Minori:** I mean… it makes sense. You got mad at Monokuma before because of him not allowing you to give the dead funerals before.

 **Kamui:** Right. I'm still embarrassed by how vicious I was at that time.

 **Minori:** I think your actions were justified though.

 **Kamui:** I would hope so. Anyways, I want to ask you something first- do you the different kinds of funeral rites?

 **Minori:** Oh, really? There's a difference?

 **Kamui:** Mhm. Most people do not know this, there are different practices for funeral rites concerning religion. Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism… Many religions perform funeral rites differently. There are also differences in specific regions on how to perform funeral rites as well.

 **Kamui:** Many religious funerals require specific type of prayers, after all. For such Christian rites, those include hymns, a eulogy to remember the deceased, and Bible readings. Another trait that differs from a rite from a Christian rite is to have a burial in consecrated ground.

 **Kamui:** In a Hindu funeral, rites take the form mantras that are specially written to be chanted at during funerals. Usually, the one who recites this mantra would be a Hindu priest, who presides over all the Hindu funeral rites. Of course, I do not partake in these rites as I am not a priest, but it is good to be knowledgeable about it.

 **Minori:** Wow, really? That's shocking. I never knew.

 **Kamui:** Most people do not know these things, so do not worry too much about it. I was surprised to learn about these sort of information the first time too, and so I had to spend months, years to learn each type of funeral rite practices and to perform them as best as I could.

 **Minori:** Hehe. I can tell you're really hardworking and dedicated to your job, Kamui.

 **Kamui:** Don't flatter me so much, haha. I believe it is every mortician's duty to know what is correct and to not offend the deceased's loved ones, especially the deceased's own rights and desires.

 **Minori:** Yeah, true. You have a point.

 **Kamui:** I'm glad you look interested in it. Usually people would call me eccentric or strange simply because I am a mortician, nonetheless knowledgeable about the dead.

 **Minori:** I'd just be a hypocrite if I found you weird. My talent doesn't really give off a nice connotation, after all.

 **Kamui:** Well, that is, if they know it.

 **Minori:** That's another good point.

 **Kamui:** Yes, I do know that one's a good point. Don't state the obvious with me, Minori.

 **Minori:** Pssh, alright then. Whatever you say, Dad.

 **Kamui:** D-dad?!

* * *

 **Kamui Setsushi's Profile Card: 3/3**

 **Note:** Kamui is very knowledgeable about the different funeral rites there are in the world. Unknown to some people, funeral rites are performed differently depending on someone's custom or religion.

* * *

Minori continued to talk with Kamui for a little longer. Until the duo have finished cleaning up the dishes, Minori continued to talk to the mortician and observe his every movement and facial expression. So far, the man concluded, he found nothing that served quite suspicious. It may have been that Minori hadn't touched on much upon Kamui's weaknesses or background, but considering how the mortician didn't hesitate on speaking about himself, Minori concluded that Kamui was off the hook at the moment.

Kamui moved one of the plates into the cabinet and clapped his hands together. He smiled happily at Minori. "It looks like we are done. A well-done performance, Minori."

Minori laughed, noticing the playful grin the mortician was throwing at him. "Yeah, I know. We're so good at cleaning things. Maybe we should be waiters when we're back home."

"That does sound tantalizing," the mortician admitted, now fixing his hair. He took off the scrunchie and brought his locks of black hair down. There, he grabbed ahold of his locks and began to tie it back into his usual ponytail. "I would rather cook and serve people, in all honesty. I find this fun, and, well, I love seeing your guys' faces whenever we eat."

Minori rolled his eyes. "I think you'd have to compete with a lot of the others in order to be a cook. Kaniza, Sagiso, and Saori all like to cook too."

"We should just be a team." Kamui chuckled, blushing slightly at the thought. "I wonder if they'd like it. They might be busy if we're back home."

"Maybe." The pseudologist chuckled, eyeing the mortician who took off his gloves and tossed them into the trash can. "Well then, I should probably go and look around. I want to check on the others."

"Ah, alright then." Kamui nodded and waved at the pseudologist. "Of course. I'll see you later then."

Minori nodded before leaving. He closed the door behind him and heaved a small sigh. He looked around the area, wondering what to do now- more specifically, wondering where the rest of the others are so he can check on them.

He didn't know where exactly the others would be, nonetheless if they would be in their rooms to protect themselves, or out and about to explore anything suspicious in their eyes. Knowing this in mind, he decided to explore the rooms and check out for anything suspicious in mind as well- especially since, well, there seemed to be a perpetrator on the loose.

Minori first decided to check the rooms on the first floor. After all, he was standing right at this floor, as usual. He decided the dorm rooms would be safe for the moment, although he was worried about Fumio. Having already been inside the kitchen and having left the dining hall, Minori decided to check out what else was inside of the first floor.

He checked around. He first checked the classrooms, though as always it didn't seem to be of any importance. He saw nothing inside of the restroom as well, though he still had to note that he couldn't go to the other restroom. He sighed and decided to check the other areas, then somehow finding himself opening the door to the laundry room.

Something was whirring inside of the room. Minori frowned, noting that there weren't any laundry baskets to be seen around the area- well, those that were out and not in an organized, towering state in the corner of the room.

It continued to whir. Minori can hear the water splashing around, and he slowly made his way inside further into the room. He looked over at the washing machine, the one at the left corner in the room. It was turned on and working perfectly, though rather than the splashing sounds of the water whirring, there was something else- something strange.

Minori couldn't help but feel the room looming in on him. He felt like something was watching him, someone. He made his way towards that specific washing machine, taking measured steps with his breaths following his every footstep. One, two, and three.

It whirred and whirred and whirred, and suddenly he saw it.

Bones. Limbs. He didn't know what they were. It was too foggy and misty for him to even see, but that was probably for the best.

All he saw were body parts. Broken limbs or bones, it didn't matter. He instantly fell to the ground in complete shock, throwing his hands over his mouth. Something acidic was forcing itself to throw out from his lips, but he held back and gagged.

"W-what the hell?" Minori was unable to control the shaky tone in his squeamish voice. "W-who… Why…?"

"Puhuhuhu! Looks like you saw it first."

Minori was unable to register Monokuma from the top. The bear was laughing, cackling at him, heading down from the ceiling and appearing in front of his face. The bear silently looked at him for a moment, then smiled. "Yo."

"W-what the hell are you doing?" Minori began, looking at the monochrome animal. He couldn't help but pale, shaking as he noticed the beastial grin that appeared on the bear's sadistic smile. "Is this your doing…?"

"Oh, yeah, but not really." Monokuma chuckled, loving the look on the pseudologist's face. "Shouldn't you know I'd be doing something like this by now?"

Minori could feel his heart beating, his eyes still widened. "... A-are you blackmailing someone again? Like what you did to Seiga?"

"Aw, come on, I won't try the same ploy. I want to make Seiga feel special, even in death. I am quite fond of his want for heroism, after all." The bear was obviously lying about his admiration. He raised a paw up, saluting the man. "If anything, Minnie, the perpetrator hasn't been manipulated and is asking me to help them."

Minori gritted his teeth. _I should've known. I'm not the only person who would think of something like getting this fucker's help anyways._

Monokuma chuckled, noticing the realization on the Ultimate's face. "So, how'd you like it? I gave the perpetrator a few spare body parts and all that shit. Though I only gave them that for this specific prank."

The pseudologist clenched into his fists. "You're fucking insane."

"Of course I am, but all of you guys are too. You're all used to seeing people die now, y'know?" The bear was more than amused, crossing his arms. "Isn't that why Saori got so gung-ho about you guys yesterday?"

"Shut up." Minori held his breath. "All of this was your fault anyways. You put us in this situation and made us see so many cruel stuff happen to our friends."

"Yeah, like I care?" Monokuma smirked. "But anyways, I'm glad someone spot this sort of shit. Washing machines cost more than my rent, hah. Don't want it to continue washing that dead shit for days."

The pseudologist couldn't help but purse his lips, holding back from wanting to look at the machine again. "... Where did you get those body parts from anyways?"

"They're not from your friends, if that's what you were hoping for. They all got crushed and destroyed under the conveyor belt back home and shit." Monokuma noticed the paleness on Minori's face. "Haha! Just kidding, we didn't crush their corpses or shit. I don't know, actually."

Minori went silent. He was unable to say anything now, instead averting his gaze and wondering what to do. He couldn't even move without feeling himself shaking from what he had seen.

"You're such a bore." Monokuma pouted. "But, that's fine! I'm having fun with what you guys are trying to do nowadays, so I'll let it slide. I'll go let you be by yourself now, so toodles!"

And, like always, Monokuma disappeared.

The whirring from the washing machine stopped, yet the man was sure the body parts were still there.

 _I rather not look back._

Minori quickly forced himself up, knees shaking. He found himself slightly hot, sweating. He looked around the room for a moment, then quickly made his way outside and took a deep breath.

 _What the hell is this? This is so messed up…_

The pseudologist shook his head. No, he cannot falter now. He had to continue moving around, and so with that, he kept his head held high and continued to investigate the school.

Other than that grotesque pank, there was nothing else in the first floor. Minori had to admit he was surprised that he saw nothing in the MonoLottery room, and especially the auditorium for that matter. The MonoLottery room held many significant items in place, and the auditorium was spacious and most notable for its… well, its destination downwards to the courtroom.

He sighed and decided to investigate the second floor. He was about to look over to the closest room nearby, but then he heard something crash.

Minori quickly walked over to the cafe, finding Sheina's eyes widened and Saori gritting her teeth at the broken glass on the floor. The pseudologist was unsure of what to do, but noticing the bolded red letters that was on the wall once he walked inside, he knew better than to ask- and that was especially with what was said in that bloody red color-

["BURN YOURSELF"]

Minori walked over to the duo. "Uh… how are you two? Do you need help cleaning that up?"

Sheina shook her head, quickly smiling at the man. "I'm fine! I just… well, I just saw it after I got my drink, and I accidentally dropped it."

"It's fine." Saori sighed, crossing her arms. "Are you fine?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine!" Sheina immediately threw her hands over her hips and made another loud laugh of hers. That, however, was much more vulnerable than it was haughty. "I just didn't expect that blasphemous sinner to commit their deeds anywhere other than the two we saw."

The body broker threw the egyptologist a slightly worried look, then looking over at Minori. She quickly gestured to the man that she can handle the situation, and so with Minori acknowledging her gesture with a nod, she took the initiative to move.

Minori threw her another look before leaving, deciding to check around the area more. He looked around the entirety of the second floor, though, like for most of the rooms, he saw nothing of importance. He wasn't sure whether to be glad or not about this, though it did make him wonder why the perpetrator chose certain rooms to vandalize and ruin. He did take into account that the perpetrator does not have all the time to plot all their pranks, so he nodded and moved over to the third floor.

Moving onto the third floor, the pseudologist heard footsteps from ahead. He looked over to find Kaniza walking about, looking about the area. Curious and rather suspicious of the woman, he made his way over and cupped a hand over his mouth, crying, "Kaniza!"

"Huh? Oh, Minnie!" Kaniza's face instantly brightened as she noticed Minori running over towards her. The woman smiled greatly as she looked at the man. "Why are you up here?"

"I can say the same for you." Minori chuckled, crossing his arms. "What're you doing here?"

Kaniza awkwardly laughed, scratching her head. "Uh… Honestly? Just trying to clear my mind from all of this. I didn't want to bother Sagi or the others to walk with me, so I went by myself. Besides, Sheina likes Saori more than me, so I just left them."

Minori nodded slowly, noting the genuine awkwardness in her eyes. "It's alright. If you want, I'll walk with you."

"O-oh! Really?" Kaniza's eyes widened. "You don't have to though! I don't want to take up your time, Minnie."

* * *

 **Should I t̶h̶a̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶f̶u̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶b̶v̶i̶o̶u̶s̶ hang out with Kaniza?**

 _ **[sssssssssssssssssssssssseY]**_ / ooooooooooooooooooooooooN

* * *

The pseudologist chuckled. "Of course I do. Besides, I don't want to see you get in any danger if the perpetrator's out and about."

"True…" Kaniza looked at the man hesitantly, but then nodded and smiled widely. "Alright then. Thanks so much! You're so sweet."

Minori smiled at the woman, and so the duo began to walk around the school. It was good for Minori though, for he found himself being able to investigate around the school for anymore pranks. It was relaxing, though to an extent that he was relaxing with Kaniza before spotting a few pranks here and there.

He noticed the paleness on Kaniza's face when the duo came across another message on the wall in the fourth floor. It was right besides where the stairs were, the red bolded words saying-

["PLEASE GO DIE"]

Other than that, it seemed like there was nothing else on set. Minori knew there would be more pranks the perpetrator would throw by tomorrow, so he decided to slide it off for now. He did note that Kaniza had been completely petrified from what she saw, and she genuinely was scared about this. Nonetheless, he still wanted to talk to her and gestured her all the way back down to the first floor.

 **Minori:** How are you feeling now, Kaniza? I knew we were going to run into one of those pranks, but… still.

 **Kaniza:** Don't worry about me! I think I should be fine. It's just unnerving, you know?

 **Minori:** Yeah.

 **Minori:** Well, I think we should settle our minds off from that. Let's talk about something else then.

 **Kaniza:** Yeah, I would like that.

 **Minori:** Well, how about we talk about yourself? I'm interested in learning about you. We don't really talk that much on a personal one-to-one basis.

 **Kaniza:** Aww, but I would like to learn more about you too. But, whatever you want! I'm fine with it.

 **Minori:** Mhm. Well, what's your family like? I wonder how you become an astrophotographer.

 **Kaniza:** I mean, I'm not sure how much we can talk about our background because of the motive and all, but I can tell you what my dad's like. I really admire him, after all.

 **Minori:** Yeah, that's fine. I'm interested.

 **Kaniza:** Well, my father was an astronomer. Inudoshi Tsukitaiyo was his name. He's a really famous astronomer, though I guess people aren't really into astronomy much.

 **Minori:** Haha, yeah, sorry. I do feel like I've heard of his name somewhere though.

 **Kaniza:** Yeah, he's famous! He's really amazing, honestly. He was the one who jumpstarted my love for astronomy. I began researching a lot about stars and all the things related to astronomy because of him.

 **Kaniza:** Learning about many different types of constellations, meteors, orbits, supernovas, and the other galaxies light years away from us… Honestly, my father made me so happy. Astronomy became my passion and obsession.

 **Kaniza:** I would even go stargazing with my father to observe the stars and constellations. My father even decided to help me pursue my passion in astronomy, so he decided to give me a job as a photographer to take pictures of those amazing things.

 **Minori:** That sounds so sweet. You're father sounds amazing.

 **Kaniza:** Yeah, but… well, I was obsessed with stars and the like. People would always call me weird and crazy. I tend to mumble a lot about constellations and all, and I was a bit cuckoo about talking about horoscopes when I first met you and everyone…

 **Kaniza:** Uh, nonetheless, yeah! My father's amazing!

 **Minori:** I see. Well, don't worry about it. I don't think anyone of us think of you as weird. You're a really nice person, Kaniza.

 **Kaniza:** R-really? I'm glad you think so!

 **Minori:** Of course I'd think that. You've treated everyone kindly ever since we've met. I don't see why people would dislike that side of you.

 **Kaniza:** Haha, you're embarrassing me now. You're sweet yourself, Minnie.

 **Minori:** Thanks. I appreciate the comment.

 **Kaniza:** Uh, anyways, I'm starting to feel a bit tired, so I think I'm going to head to room to rest for a bit.

 **Minori:** Oh, that's fine. I'll see you later then.

 **Kaniza:** Yeah. Thanks, Minnie.

* * *

 **Kaniza Tsukitaiyo's Profile Card: 2/2**

 **Note:** Kaniza's father was a renowned astronomer, Inudoshi Tsukitaiyo. Her father was the one who jumpstarted her passion for astronomy, and he was the one who gave her a photograph and a job that allowed her to pursue her passion. She thinks of her father as very admirable.

* * *

Minori watched Kaniza who waved at him, then leaving to go to her dorm room. He sighed, scratching his head. He had noticed how Kaniza hadn't mentioned much about her mother and her want to leave him immediately after speaking about her father, but he said nothing and decided to not note on it much.

The pseudologist did find himself tired as well, and so he decided to move to his room to take a nap. Yawning, the man rested his eyes and slowly fell asleep.

A few hours passed before Minori woke up. Noting on how much time passed, he set out to move into the dining hall. There, he found the rest of the Ultimates inside, eating.

"Glad to see you here," Kamui said, smiling kindly at the man. "Take a seat down. We have already reported on where we saw the pranks."

"Ah, I see." Minori glanced around the room, then took his seat down and began to grab the teriyaki chicken and bowl of rice from the plates.

He listened to the others' conversations silently. He can hear them talking about the irrelevant, but needed topics of hobbies and the like. He did note from what Fumio told him that there were a few other pranks that happened that Minori didn't see.

Apparently there were plenty of other red letters around the school. Sagiso had seen them alongside Fumio, and she had washed them off with the intention of wanting to not scare the others who would see it. Saori did note that she saw a plentiful of broken shards of glass near the girls' restroom, and she had cleaned it up.

They weren't exactly harmful in any way, but at the same time they were and Minori couldn't help but worry the pranks would escalate.

Well, other than that, everything was done and Minori had finished his food. Everyone had left except for Saori and Kamui who wanted to clean the dishes. Minori thanked everyone for the food, and seeing mainly everyone leaving, Minori decided to move as well in order to sleep.

Minori headed over into his room and creaked the door opened. Sighing, he decided to head inside and locked the door. He was going to go brush his teeth, and after that, like always-

-he will go to sleep, and tomorrow he will have to continue to investigate for anything suspicious.

* * *

... Well, it seems like we are getting closer and closer to our next case. I wonder who will die? If you want, you can go vote on the poll I set up on my profile! Hopefully, it should be up there right now! Haha, I would like to see who you think would bite the poison dart~

Here's my next suggestion for which SYOC you should consider making a character for and/or follow!

 **Fogbound Castaways (SYOC)** by Sharkeye

Anyways, like always, I'll see you all next time!


	44. Chapter 5 - Part 1, Part D

Hello, and I am here with another chapter! I hope I didn't take too long making this chapter. I was very excited to write this chapter and all that other jazz, but of course life had to be in the way. I have a lot of projects to work on, and of course I do have to suffer with other things such as schoolwork, being alive, etc. Haha, well, nothing much to say other than that, so let's head in straight into the story!

 **Ziggymia123:** "Haha, don't worry. I do the same thing! Pranks always escalate in some way, shape, or form. Washing machines are fun, haha. Ooh, interesting. So Sheina's suspicious, hm. Maybe, well, we'll never know. Hehe, interesting thought. Well, let's see what happens!"

 **Emma2448:** "Ooh, what an interesting theory. I like how you talk about an unreliable narrator when in class I was being taught Heart of Darkness!"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "I love weird stuff. Everything is weird, yay. Wider plot implications? Maybe, maybe not. Who knows. Aww, thanks!"

 **FruitlessKitty74:** "Sagiso is suspicious, spooky. Kaniza is a cutie! Yes, Kamui does seem like the normal one in the group right now. Minori's not even that strong enough to do something like that, hehe. Ooh, yay! I believe in you! Don't worry, I am the same too, but it's for me writing backstories."

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Hehe, it's not a problem of course! I always enjoy what you say, so of course it's great no matter when you review or whatnot, hehe. Aish, poor people are going to die, and we'll be the saddest we've been ever! Next thing you know, there is no mastermind and Monokuma's the big bad. Yes. Aww, let's keep everyone alive, hehe. Ooh, interesting theory. It does sound very interesting. Kamui is a very good boy and he is adorable. Kaniza is amazing! What a sweet girl. Yes, very weird lines, I wonder why? Interesting suspects, I wonder if you are right~"

* * *

Minori woke up earlier than usual. He honestly wasn't sure why he had woken up earlier than usual, but he figured it shouldn't matter to him. If anything, he could lay in bed for a few minutes and wait till he heard the morning announcement. That, or he could stand up now and clean himself. He had a few choices, after all.

He would've considered thinking through those choices, but he found himself at unease. It can be considered a supernatural or paranormal experience, but honestly speaking he had a feeling something was wrong. Something was off and he had an itching feeling that 'off' something was near him.

Minori gulped as he slowly got off from his bed. He couldn't care less if the cold was touching his skin. The draft of the cold air was sticking to his skin, and he couldn't bother wearing the coat to cover his skin and measly black shirt. He slowly looked around the room, registering if there was anything off. Sensing nothing at the moment, the pseudologist raised a brow and walked further into his room, closer to the door.

He put his hand on the handle. He couldn't help but hold his breath, but with a quick shake of the head and reassurance that he was fine, he quickly turned the doorknob and creaked the door open.

There was nobody at the door. Minori found himself staring at nothing but emptiness and slight darkness.

His heart still pounded. Cold sweat ran down against his face, falling from his forehead and to his chin. He slowly took a step outside, wondering if there was anybody nearby. He looked to the left. Then, he looked to the right. In front of him, there was nobody. Yes, nobody was around him.

He frowned, forcing himself to release a sigh of relief. He had no idea why there was a sudden itch of danger creeping to his head, but he couldn't dwell on it any longer.

 _Though, then again…_ Minori turned to look around him, checking the doors of every single room in his proximity. Remembering what had happened to Fumio yesterday, Minori was worried that very same thing happened again- it'd be worse if Fumio was being targeted again, after all. However, seeing no signs of blood pools or splatters around the area, Minori figured the scholar and everyone else were safe. _Hopefully the perpetrator stopped then?_

He couldn't be too certain about that. The pseudologist nonetheless sighed, scratching his bed hair. He made a note to himself that he had to comb his hair and cleaned himself up, then noting the lint and dust on his black shirt. With that in mind, Minori turned around to head back inside the room. He was just a step from going inside, back into his humble abode, but he stopped. He found himself stopping, spotting something strange, peculiar, weird- he found something strange, dark green eyes staring down at his door handle.

His door handle was wet, sticky. There was a strange liquid that covered the door handle, sticky and a whitish-yellowish color.

"What…?" Minori couldn't help but whisper a breathy noise. He felt something churn inside of his stomach, his heart beating at a faster pace. He was unsure of what to think, only throwing the blame immediately onto Monokuma for such a stunt. A stunt that made Minori queasy, his mind circling around what exactly that liquid was and whose fluid it was from and why and-

He quickly shook his head and walked back into his room, using the doorknob from inside to close the door. He could hear the door clicking itself shut, and suddenly the pseudologist found his legs shaking. His palms were sweating.

He was silent for a moment, taking time to register what just happened. His breaths were audible, heartbeat echoing inside of his head. He was shaking slightly.

 _No… just calm yourself down. What if that was just…. just…_

He couldn't excuse what that liquid was. It was definitely a liquid, a fluid that came from someone, and that someone's 'fluid' was definitely not urine.

 _I… I should've checked if the others had this… I don't want to go back outside though. But… still…_

Minori gulped, forcing himself to recompose himself. He took a moment to sigh deeply. In, out. In, out. He gritted into his teeth and clenched into his fists. He sighed deeply, and, a certain bear in his head, he couldn't help but call out- "Monokuma."

A few seconds passed before Monokuma popped out of thin air. He smirked as he looked at the paleness in the pseudologist's face, then hopping down to appear in front of the man. "What's wrong, dearie?"

"... I bet you were the one who gave the perpetrator the idea to do something this…" Minori couldn't help but flush. "... this vile."

Monokuma's smirk only became grimmer, malice obvious in that excitedly childish expression of his. "Do you always have to blame me? Come on now, Minnie, teenagers are capable of doing things like this too. Haven't you seen cases of-"

"Please, no." Minori forced back the urge to gag. "You decided that since simple threats in bold letters weren't enough, you decided to throw out pools of blood, body limbs, and now… this."

Monokuma smugly shrugged. "Come on now. I was nice enough to even pick it from the person you dearly hold onto."

The pseudologist couldn't help but raise a brow, feeling something inside of his stomach churn. His head was beginning to ache. "What're you even talking about?"

The bear chuckled. "The one who wanted to fuck your cute little Suiko, of course! Well, also the one who helped brought you to birth, haha."

"Wait." Minori took a step back. He almost stumbled from where he stood, eyes wide. "W-what the fuck are you talking about?"

"I don't know!" Monokuma winked and pointed finger guns at the man, obviously treating everything as nothing more than a fun game. "Was I not clear enough? Geez, you're, like, deaf! Deaf, deaf, deaf!"

Minori gritted his teeth. The bear was mocking him, laughing at him. It was too disgusting for him to witness, the man only growling angrily, "You asshole."

"Aww, nope! It didn't come from my ass." The bear cackled. "It didn't come from your dad's ass as well!"

"Shut up." The pseudologist was shaking. "I don't understand why you have to go this far to help the perpetrator out with these stupid pranks. You're just sadistic. You're having a kick from doing this."

Monokuma smirked. "Well, am I? How are you so sure about that, my cute little Minnie Mouse? Are you sure I actually get off of this?"

The pseudologist bit into his lips. "Why do you want me to actually answer you? It's so fucking obvious you get off of our despair."

"I mean, let's be fair," Monokuma looked straight into the man's dark green eyes, "If you keep seeing the ignorance of those hopeful little shits every single second in your measly life, you'd want nothing more than to just tell them everything and cause them pain. You don't want them to keep on having those same fucking expressions every second in your life, right?"

"This… this seriously cannot just be a game for you." Minori clenched into his fists, forcing himself back. "This is so messed up."

"Aww, come on now," Monokuma teased. "This thing isn't as bad as other people might get it. People around the world don't only get pranked, y'know? At least you didn't actually get fucked like your friend Saori did in the past. You can argue it's consensual, but, pfft, it was just for survival. Silly, huh?"

"Don't treat that so kindly." Minori averted his gaze. "You're the worst I've ever met in someone. You're just the worst."

"And the perpetrator isn't?" Monokuma smirked. "I do love talking to you, Minnie, but you always harass me. I love you, don't you know? We're both supposed to be liars here. You with your talent, and me with my little deceitful self."

"We aren't similar at all." The pseudologist gritted his teeth. "I'd never kill someone, let alone make a fucking death match like this."

"But it's fun?" Monokuma titled his head, eyeing Minori in a childish manner. "You should really try to masquerade one. It's fun to see people die and be powerless under you, y'know?"

Minori shook his head, growling. "Please, just shut up. I'm not going to do whatever you do. Just stop, please."

Monokuma looked at the pseudologist for a moment, then smirking. He shrugged mockingly, winking at the pseudologist for a moment before slowly disappearing into the wind. He was now gone from sight, and a looming silence filled the room.

Minori held his breath. He felt his heart beating, racing. His stomach was churning, and his head was hurting. He placed a hand to his head, releasing a stressed sigh. He slowly fell down to his bed and groaned, staring blankly at the ceiling.

 _This is so messed up. Who the hell would think of this? Why would they even listen to whatever Monokuma is doing? If Monokuma wasn't blackmailing or manipulating the perpetrator, then…_

… _no, there is no way someone can just be that crazy. Even if their personality had been changed, there is just no way. I… They can't be that insane. I don't want to believe it. They're… they're my friends._

Minori bit into his lips. Pain began to course through his body, and he wanted nothing more than to rid of it. He quickly decided to clean himself up, going to the restroom to do, well, what he usually did. He changed and cleaned himself, and soon, after a few minutes, the morning announcement sounded:

"Upupupupu! Wakey wakey, my little beauties! Today's another amazing day, so get your asses off and fucking move it!"

Minori sighed. He honestly didn't want to go outside and see… that, but he had no choice. If he wasn't out, then someone would notice and try to talk to him. He had to go out, and he had no choice.

He walked over to the door. He bit into his lips. His hands were shaking, but he quickly whipped his head back and forth and turned the doorknob.

It opened, and he quickly shut the door once stepping outside. He sighed, panting. He looked to the left and right, dark green eyes now scanning for any evidence of similar incidents. Left, right, he observed the entire place closely.

From what he've seen from the doors around him, he saw nothing of the like. It seemed like he was the only one who had been targeted at the moment.

Minori bit into his lips. He felt sick to his stomach. He almost wanted to puke at this fact, but he couldn't do anything as he heard the door creaking open to the side.

Sheina was the one who opened the door. She let out a loud yawn, stretching her arms in a happy manner before noticing the pseudologist. She smiled and waved at him, unaware of his slightly sickly face. "Hello, my fellow follower. Ready to eat?"

Minori immediately noticed the woman's ignorant smile. Quickly using this to his advantage, he faked a welcoming smile. "Yes, I am. I'm assuming Kamui made us food again, huh?"

"Most likely!" Sheina grinned widely, putting her hands to her hips. "Our fellow friend is very faithful to his rightful duty! He deserves nothing more than our love and loyalty."

"Yes, true." Minori nodded his head. "I wonder if Saori's helping him."

"Ah, most likely." Sheina's face was slightly red now. "She's my loyal and dear love, the partner to the Son of Osiris! She definitely helped Kamui, I bet."

"Yeah…"

Another door opened, revealing Kaniza. The astrophotographer rubbed her eyes for a bit, then turning to eye Minori. She smiled. "Hey there, Minnie. How are you?"

"I'm good." Minori smiled sweetly. "How about you?"

Kaniza's smile widened at this. She brushed back her locks of black hair. "Well, I think I'm doing fine. I'm just hoping there won't be anything… weird, like yesterday, happening to us. It's really creepy to me."

"Yeah, with the sort of pranks being pulled and all." Minori didn't mention his situation at all, only nodding his head in return. "It's alright. I'm sure we'll be fine. The perpetrator has to end this one way or another."

"True…" Kaniza awkwardly laughed. "I'm just a bit nervous. Things like these can lead into… y'know…"

Minori immediately understood what the woman meant, especially since she hesitated and stopped in the middle of her words. He took a look to Sheina who gave Kaniza a worried gaze, the man then shaking his head and keeping his smile steady. "Let's just go eat, alright?"

With that settled, the trio headed straight towards the dining room. The doors opened and Kamui was seen preparing the table alongside Saori. The dishes were already set on the table, all sorts of dishes and delicacies to be seen. Steam filled the room with the fresh aroma of food.

"Hello!" Kamui waved kindly at the trio. "I'm glad you three are here. Hopefully you didn't run into any trouble with the perpetrator?"

"No, we didn't," the pseudologist answered, smiling at the mortician. "Thank you for the concern though."

Kamui chuckled. "It's not a problem at all." He then turned to Saori who placed the remaining plates on the table. "Have you checked the other places yet? I'm not sure if the remaining spoons were there."

"No." Saori shook her head. "I didn't see them, unfortunately."

Kaniza worriedly eyed the duo. "Uh… What happened?"

Kamui quickly shook his head and smiled at the woman- he obviously noticed the woman's anxiousness as a response to what he said. "It's nothing to worry about, I assure you. Someone stole a lot of our spoons and hid them somewhere. We couldn't find them yet though."

"Why would they steal spoons though?" Kaniza asked, slightly between both being baffled and worried. "I just don't see the reason in doing that, honestly."

"I'm not sure myself," the mortician murmured, awkwardly scratching his head. "I don't exactly know the perpetrator's purpose, in all honesty."

The astrophotographer nodded her head slowly. She looked like she wanted to say something, her mouth slightly opening, but she couldn't as the doors suddenly opened- Sagiso was to be seen, walking inside the room without her crutches.

"Oh!" Sheina turned to eye the auburn-haired woman in shock. "Wow, you're fine without your crutches anymore?"

"I've been fine before, but I wanted to make sure I was healthy enough before taking them away." Sagiso twirled around in place, showing off her athleticism to the group. She smiled. "I'm so happy I'm not in those crutches anymore. I really hated them."

Kamui chuckled as he looked at the woman. "That's great to hear. Hopefully, you didn't run into anything bad?"

"I'm fine." Sagiso crossed her arms. "I know the perpetrator is still out there, so it's our job to keep an eye out for them. Their pranks aren't dangerous though, but it is still a worry."

The doors opened again. Fumio came in last, walking over to the group with a slight yawn. "Good morning."

Kaniza chuckled as she noticed the scholar's sleepy expression. "I guess you didn't have a good sleep?"

"Mm… you could say that." Fumio rubbed his eyes, adjusting his glasses. He then turned to eye the group. "I'm sorry. I didn't really sleep well last night. I just couldn't help but think about the perpetrator."

"Yeah, since you were the one who was targeted." Sagiso frowned. She turned to the group for a moment. "Alright, let's go eat. We'll discuss things while eating."

Everyone nodded and went into their seats. Minori placed himself between Sagiso and Fumio, then watching Sheina who immediately went to Saori. The body broker sighed at this, but ignored it and spoke to Kamui who chuckled. Kaniza was sitting right across from Sagiso, the astrophotographer finding herself comfortable near her close friend.

"So, we're supposed to discuss about the perpetrator?" Saori looked over at Sagiso. She bit into her hashbrowns. "Nothing happened to me, well, so far."

"Same." Kamui frowned, crossing his arms. "It seemed like the only person the perpetrator targeted individually was Fumio."

Fumio was uneasy with this, nodding his head. "... Yeah. I expected the perpetrator to target me again, honestly."

Minori smiled comfortably at the scholar. "It's alright. You can consider it lucky that you weren't targeted though, right?"

"True." The scholar bit into his lips. "I'm still a bit worried though."

"What else should we do to stop this though?" Sagiso asked, scanning the group. "I know I said that we should just report and ignore what is happening, but I am concerned that something like this can lead into bigger things. The perpetrator might want to murder someone."

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about," Kaniza admitted, twirling her locks of hair. "I really want to avoid this thing from happening again."

"Honestly!" Sheina crossed her arms angrily. "We need to put an end to this farce and put an end to Monokuma once and for all!"

"Mhm, I'm just worried what we planned yesterday won't work." Sagiso bit into her lips, holding back the urge to sigh. "We need a plan to figure out who the perpetrator is."

Kamui frowned. "What's the plan then?"

Sagiso raised a hand up. "How about this- we'll stake out tonight. Two people will stay outside and we will change in shifts. This will make us know that the perpetrator cannot get outside of their room unless they want to be caught, and having two people together will avoid the threat of the perpetrator using this to their advantage."

"Ah, so we're planning this tonight?" Fumio looked at the psychogeographer who nodded her head. He frowned, then slowly nodded his head. "I think that should work. It does look like the perpetrator acts during the night."

"It makes sense." Kaniza pursed her lips. "The perpetrator doesn't want to be caught, after all."

"I think that plan should work," Kamui mused, crossing his arms. "It does lessen the chance of the perpetrator acting and it'll rise our chances of figuring out who the culprit is."

Saori thought for a moment, then raising a brow and eyeing the psychogeographer. "Don't you think Monokuma might do something about this?"

"I doubt it." Sagiso frowned. "If Monokuma complains to us about it, that just shows he's working with the perpetrator and has a plan with them."

Sheina gasped. "How about we corner Monokuma ourselves then?"

"I don't think that's smart," Saori said, immediately rejecting what the egyptologist said. "I think Sagiso's suggestion is fine."

Sagiso threw the body broker a look, but sighed and nodded her head. "I'm assuming what I suggested is alright to everyone?"

Minori threw the woman an acknowledging smile. "I think that's smart. We can do that."

"I'm completely fine with it!" Kaniza cried, nodding her head confidently. "As long as it's something we can do to stop the culprit, I'm fine with anything."

"I guess this is what we'll be doing later." Kamui calmly smiled as he eyed the group. "We have this planned then."

Now that that was settled, the group continued to eat. They were slightly in better moods than earlier, given that Sagiso had a plan and everyone was alright with it. The group continued to eat their food and talk for a while before finishing, now bringing their plates to Kamui who was washing the dishes with Sagiso, the woman being more than glad to be away from the crutches in order to help.

Minori was about to leave to check around the school, but he found himself being stopped by Saori. The woman was standing in his way, and Minori, seeing that everyone else was somewhere else, knew what this meant. He looked at the woman and crossed his arms, frowning. "Did something important happen?"

Saori nodded her head slowly. She looked around the room for a moment, then speaking in a hushed voice, "Can we speak somewhere else? I know everyone left, but Sagiso and Kamui are still in the kitchen and I don't want to risk them hearing us."

Minori's eyebrows furrowed. "Alright then."

The duo headed outside. They made sure nobody was around to hear them, then the duo heading over into one of the empty classrooms. Minori did find it smart of Saori for them to head inside one of the two classrooms- nobody seemed to take much importance of the rooms, after all. He looked around the room, eyeing the arranged chairs and desks. Watching Saori who stayed standing, he decided to lean against one of the tables to eye her.

"I guess no one will see us here," Minori mused, observing the woman's body language. She seemed to be pondering. "What do you want to talk about?"

Saori looked at the man. She bit into her lips, then sighing and bluntly stating, "I want to find the perpetrator. You and me both."

"I see." Minori did suspect this was the case- Saori may be blunt and quiet at times, but she was always on the lookout to care for people. He shouldn't be surprised she wanted to help out herself. "Considering we know the both of us are innocent, you want us to figure out who else is innocent?"

"I don't know how though," Saori began, biting into her healthy colored lips. "What do you think?"

"Hm…" The pseudologist thought for a moment, hand to his chin. "Well, honestly speaking, it is hard to capture the perpetrator since we know nothing about them. All we know is they can't be one of us, and that the perpetrator is one of them."

"Yeah, either Sheina or…" Saori held her breath, stopping herself from speaking further. She quickly switched up her words, now saying, "But, is there any way to throw the culprit off and confuse them?"

Minori's expression hardened. His nose was scrunched as he continued to think for a while. He wondered what can be done to confuse the perpetrator, and, after a few minutes, he seemed to have an idea. "How about we pull our own pranks?"

Saori's eyes widened. "What?"

"Like what the perpetrator did." Minori raised a finger up. He looked at the woman with a stern gaze. "We pull our own pranks and we gauge the reaction of others to see who the perpetrator is. That, or the perpetrator will end up stopping their own pranks out of fear."

The woman thought for a moment, frowning. "What if someone sees us plotting the pranks though?"

Minori chuckled. "We can explain ourselves. Besides, if the perpetrator continues even after we got caught and restrained, then everyone will know we're innocent."

"That's true." Saori bit into her lips. "Hm…"

The pseudologist raised a brow, curious as he asked, "Is the idea alright?"

Saori gave the man a look, but it transitioned into confidence as she nodded her head. "I'm alright with it. It's better to be active than inactive anyways."

Minori nodded. "Yeah. So, what are we going to do? Should we split up and write on the walls, or…?"

"I think that should be fine," Saori answered. "It'll allow us to be able to set up more pranks that'll throw off the culprit. Besides, I think it's better so people won't immediately suspect us if we go out together."

The pseudologist smiled. "Alright, so that's going to be our plan then. I'll try to spray paint around the first floor then. There's spray paint in the MonoLottery room, I'm pretty sure."

Saori nodded her head in return, crossing her arms. "I'll probably do the same thing then. I don't want to scare everyone off to much."

"True, everyone's already on edge enough as it is." Minori sighed, scratching his head. He looked at the woman who pursed her lips. Minori smiled kindly at her, comforting her. "Well then, I guess we should start, huh?"

"Yeah, we should." Saori released a small breath of air, sighing.

The duo nodded to one another and left the classroom. They closed the door behind them and made their way over to the MonoLottery room, entering inside with a slight dreadful feeling in their bodies.

Minori looked around the room, leaving space for Saori to enter inside to look for the cans of spray paint. He noticed that the room was as messy as ever, the obnoxious carnival music still playing, echoing throughout the room. The pseudologist looked at what was inside of the room. He noted the normal objects such as the sketchbooks, dolls, and maps inside of the area. He did notice the stuffed toys which were on the shelves, next to toy trains, cars, etc. He also noticed the less than normal objects- the oddly shaped 'toys', the beaten up rag dolls, ropes, video cameras, etc.

Honestly, the pseudologist hadn't looked at the MonoLottery room since he had first been trapped here. If anything, his focus now resided on what was in the monochrome room, and he had the answer to that already. Now, everything inside of this room was junk and the only things that proved noteworthy to the pseudologist were what he needed occasionally at the moment, here and there.

If Minori had the time to relax, he would. He would relax and observe what was inside of this room, free from all the trouble to just purge his curious mind. He just couldn't though, and that made him melancholic about it.

"I found them." Saori turned to the pseudologist, almost looking like she popped her head out from the pile of junk. She held two cans of red paint in her hands, tossing one over to the pseudologist who caught it with slightly wide eyes. She walked over to the man. "I'm pretty sure these work. They were the only two red cans of spray paint I can find here at the moment."

"It's fine," the pseudologist said, smiling awkwardly. He shook the can for a bit, then pointing the spray to one of the walls and pressing into the spray. Red paint splattered, forming a small blob. "Yeah, it works."

"Hm, guess so." Saori seemed slightly amused at this, lips curved to a small smile before she quickly hid it with a cough. "I guess we should get started then."

The pseudologist nodded his head. "Yeah, true. Guess I'll see you later then."

"Mhm." The woman walked out of the door. "Good luck."

Minori waved at Saori who left the room. The pseudologist then sighed, taking a look at his can of spray paint. He eyed it for a moment. He almost wondered if he should hide it somewhere- possibly wrap it under his scarf somehow? The pseudologist scoffed at that thought and decided he should just move.

He looked around the area, popping his head out. He looked to the left, then to the right. There was nobody in sight.

 _Alright, I guess I should spray paint the auditorium first. It's closest from here anyways._

The pseudologist was now confident in that plan, making his way over to the auditorium. He took another look around the area to make sure nobody was in sight- no one. His heart raced, but he quickly opened the door and headed inside, finding himself completely alone in the emptiness and spaciousness of the room.

He looked around the room, then eyeing the wall to the left. Honestly, he was unsure of what to write, thinking things through his head. He thought for a while to think about what to say. He wanted to make it known that he was targeting the perpetrator, but at the same time he didn't want to scare the others off too much.

He shook his head. _Ah, just screw it. I'll write whatever's in my head._ And so Minori quickly sprayed the paint on the wall.

It took a few seconds to spray the paint. Minori took a step back, now eyeing what he wrote.

[":)"]

 _What the fuck._ Minori deadpanned as he looked at his own masterpiece, groaning as he realized he really should've thought of something else to say. He sighed. He did want to change what he wrote, but now he felt demotivated to do it.

 _I have other places to… uh, vandalize, anyways._

Minori quickly left the room, shaking his head. He quickly left to the next room to spray paint the other walls.

This took minutes for Minori. He did have to think more on what he would say before spray painting. He was worried he'd be caught here and there, but finding himself spray painting the walls in every room, he found himself safe and at ease. There, he had successful spray painted everything he could in the first floor.

 _I wonder how Saori is doing._ Minori thought for a moment. He shook the spray can in his hands. _Hm… there's still a bit left, surprisingly. I thought it would've ran out._

Minori sighed. Knowing it was better to move than stand still, he quickly made his way out of his location to move to the next floor.

There, he began to use the remaining paint in his spray can. He vandalized most of the rooms in the second floor before his can ran out of paint. The pseudologist frowned and threw it to the trash, sighing as he headed out from his room. He looked around the area, then spotting no one in sight. He did note that he hadn't seen Saori yet.

 _Right… if she wasn't in this floor and if I spray painted mostly everything here, she must've done the third and fourth floors. I'm stupid._

Minori mentally slapped himself across the forehead, then making his way up the stairs. He looked around the area for a moment, then spotting Saori who had walked upstairs from the end of the hallway. She still had her spray can in her hands. He mentally made a note to himself and quickly followed her up.

He saw the woman walking over into the music room, and before the soundproof door closed, he heard something drop. The pseudologist quickly made his way up and opened the door, charging his way inside.

"Saori-"

Minori stopped, suddenly finding himself looking at Saori and Kamui. Saori had dropped her spray can, Kamui looking at her with wide eyes. The mortician seemed to just have been investigating around the area, and now he had caught Saori red handed.

"You…" Kamui squinted at the rolling spray can. He frowned as he looked at Saori, expression hardening within an instant. "Why do you have that?"

Saori quickly threw Minori a look. He instantly knew what she was going to tell him- that she knew this would happen, and she expected Minori to explain the situation.

"Ahem." Minori quickly stepped to the front and smiled at the mortician, trying to calm his obvious anxious mood. "Saori and I are trying to catch the perpetrator."

"Catch? Wait, you too, Minori?" Kamui looked at the man nervously. "But… how? With that spray can, it looks like… it looks like you two were the perpetrators."

"We're not," Minori said bluntly. "The perpetrator wouldn't be so stupid as to commit these pranks in plain view, right?"

"I mean…" Kamui awkwardly averted his gaze. "I mean, that does make sense, but still. Why?"

Minori shook his head. "We want to scare the perpetrator. If I can gauge the reactions from you guys from what we did, we can decipher who the perpetrator is and catch them, or scare them enough into making them stop."

"But…" Kamui bit into his lips. "Why? Can't you just tell me and the others?"

"We can't." Saori stepped in. "One of us is the perpetrator, after all. We don't want to risk the perpetrator from figuring out what we're doing."

The woman turned to eye Minori again. She seemed to be suspicious of Kamui, but Minori quickly gave her the shake of the head- telling her it can work regardless if he knew. She was hesitant, but sighed and gave up.

"I understand the idea, but why are you two working together?" Kamui looked at the duo worriedly. "I don't see why you two would trust each other, to be honest, in order to commit these sort of things."

Saori and Minori turned to look at one another. Minori sighed, scratching his head. He supposed he had to lie about it, quickly clearing his throat and feigning a calm expression on his face. "I placed my trust in Saori after I gauged her reactions myself. We had a talk about what to do, and I was careful in what I said. She's innocent."

Kamui paled a little. He looked a bit frightened from what Minori said, but he quickly nodded his head and smiled slightly. "I suppose so. But, still…"

"Why are you up here anyways?" Minori asked, now curious.

The mortician sighed. "Well, I wanted to investigate. I wanted to make sure there wasn't anything suspicious happening or anything we missed. Evidence can be anywhere, after all."

"I suppose that's true," Saori murmured, crossing her arms. She looked around the room herself, then back to Kamui. "Did you find anything yet?"

Kamui shook his head, a saddened expression filling his face. "Unfortunately not. I couldn't find anything around the building at all."

Saori sighed, showing the slightest bit of worry for the man. "It's alright. It can't be helped."

It went silent.

"Well then." Minori quickly cleared his throat and looked kindly at the mortician. "I'm sorry if we scared you."

"N-not at all!" Kamui shook his head rapidly. "Honestly, it's fine. I was surprised, but you two are trustful."

Minori noted the slight hesitation on the mortician's face. The pseudologist crossed his arms. "I'm glad you think so. Now, I guess we should leave now. Sorry to bother you."

Kamui nodded. He eyed the duo for a moment, Minori and Saori murmuring to one another for a bit.

Minori and Saori were about to leave. The duo had turned their heads around until-

 _Bam!_

Saori suddenly fell to the floor, groaning. She grabbed at her body painfully, letting out pained pants and breathless gasps. "M-Minori…!"

Minori's eyes widened. He quickly looked at the woman and tried to get down. He gritted his teeth and looked over to Kamui. "Hey! What the hell-?!"

However, before Minori could jump and do anything- he was roughly pulled into a chokehold. A sudden cloth was placed over his mouth, and the man cried out a muffled scream.

 _Shit! It's chloroformed!_

Minori quickly tried to rid of the cloth and hand over his mouth. He tried to elbow his attacker, but it didn't work. He tried to resist as much as he could and before he could do anything, even crying out muffled screams for the pained Saori to run away, he fell victim to the drug and lost his consciousness.

* * *

"... ori…!"

Minori let out a soft groan, feeling nothing but pain. He saw nothing but darkness, eyes closed. Honestly, he wanted to keep them closed.

"... inori…! Minori!"

Minori's eyes widened. He registered a familiar voice calling to him and he quickly whipped his head up. A groan escaped from his lips, the pseudologist feeling stiffness and pain all over him. He felt tight, and he saw nothing but slight darkness with trash around his line of vision. His tightness, however, was also met with something- or, someone, rubbing against his back.

"Uh… S-Saori?"

Before Minori could say anything else, he immediately registered pain in his head. He quickly tried to bring a hand to his forehead, but he couldn't. He suddenly looked down to himself being roughly tied up, ropes tying his hands and body together. He tried to check if Saori was in the same state as he was, however upon feeling warmth against his back he immediately recognized Saori being tied with him, back to back.

 _Shit._

Minori tried to calm himself down, trying to make sense of this whole dilemma. He didn't want to make the woman worry, so he quickly put on a brave front and asked, "Saori, what happened? Do you know where we are?"

Saori shook her head, groaning painfully. "I… I don't know. I think we're in the storage room."

"Storage room…" Minori looked around the room, noticing the amount of dust, grime, and unused trash around the room. "Yeah, but, I mean… Why are we here?"

"I don't know." Saori gritted her teeth. "Why did Kamui…?"

Minori bit into his lips. He wasn't sure, and he wasn't sure if he should be scared or surprised anymore. "... Let's just get out of here, somehow."

"Yeah." Saori frowned. She struggled a bit in her restraints, but it was futile. "Ugh, these things are tight!"

"Let's just wait for the others," Minori suggested, worriedly eyeing the woman. He could tell the poor maiden was pale. "I'm sure Kamui won't hurt us, and he'll explain to us what's happening when we're saved-"

Suddenly, that high-pitched voice began to play on the speaker.

"Ding, dong! Ding, dong! Hello, hello! We finally have our body discovery announcement here! Please go report to the MonoLottery room to see who the fuck died! Upupupupu!"

Minori and Saori's eyes widened.

"Someone died?" The pseudologist immediately gritted his teeth, pale in complexion. "Who? Who's dead?"

He shouldn't even need to ask that. He shouldn't, but his heart was racing and adrenaline was racing through his veins. He thought it wouldn't happen. He just thought it wouldn't happen and they'd be safe- but, no, he was horribly wrong.

"Fuck." Minori looked down at his restraints. He couldn't even think about escaping at this moment. The knots were tied too tightly, and the ropes were clearly going to bruise him. He couldn't really move at all.

Saori gulped, face pale. "... I seriously hope this is all a joke, but… Damn it, I…"

Footsteps were heard running up the stairs. Minori and Saori both turned their heads to the door as it suddenly slammed opened, revealing Kamui whose face was entirely drenched in sweat and pale.

The mortician panted for a moment. His eyes then widened as he looked at the duo, taking a clumsy step back from shock. "W-what? There's no way… I-I thought…"

"Hey." Saori immediately threw the man a harsh, cold glare. Her eyes were piercing through the man's soul. "Release us right now and tell us who's dead."

Kamui flinched. The woman's tone was horrendously harsh. "W-well, I didn't check since I wanted to see if you two were still here. Uhh… I'm really sorry! I thought you were the one who told me to go to the music room and I-"

"Just release us!" Saori cried. "We need to go to the MonoLottery room! We'll settle things later!"

Kamui quickly nodded his head and bent down to release the duo. He tried to efficiently and quickly untie the restraints, his hands fumbling about and his forehead sweaty. He bit into his lips and held back the urge to sigh, quickly releasing the duo after a few minutes or so had passed. The ropes dropped to the floor, and everyone immediately dashed straight downstairs, running all the way down to the first floor and through the hallways, into the MonoLottery room.

All the way into the MonoLottery room which was open, revealing the Ultimates inside, petrified and shocked. Monokuma was inside, amused and laughing at their demise.

Saori charged inside, halting in place as she stopped in between the Ultimates. "W-wha…?"

Kamui was the next to respond. He had made his way inside to look at the crime scene, his expression suddenly turning from worry into complete and utter horror. "There's… no way…"

Minori gulped. Having heard Kamui and Saori's reactions, he couldn't hold back anymore and quickly made his way inside, but he immediately stopped upon seeing something- no, seeing death. His face immediately paled, and he immediately wanted to throw up and cover his mouth.

Inside of the MonoLottery room, covering the pile of toys and gadgets, was not only one dear deceased, but two. There were two dead bodies inside of the room, both in different sides, and both with that same look of death in their faces.

The first person Minori saw was Sheina, the one and only Ultimate Egyptologist. She was dead, lying down on the pile of toys with her head having been completely smashed in. The weapon had most likely been hidden underneath the pile of toys, but that's not what mattered. Sheina, the poor maiden, had been killed with her head torn open, and eyes rolled back over her pupils with her mouth hung agape. She was dead, dead, dead.

Over to the other side of the room- Minori just couldn't believe his eyes. He wanted everything to be over because, dear God, he was going to beg for forgiveness and he was going to beg for a second chance.

Fumio. Oh, dear Fumio was lying down, leaning against the side of the wall. A rope was tied around his neck. Pink, red, all sorts of colors had lined around Fumio's neck in a ring. He had been choked, and he suffocated to death. The poor scholar hadn't even realized it, his expression completely that of horror and dread as he inched to death.

Dead. Sheina and Fumio were dead. They were dead.

They were dead.

Kaniza was crying into Sagiso, the psychogeographer forcing back the tears from falling down on her face. Kamui was shaking his head sadly, a shaky breath escaping his lips. Saori's face had instantly hardened, yet she herself was shaken- her eyes were slightly wet.

And Monokuma. That damn bear was grinning, laughing at them. A sadistic, sadistic grin was on his face, and god it was pissing Minori off so much.

But, that didn't matter. It didn't even register to the pseudologist that he was walking to Fumio's body, tears falling from his eyes. It never registered to him that he fell to his knees and began sobbing, shaking his head before eventually falling into Fumio's chest and grabbing at his shoulders. His head buried into Fumio's chest- it was cold, but it didn't matter. Minori was shaking, and he was sobbing. His hands tightened and eventually let go, Minori falling into the scholar's body with tears soaking his clothes.

 _It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault._

Minori cried loudly, shaking his head. He never registered Sagiso and Kaniza who eventually threw him into a tight embrace, nor Monokuma's grin which was aimed- aimed directly to taunt him.

All he could about now was that he should've done this. He should've done that. He should've done all of those things which he couldn't have possibly done in order to prevent this from happening.

Maybe if he figured out who the perpetrator was sooner everyone would be safe. Everyone would be happy, and Minori would find the mastermind and put this whole killing game to an end.

Maybe.

Maybe.

Just maybe, just maybe he would've done something that would lead to happiness.

Yet, this wasn't a fairy tale and Minori hated himself so much for being born in reality.

* * *

... And here is the ending! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, haha. Hopefully I didn't break all of you too badly. Everything only gets worse, you know? Well, I do have nothing much to say other than shameless plugging, so here I go:

 **Danganronpa: The Pitiful Plague Called Ignorance** by RioA (which is me, wink wink)

 **Danganronpa: Remnants of My Heart** by Prince PokePersona

 **Fogbound Castaways** by Sharkeye

 **Danganronpa: Final Flight** by Shirasaur

And that is all! For now, I'll just meet you all next time! Goodbye for now!


	45. Chapter 5 - Part 2, Part A

I am back right here with yet another chapter! Hm, hopefully I didn't take too long to write it, but of course life does always seem to be in the way of things. I do not have much to say here as always other than I might be able to write more next week because that is my break. Well, other than that, I have nothing to say, so let's move straight into the chapter!

 **Guest 1:** "Yes, that happened. Yes, two murders have happened, hehe. It's okay, I would cry because I like Fumio a lot, yes. Monokuma's a jerk, so please do go and hate this sadistic bear."

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Haha, welp, I'm glad I made you people speechless. Yeah, I did have one death planned in the earlier outlines, but two worked best for me and what will happen later, so yeah. Minori and Monokuma is the best ship I have ever heard of, yes. Haha, working together? That sounds like nothing more than fantasy. Kamui's a nervous wreck, please save him. Intense chapters are more favorite, though I hold back from the actual torture I like putting in my own works, rip. I know right, our poor Fumio died! Ooh, yeah, Sheina breaking a rule would be nice to see, interesting. Who's dead next, find out next time in DBZ! *smirks* Aww, thanks!"

 **dashunterman:** "Oof, that sucks."

 **Emma2448:** "Oh my. Yes, it's disgusting of course, and ew I don't want to think about it now. How about we kill everyone? That'll be so much fun. Kamui's just Kamui, haha. Oof, how about we make it no one killed them and this is all just a dream?"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "But, but, Roseycheeks ): Haha, well, glad you enjoyed it! Heck yeah, let's just kill them, yes. Aww, thanks!"

 **FruitlessKitty_74 (or Guest 2):** "Aaaah, no, sorry! D: I mean, I am in AP Lit, but that's all I have going for me, hehe. Well, sometimes I forget this is even a fanfiction, haha. Yes, be uncomfortable, yes. Hehe, yeah, I'm a girlie, reee~ Minori's a smiley emote boi. Kamui is such an action boy, totally. Ooh, green, I'm interested why now. Aww, yes, give her love! Fumio's sweet, haha. No, I don't like seeing people cry D: Oh my. That's fine! Take your time, haha. Yes, I am already crying. Don't worry, I could tell from how you write your reviews~"

 **zephryr:** "You know, I still always wanted to feel like what it's like if one of my characters died. I'm just curious to see how I would react, hehe. Honestly though, I'd rather just throw Fumio into a happy story and just keep him there so he's safe. Rather not have him die around yeah, but uhh, yeah. Plausible theory, hopefully it's right (or wrong, aah). Yes, Fumio will always be best boy! Sona would be happy about best girl, so niceeee you made him happy! Stupidity beyond comprehension, yes! Glad you saw it ;) Ooh, still love how you look up on the dead's names. Interesting about Sheina, and of course to Fumio as well! Haha, I could tell you did research a lot just to make out Fumio's name. I respect that, especially since I usually just don't care about name meanings, oops."

* * *

How long did it take before his tears ended? How long did it take before those arms around him stopped existing, and instead turned into begging hands which called for him to stop?

He didn't know. He just didn't know, and he just didn't know what was happening any longer.

Monokuma was still inside of the room, laughing with his usual high-pitched voice. He seemed more than willing to not hide his sadism any longer, a genuine pleased and euphoric look on his face. He was almost drooling at this point, smirking. "This is so beautiful… This is just marvelous!"

Kamui's voice was shaking. His entire face was pale, his lips pursed and nose scrunched. "W-what do you mean by that? How is this marvelous to you? T-this… this is vile!"

"Maybe to you," Monokuma began, looking over at the mortician, "but let's be honest here- I don't give a damn about what you feel. I only care about myself."

"Shut up!" Kamui screamed, voice suddenly booming and echoing throughout the room. The carnival music which played in the background was slightly off pitch- no one knew if this was intentional or not. "Just shut up. This is all your fault. You made this happen ever since you kidnapped us and made us play your bastardly game!"

"Really? I wasn't the one who actually murdered someone. You guys are." The bear snickered. "Besides, you did play a pivotal role in the first trial, helping out the little cutie Asami, right?"

Kamui's face paled immediately, sweat forming on his head. "T-that's-!"

"... You're doing something to us." Saori looked at the bear, her face hardened and cold. "You're toying with us, just like you did to Rin and Seiga."

"Huh? I didn't blackmail anyone this time," the bear mused, giggling. "That would be boring, y'know? I'm here to test you guys out, not to do the same shit over and over again in hopes you'll finally learn your lesson."

"You still did something to us." The body broker frowned. "I don't know what you're doing to us this time, but I know you've done something."

"Yeah, and sadly you're ignorant of that… maybe." Monokuma then turned to eye Minori. The pseudologist was silent, Kaniza and Sagiso worriedly looking down at him. The bear chuckled as he crossed his arms. "Well, Minnie, you better get up and move it. I'm here to have fun."

Minori was silent, his breathing shallow. His eyes were entirely red and wet now, face now covered in disgusting snot and tears. He didn't say anything, only nothing but silence and sadness in his face.

"Hey, Minnie?" Monokuma tilted his head curiously, blinking like a small child. He feigned a voice so childish, so painfully ignorant that it was grating to the Ultimates' ears. "You should stop crying and hurry up with investigating."

Kaniza gulped, expression entirely teary and nervous as she looked from Minori to Monokuma. She couldn't help but hold her breath. "C-can you leave him alone? I think he just needs time to think."

"Am I that nice enough to care?" Monokuma rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Of course, you would understand- you're a fucking bitch who just cries every time something bad happens. Fucking wimp."

"Hey, she can't help it." Sagiso immediately went to the astrophotographer's defense, anger in her eyes. "She's a poor victim in all of this. Everything that's been happening was because of you."

"Hm, are you sure?" The bear cackled. "It's not like I'm the only one who does things here. Like I said, if you idiots truly didn't want anyone to die, then Asami and Kamui wouldn't have killed Ko and believed in Seiga, then Amyto would somehow learn to trust in reality, Kakuma wouldn't have played 'traitor', and fucking so forth."

Kamui bit into his lips, eyes staring at the floor. "I…"

Monokuma grinned as he noticed the mortician's expression. "Yeah, see? I didn't instigate jack shit."

Saori threw the bear a cold look, gritting into her teeth. "You're the instigator of Rin and Seiga's case though, so what's to say you weren't the instigator of this case?"

"Yeah, then why don't you find out?" The bear's smile turned ever more meaner. Another chuckle escaped from him. "Not sure how you guys will handle it this time. Can you even go beyond your boundaries?"

Saori frowned. "What?"

Monokuma shrugged. "Oh, well, it doesn't really matter. Time will tell, heh. I guess I should go now." He then waved at the Ultimates before shooting himself up into the ceiling, disappearing from sight and leaving the Ultimates completely stranded.

Silence dared to enter the room.

"Hey." Sagiso's voice rang throughout the room. Minori could feel a hand on his shoulder. "Get up, we need to get moving."

Minori stayed silent, unaware that Sagiso had pulled him up. He gave her a melancholic look before shaking his head, speaking in a soft, dejected manner, "This is all my fault."

Sagiso threw him a worried, but stern expression. "It's not your fault, it's the killer's. It's Monokuma's fault for making this game a thing in the first place."

 _But the one who gave out the motive was me, and I lost the game._

Saori loudly cleared her throat, but it was obvious she was pale from the horror as well. "We should investigate now. Kamui, check on Sheina's body. I'm going to check Fumio's first." She then frowned as she eyed the man. "I also expect you to give your reasoning to us later."

"Ah…" Kamui awkwardly looked away. "Yes, of course."

Kamui walked over to inspect Sheina's body, investigating her by his lonesome. Meanwhile, Saori walked over to where the rest were. She threw Minori a look- a careful, careful look- before bending down to inspect the body now.

Kaniza worriedly pursed her lips as she eyed the pseudologist. "Let's help investigate, alright? We need to figure out who did it, Minnie…"

Minori eyed the woman for a moment, then softly smiling- it was fake, but he knew better than to allow everyone to see him look so beaten down now. "Alright then. Sorry about that."

His head strangely ached, and his stomach was churning. He felt his vision slightly blurring within a few seconds or so, but he shrugged it off as nothing more than stress. He looked over to Kaniza who was discussing something with Sagiso, and so the pseudologist decided to, first of all, check what Monokuma gave the Ultimates in terms of Case Files.

The first file on the screen was about Fumio, the sweet scholar himself. Minori would've mentioned how melancholic he felt about the scholar's death, crying to himself, but instead he found himself disturbed by what he was seeing.

* * *

 **Case File #006**

 **Summary:** The victim of this case is the Ultimate Scholar, Fumio Fujiyoshi. Aww, you all must've cared for him that much, huh? Well, I don't, but I'll get on with this and tell you what's up: Fumio has died inside of the MonoLottery room at 6:49 PM by suffocation. He was choked to death with a rope tied around his neck.

Minori bit into his lips, face paling at what he read. He found himself scrunching his one and furrowing his eyebrows, disbelief written across his entire face. He knew Monokuma was to blame for this, yet he still found it in bitter taste- Monokuma was obviously mocking them, and Minori felt his entire intestines souring his stomach.

* * *

Nonetheless, he had to keep reading. He turned to the next bullet in the screen. Of course, the one on the screen was about the Ultimate Egyptologist herself.

* * *

 **Case File #007**

 **Summary:** Oh, right, I forgot she died. The victim other than Fumio was Sheina Yakamuro, the Ultimate Egyptologist. So, she died in the MonoLottery room at 6:46 PM through having her head torn open. It may or may not have been a clean strike, but who knows? None of you guys are that powerful, let's be honest here.

Minori frowned, reading the file. Although he had assumed that such a feat that caused the woman's death was quite suspicious, he didn't expect Monokuma to blatantly spell it out. Though, it did make Minori worry- then how could the feat be accomplished? He didn't know, and he had to ponder.

* * *

The pseudologist tapped his foot, slowly looking over to observe Sheina's body. He found Kamui who was now concentrated, eyes fixated on the body. The mortician was eyeing her body, checking for any wounds or blemishes. A frown escaped his lips, curled downwards.

Minori walked over to the taller man with a careful step in his movement. "Hello there, Kamui."

"Oh, Minori." Kamui looked at the pseudologist for a moment, face then paling as he bowed his head down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, well, do that to you and Saori."

"That's fine, don't worry about it." The man smiled softly. "Why were you there though? It's a bit strange you would be there, coincidental or not. I'm worried. You had the chloroform with you too."

Kamui averted his gaze. "True… I'm sorry about that."

Minori raised a brow. "What happened?"

The mortician was hesitant. A weary look was written across his face, but noticing the look Minori was giving him, Kamui quickly cleared his throat and began to speak, saying, "Someone sent me a letter. It was an anonymous letter telling me to go to the music room. I thought that person was the perpetrator, so I got chloroform with me in order to stop them. Seeing you and Saori with the paint made me attack you."

"A letter?" Minori frowned. "Do you have it with you?"

Kamui nodded, reaching into his pocket. He brought the folded piece of paper out and handed it to the white-haired man. "Yeah, here."

Minori smiled softly in response. He looked at the piece of paper for a moment before unfolding it, now finding himself staring at some inked, slightly messy words of cursive. He held his breath as he began to read.

["Dear Kamui,

Can you please meet me in the music room before lunch, possibly before 5? I want to talk to you about something important. You better come too. I don't want to drag you out there myself! Also, don't tell anyone about this! If you do, I definitely have something cooked up for them!

Sincerely,

A friend :)]

Minori bit into his lips, slowly handing the letter back to Kamui. "Yeah, I feel like it could've been the perpetrator. Why would they target you though?"

"I don't know," Kamui answered sadly, eyes averting to the ground. "I tried to think about it, but my head's coming at a blank."

"Hm…" Minori tried to think for a while, cupping his chin and pondering. He felt like he had something, at least something at the back of his head, but it went blank and it was aggravating him. He didn't know why, but he felt like the answer should be obvious, yet he can't think. "... We'll figure it out sooner or later. You're going to tell everyone about the letter, right?"

"Yeah?" Kamui looked at the pseudologist as if the answer was obvious. "I rather not hide things from everyone during a trial."

Minori nodded. "Yeah, that's true."

With that settled, Kamui slowly went back to examining the body. Minori, in the meantime, decided to check the truth bullet pertaining to the situation.

* * *

 **Kamui's Letter**

 **Summary:** Roses are red, violets are blue, and fuck you. Anyways, Kamui has gotten a letter that's definitely suspicious. It reads the following:

["Dear Kamui,

Can you please meet me in the music room before lunch, possibly before 5? I want to talk to you about something important. You better come too. I don't want to drag you out there myself! Also, don't tell anyone about this! If you do, I definitely have something cooked up for them!

Sincerely,

A friend :)]

Woah, like that's totally not suspicious. Is something wrong here? Definitely, but I won't tell you, my sweet angel of destruction.

* * *

Minori bit into his lips, disgusted at what he read. He quickly turned off his device and looked over to Kamui again, now focused on Sheina's body. "What Monokuma gave us in the Case File is accurate, right?"

Kamui nodded his head slowly, voicing his pondering, "Hm… It should be. There's nothing else on Sheina that deems suspicion to my eyes."

Minori looked at the egyptologist's body. The cracked opened head and her horrified face as she died- truly a horrendous sight. The pseudologist gulped and quickly turned back to eye Kamui. "Sorry to bother you with another question, but I forgot to ask about your testimony."

"Ah, right." Kamui awkwardly scratched his head. "I almost forgot about that as well."

"It's fine." Minori threw the mortician a soft smile. "At least I told you now. So, what's your alibi?"

The taller man nodded his head slowly, cupping his chin. "Well… After I made you and Saori unconscious and tied you up, I went over to the dining hall since I figured it would be suspicious if I wasn't preparing dinner. I did see Fumio there for a bit, but he went out. I didn't pay it much thought at the time."

Minori frowned. "Hm, he wasn't doing anything suspicious?"

Kamui shook his head. "Er… no, I don't remember anything suspicious happening. Fumio was chewing on a snack, that's all."

The pseudologist thought for a moment, then took a step back and nodded. "Alright then, thank you for the information."

The mortician smiled softly. "It's not a problem at all."

* * *

 **Testimonies (TENTATIVE)**

 **Summary:** Here are the list of testimonies for you.

1.) Kamui, after locking up Minori and Saori, left to prepare dinner. Oh my, and there he found Fumio who left. Apparently he had gotten a snack.

* * *

Minori looked back over to Sheina's body. He looked at the corpse for a moment, then noticing something was off. The pseudologist raised a hand up. "Have you found the weapon that killed Sheina?"

Kamui shook his head. "Sadly not. I'm positive it's hidden underneath the pile of toys in the room here. It'll take a while to find it, I believe."

Minori bit into his lips. He looked over to the pile of toys- or, well, trash. "... It's alright. As long as we find it, we can be sure of what killed Sheina and see if anything was suspicious about the weapon used to kill her."

The mortician held his breath, but slowly nodded after a moment. "Yeah, that's true. Hopefully we could find it then."

"Yeah." Minori stepped back. "I shouldn't bother you now. Sorry."

The taller man threw him a small smile, then turned his head. Minori, knowing the conversation was now over, he decided to look around for the next target in mind- that one, to the breaking of his heart, was to checking Fumio's body. He didn't want to, honestly, but he knew he had to stay strong. He couldn't fail here- or, at least, not again.

Minori walked over towards Fumio's body. He found Saori who was investigating Fumio, the woman checking around his left, right, etc. He slowly moved towards the body broker and kneeled down. "How are you?"

Saori moved to the side, leaving Minori with more space. "I don't see anything suspicious on Fumio other than his cause of death and… well, this."

The woman grabbed ahold of Fumio's shirt, tugging at it. From a simple sight with the eye, Minori noticed what was strange- Fumio's clothes were painted with a few blood stains. Those blood stains were not from Fumio himself, Minori concluded, noting how Fumio lacked any wounds other than the rope marks around his neck. He wondered where the blood could've come from- Sheina, possibly, but is that it?

Was there something else he was missing? Might be the case, and given that the blood stains were still soaking Fumio's shirt, they were recent. He had to think.

* * *

 **Blood Stains**

 **Summary:** Woah, there's a few recent blood stains on Fumio's clothes. How scary.

* * *

Saori's expression hardened as she turned to the pseudologist. "Do you have any ideas, Minori?"

The pseudologist shook his head slowly, fixing the scarf around his neck in the meantime. "Not exactly. The only thought that comes to mind is that it came from Sheina."

"True…" Saori thought for a second, then bit into her lips. "If it wasn't from her, then who else could it be?"

"I'm not sure." Minori frowned. "We'll have to ask the others about it then. I'm sure they might have some ideas, little or not."

Saori looked at Minori for a moment, then sighed and nodded her head. "Hopefully so. Well, other than the blood stains on Fumio's shirt, there's nothing else suspicious about his body. The rope doesn't strike me as anything odd either."

"Hm…" Minori glanced at Fumio's body, eyeing the rope around the scholar's neck. He bit into his lips as he placed a gentle hand on the scholar's shoulder. He couldn't help but feel a tang of guilt wash over him, his voice falling into a soft, "Oh Fumio, I'm sorry…"

Saori sighed, averting her gaze. "Yeah… that's all."

Noticing the slight melancholy in Saori's gaze, Minori nodded at her and stood up, giving her space. Given that she told him everything and how focused she was, he decided it was best to leave her be- she was feeling guilty as well, after all.

Before Minori could think about where to go next, he felt his MonoPad buzzing. He frowned and picked it up, opening it to see that one of the truth bullets was updated- confusingly enough, Minori never even thought about asking about it.

* * *

 **Testimonies (TENTATIVE)**

 **Summary:** Here are the list of testimonies for you.

1.) Kamui, after locking up Minori and Saori, left to prepare dinner. Oh my, and there he found Fumio who left. Apparently he had gotten a snack.

2.) Minori and Saori were held in the storage room. They were tied up, so they couldn't have escaped till Kamui or someone else released them.

* * *

 _Is this thing working correctly, or is Monokuma really being that nice enough to me to state the obvious?_ Nonetheless, Minori didn't want to think much about it- he had more important matters to tend to. Though, upon another second of thinking, he did wonder if anyone else were experiencing such a phenomenon. _Possibly._

Minori looked at Fumio's body, scanning for anything suspicious. Although he knew Saori wouldn't hide something from him, and especially since she had his memories, he wanted to make sure. He did a quick scan from where he stood, and he found nothing of interest. He did noted how Saori was stuck in a state of gloom, so he averted his eyes and focused his attention elsewhere.

 _I should talk to everyone first before looking through the room to find Sheina's weapon._ Minori glanced around the area, then realizing only Kamui and Saori were present. Hearing two other voices in the distance, he figured Sagiso and Kaniza were inside of the monochrome door's room- he walked inside and found his assumption held true.

"Oh, Minnie." Kaniza was the first to notice, her smile forced as she looked at the pseudologist. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Ah, yeah." Minori smiled softly. He then frowned and looked around the room. "Hm…"

Looking around the room, Minori noticed a few off, odd objects. The first thing he noticed in this supposedly spacious (or it would seem so) room was the red paint on the wall. From a simple glance, the pseudologist was immediately left unconscious as he looked at the paint on the wall- the red, red paint.

["REVEAL YOURSELF :D"]

* * *

 **Red Paint Message**

 **Summary:** Oh god, there's another red message inside of the monochrome door. It said, "REVEAL YOURSELF :D". Cute.

* * *

Minori bit into his lips, staring at the message on the wall. Other than its eeriness and shock factor, it was a strange placement to the pseudologist. Although he knew the perpetrator would paint messages on the walls around the school, to paint a message in the room here, faraway without any use anymore, it was peculiar. The pseudologist knew he found the room here of no use, and he hadn't painted or vandalized this room at all.

 _Maybe the perpetrator hadn't thought about this._ But, he knew, that was stupid. People were smarter than he imagined them to be, and given what Monokuma is able to do he couldn't help but shake his head.

 _But, who knows? Anything is possible, and even the most stupidest of choices are possible._

Minori bit into his lips. His head was aching. He didn't know why his ears were suddenly ringing, but it disappeared within seconds, right before he even had a chance to question it. It was gone, and he felt normal again.

A sigh escaped his lips, and he continued to look around the room. He looked near to where the red message was, but he saw nothing else suspicious. He looked to the back from where that wall was, then looking closely to find something in the ground. There, he found was a lens cap.

* * *

 **Lens Cap**

 **Summary:** There's a lens cap that was hanging parallel, far from the red paint message. Is this really that important? Am I just tricking you?

* * *

Minori walked over to the other side of the room, grabbing ahold of the cap. He eyed it curiously, observing it closely- there were no red paint marks, or blood, anywhere on the object. It was a simple, simple lens cap that was in a peculiar place, without any peculiar purpose.

 _Hm…_ Minori didn't know what to think about this. It was suspicious, yes, but at the same time it could've been mere coincidence. He slowly looked over to where Sagiso and Kaniza stood, and walked over.

"Hello," the pseudologist began, greeting the two women. "Is there anything suspicious here?"

"Other than the message on the wall? Well…" Sagiso looked down at Minori's hand, noticing the lens cap. "Yeah, you found everything. Good job."

Minori smiled softly, feeling happy from her compliment. "Yeah." He then frowned and crossed his arms. "Anyways, I want to ask about your and Kaniza's testimonies. Nonetheless, your thoughts on this whole matter."

"Ah, of course." Sagiso nodded. "I was alone in my room, to be honest. I was locked up in my room to write notes about this situation. I don't exactly have an alibi, sorry."

"No, it's fine." Minori smiled, reaching his hand over to pat the psychogeographer's shoulder. "I just needed to know everyone's testimony." He then looked over to Kaniza, watching the black-haired woman who gave him a careful gaze. "How about you?"

Kaniza bit into her lips, averting her gaze. She immediately began to play with her hair. "Honestly… I'm the same. I was holed up in my room, but it wasn't out of productivity like Sagi. I was just tired and wanted to sleep."

* * *

 **Testimonies**

 **Summary:** Here are the list of testimonies for you.

1.) Kamui, after locking up Minori and Saori, left to prepare dinner. Oh my, and there he found Fumio who left. Apparently he had gotten a snack.

2.) Minori and Saori were held in the storage room. They were tied up, so they couldn't have escaped till Kamui or someone else released them.

3.) Sagiso was alone in her room. Apparently she was writing some notes in her room about the perpetrator.

4.) Kaniza as well was holed up in her room. Wow, these are great testimonies. You can totally figure out who did it now.

* * *

"Oh." Minori instantly knew how much harder finding the killer would be with this information- there were a lack of alibis. He knew the woman was worried he was going to be agitated, so he quickly threw her a soft smile and scratched her head. "... I see. Well, that's fine then. We can still figure something out."

Minori watched the astrophotographer who smiled and nodded in return. The pseudologist thought back to everyone else he had talked to, then frowning as he felt something stinging. _Though… but now that I think about it, my head always hurts whenever I try to read someone. Fuck, is this Monokuma's doing…?_

"Anyways," the pseudologist began, changing the topic at hand, "do you have any ideas on what could've happened?"

"Maybe… maybe not?" Kaniza tapped onto her chin. "Ugh, weird… I felt like I had something, but my mind's blank… I know it was something about Fumio though?"

Sagiso sighed, pursing her lips. "I don't have any ideas, Minori. My head's blank at the moment."

"Really?" _But it looks like you two know something…_ Nonetheless, the pseudologist saw how frustrated the astrophotographer was pondering on what she had forgotten. It could've been fake, falsified, but it wasn't- he knew it was genuine. _Monokuma… what the fuck is happening?_

"Uh, I'm sure I'll have it soon." Kaniza blushed, embarrassed. "C-can I tell you about it later when I have it?"

"I mean…" Minori awkwardly smiled. "I guess? It can't be helped if you don't know."

 _Nonetheless, this happened to me with Kamui…_ The pseudologist held his breath, heart beating at a slightly quicker pace. He felt his stomach churning, his entire mind and body almost screaming at him that Monokuma was manipulating the Ultimates- something was wrong, and he didn't know what was happening. _Is he trying to stop us from figuring something out?_

Minori gulped, but kept his face steady. "Okay, other than that at hand, is there anything else that's on your mind?"

"Right." Sagiso pointed away, directing Minori and Kaniza's attention to the opened monochrome door. "If you didn't know, the door had been opened when we came to the crime scene."

"Yeah…?" Kaniza curiously looked over to the woman. "Why does that bother you?"

"It was completely open, and it rings a few bells to me." The woman bit into her lips, a hardened expression on her face. "If Fumio and Sheina were in the lottery room and killed each other, then they must've came out from this room for a reason before they got killed. It's either they killed each other after having a shuffle in this room, or someone killed the both of them… I don't know."

"Hm…" Minori frowned. "That is a good point."

* * *

 **Monochrome Door**

 **Summary:** The door to that one room is opened, completely. I wonder why?

* * *

Minori thought for a moment, but he didn't have anything concrete in mind. There was nothing in his head and he couldn't think. He looked around the room for another second then, but saw nothing. He pursed his lips, and decided it was time to head out the room.

He waved to the duo and stepped outside. It seemed like Kamui and Saori were discussing about the bodies, the duo's eyes pointing to the corpses. Minori bit into his lips, but continued to step inside. He had one thing in mind now, and that was to find Sheina's weapon.

He moved close to where Sheina's body was, and he stepped towards the pile of toys and objects. A sigh escaped his lips, and, holding his breath, he began digging. He dug through various objects- through the shovels, the basketballs and hoops and footballs, the game consoles and video games, the stuffed toys… He continued to search for about more than a few minutes before he felt his fingers grazing against something sharp.

He winced, immediately retracting his hand back. He frowned as he noticed his fingers bleeding. A sigh escaped his lips as he ignored it, looking back to where he last looked at. There, he found himself grabbing ahold of an axe- a bloody, bloody axe. He bit into his lips, observing the axe closely. _So, this is the weapon…_

* * *

 **Axe**

 **Summary:** Surprisingly, you found the axe which was hidden in the pile of toys and shit. Of course, the sharp edges of the axe and its iron has blood all over it.

* * *

"Minori?" The pseudologist looked back to find Saori and Kamui eyeing him. "What's that? Is that… the weapon…?"

Minori nodded his head slowly, observing the bloody axe. He bit into his lips as he noticed the amount of blood sprayed and stained on the weapon. "Yeah, it is."

Saori walked over to the pseudologist and grabbed ahold of the axe. She frowned as she observed it. "Hm…"

Kamui looked over to Saori and Minori, moving to the side to eye the axe. "Uh…" He awkwardly smiled as a second passed, his eyes looking over to the duo. "I'm surprised you two can hold it considering what the truth bullet said about how Sheina died."

"What? Oh, shit." Minori quickly grabbed ahold of the axe. He frowned as he began to realize how light it was to him, almost finding himself able to toss and throw the axe around with ease. He swung it away from the duo, and it was quite easy to commit such a feat. "Hm… Kamui, can you try holding it?"

"Huh? Oh, sure." Kamui reached for the pseudologist's hand. The pseudologist reached the axe out, and the moment he let go of it, Kamui's body immediately slouched down and the axe stabbed straight into the floor. He yelped as he jumped back. "I-it's heavy…"

"What? Give me that." Saori grabbed ahold of the axe, however the moment she stabbed it out from the floor, she dropped it and it fell straight back down. "What the-?! It's so heavy now…?"

Minori reached down to grab at the axe, but what Kamui and Saori said were right- it was heavy now. He tried, with all of his might, to bring it up, but it didn't work. It didn't move an inch nor did it budge- it was now stuck, dead on the ground. _This isn't good…_

And he knew it wasn't completely good. He looked over to the duo. "I'm pretty sure Monokuma's altering our perceptions of things."

"This makes everything harder though," Saori mumbled, huffing underneath her breath. "The killer could be anyone if this is the case."

Before the pseudologist could say anything, his MonoPad buzzed and rumbled. Minori quickly took out his device and eyed what was on the screen.

* * *

 **The Obvious**

 **Summary:** Okay, thing is, remember: Monokuma is messing with everyone's personalities and whatever. Who fucking knows what else Monokuma's planning right now? Maybe this murder was made because of him, who fucking knows. Do you fucking know?

Also, maybe you already know. Who the fuck cares? I honestly should've just not give out truth bullets and just make you all write shit down instead. Fuck you all. Also, I am totally not Monokuma here speaking. Totally not.

* * *

 _What…?_ Minori gulped. He had no idea what Monokuma was planning, and he felt like he could never know. He would never be able to understand Monokuma, and right now he was finding himself unable to understand what the bear was thinking- especially with another truth bullet appearing and popping on his screen.

* * *

 **Motive**

 **Summary:** The motive is basically people getting each other's backstories. They cannot tell anyone who has whose backstory unless… yeah, whatever. You bitches like to complain about the tiniest details.

* * *

And, even before Minori could register what to think or do next, the bell suddenly rang.

 _Ding dong ding dong!_

It was sudden. It was abrupt, and static was heard, playing softly in contrast to that high-pitched, obnoxious voice.

"Bitches, you guys are taking too long for this easy case. Come to the auditorium already and get your shit together, ignorant little shits."

The announcement ended, and the bell ceased.

Silence was heard throughout the room- well, it would've been silence if it weren't for that eerie carnival music playing in different tunes and beats. Creepy, creepy, creepy.

"He…" Kamui gulped. "He sounds frustrated."

"That's not a good sign." Saori crossed her arms, frowning. She looked around the room, looking over to Sagiso and Kaniza who slowly came out from their room. "We haven't even searched outside of this room."

Kamui raised a hand up, suggesting with a nervous smile, "Maybe we already found everything?"

"He better," Sagiso scoffed, walking to the others. "It's unfair if he doesn't let us find everything we could."

"He already cheats though," the body broker countered. "He does whatever he wants simply to spite on us, remember?"

The auburn haired woman was silent, but slowly nodded her head. "Yeah, true."

"Let's not worry about it." Kaniza quickly threw the group a sweet smile. "I'm sure we'll be able to solve this. We always do."

"I just want this all to end," Kamui murmured, pursing his lips. "There's so few of us left…"

Sagiso frowned. "Let's go to the auditorium. Monokuma's probably waiting for us already, and I don't want us to make him wait. He's really impatient."

"R-right."

Everyone went silent, and slowly, one by one, they began to move out. Minori looked at the Ultimates who left, then looking around the room. He bit into his lips as he eyed Fumio and Sheina's bodies. He felt like he saw something changing, turning into a color unknown to him, but after he blinked it was nothing- everything was the same. He thought for a moment, but then quickly shook his head and moved out of the room.

He followed the group straight into the auditorium, and there, like always, stood the elevators. Sagiso took a step forward to press the button, and the doors opened, urging them inside- straight, straight to Hell. The group took a look at one another, almost begging for someone to step forward. The moment one did, which took a few seconds of silence and swallowing, everyone immediately went inside and the doors closed.

A rumble was heard underneath the group, and they were immediately sent down.

Minori held his breath. He didn't know why, but he felt his head stinging. Something was ringing danger at him, and yet he didn't know why. He felt like something was off with the air within the space of the elevator, yet he knew that wasn't it- he felt this same feeling during the crime scene. Something was wrong.

The doors opened with a ding.

Monokuma was on his throne, looking down at the Ultimates, both literally and figuratively, and threw them a cold sneer.

"Everything's already been thrown at you, y'know? Oh, right, I did forget something though."

Everyone's MonoPads buzzed. In synchronization, everyone took their devices out and read what was on their screens.

Minori released a nervous breath of air as he eyed his own, noting two extra bullets at the bottom of the list.

* * *

 **Motive - Specifics**

 **Summary:** Minori and Saori has each other's backstories. Totally not suspicious at all.

* * *

 **Minori's Proposal**

 **Summary:** Aww, Minnie! You were the one who made everyone suffer with your motive idea.

* * *

Minori gritted his teeth as he read the last truth bullet at the bottom. He hated how the bear was mocking him, and he wanted nothing more than to rip Monokuma's existent (or nonexistent) guts out.

"Is this really needed?" Sagiso asked, looking over to Monokuma with a cold glare. "I feel like… uh…"

Monokuma smirked at the sudden confusion on the woman's face. "Yeah, I know, you don't know shit."

"You're messing with us again." What Saori said was blunt, her expression cold and hardened. "What are you planning this time?"

"Just call it an experiment. Whatever you guys prefer." Monokuma yawned, kicking his legs out. "Anyways, anyways, please go to your assigned seats and let's get this show started. I want to see you all suffer already, so hurry up."

"Wait." Kamui frowned. "Are you telling us that you stopped the investigation because you were bored?"

"The same shit always happens, so yeah, basically." Monokuma chuckled. "Why? Did you need more time to contemplate your dying wishes?"

The mortician clenched into his fists. "Bastard."

"You're gonna say the same ol' shit, death loving bitch." The bear sighed. "Go, go, go to your assigned seats. I have everything set up, so don't be fucking retards and just stand there. Go!"

Everyone was shocked, but quickly dashed over to their seats.

Minori placed his MonoPad to the table, then looking around the room. There, he saw Fumio and Sheina's portraits, each one of them crossed with blood red paint. It always sickened Minori to his stomach to see Monokuma mock the dead, but he had more pressing matters to tend to-

-his hurting head.

No, most importantly, this trial at hand.

 _Right… we're in a trial. We need to solve Sheina and Fumio's case._

The pseudologist gulped, bringing a hand to his forehead. It wasn't hot at all, yet it was burning. He felt like his cheeks and neck were red, but from how people lacked the care to look at him, that wasn't the case. Something was off, and Minori had a horrible…

… horrible feeling something was going to go wrong.

"Alright then." Monokuma's voice was strangely calm, though his devious smile was still plastered on his face. "Let's get this shit started."

* * *

Hello! And this is it for the investigation! You may or may not have any ideas of what's happening or who killed our victims, but that's fine. That's why we have the trial chapters! Anyways, I have posted up the poll for who you think is the killer, so go ahead and vote there if you want!

Like always, here are some recommendations for SYOCs:

 **Danganronpa: The Pitiful Plague Called Ignorance** by RioA (which is me, wink wink)

 **Danganronpa: Remnants of My Heart** by Prince PokePersona

 **Fogbound Castaways** by Sharkeye

 **Danganronpa: Final Flight** by Shirasaur

That is all for now! I'll see you all next time, straight into the trial!


	46. Chapter 5 - Part 2, Part B

Hello, and I am here with the first part of the trial for our fifth case! This one was a bit tricky for me to write since it's a bit... well, different than how I usually make trials. Don't worry, you'll see.

 **Ziggymia123:** "Aww, don't worry Ziggy, I'm sure your going to smash those truth bullets with ease! Yes, aren't we all sick of making detailed stuff, haha. Monokuma is nothing more than a bear, totally. Conspiracy theories are fun, and that would mean Seiga is alive, woo! Ooh, that is an interesting theory. Monokuma is a bitch, let's admit that. Hm, I don't know. Oof, it's fine, I can tell it's you from your reviewing style ;)"

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Haha, I know right, it's been a while. No, it's called taking random guesses and being right~ Monokuma is my favorite devious and snarky bear, better than Watari, lol. Yay, potent threats! Sarcastic remarks are the best. Oof, poor Fumio indeed. Everyone has horrible alibis, let's save them. Axes are amazing weapons, lol. Monokuma is a ho. Aww, thanks!"

 **Emma2448:** "Complicated things are the best, hehe. Too many theories, oof. Oh my, interesting theories about the summary, haha. Organizations are fun to talk about. Memories are also fun to ruin or keep or destroy. Maybe, maybe, well, we'll see... hopefully."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Cheeky tones are amazing, huh? I'm tired of this story, oof, just kidding, maybe. Aww, thanks!"

 **FruitlessKitty_74:** "Yaaay, insanity! How fun. Yes, sassy sassy. Yes, let's wait for all those juicy reactions!"

 **KISL:** "Hello, Kii~ Marathoning things are fun, but aish it brings more pain and suffering. Saori and Minori will be great suffering buddies, yes. Calculative and manipulative, basically. Well, it's not like there aren't consequences, haha. I love them smiley faces :) Yay, two victims! Ooh, interesting theory. That's another good theory too, haha, makes me wonder if you're right. Maybe he knows, maybe he doesn't. Oooh, that's interesting to think about. Maybe, maybe. Long reviews are juicy, heh. Aww, thanks! I love you."

* * *

There was obviously something off within the minds of the Ultimates. That was obvious, yet sadly no one knew what was off. All that everyone could worry about was the trial at hand now, and the fact that Monokuma was waiting for them to begin.

Minori quickly opened his device and checked through his truth bullets. He needed to make sure he had at least an idea, small or not, on what happened. He had to do this- he didn't want to disappoint Fumio.

* * *

 **List of Truth Bullets**

 **Case File #006 -** The victim of this case is the Ultimate Scholar, Fumio Fujiyoshi. Aww, you all must've cared for him that much, huh? Well, I don't, but I'll get on with this and tell you what's up: Fumio has died inside of the MonoLottery room at 6:49 PM by suffocation. He was choked to death with a rope tied around his neck.

 **Case File #007 -** Oh, right, I forgot she died. The victim other than Fumio was Sheina Yakamuro, the Ultimate Egyptologist. So, she died in the MonoLottery room at 6:46 PM through having her head torn open. It may or may not have been a clean strike, but who knows? None of you guys are that powerful, let's be honest here.

 **Kamui's Letter -** Roses are red, violets are blue, and fuck you. Anyways, Kamui has gotten a letter that's definitely suspicious. It reads the following:

["Dear Kamui,

Can you please meet me in the music room before lunch, possibly before 5? I want to talk to you about something important. You better come too. I don't want to drag you out there myself! Also, don't tell anyone about this! If you do, I definitely have something cooked up for them!

Sincerely, A friend :)]

Woah, like that's totally not suspicious. Is something wrong here? Definitely, but I won't tell you, my sweet angel of destruction.

 **Blood Stains -** Woah, there's a few recent blood stains on Fumio's clothes. How scary.

 **Axe -** Surprisingly, you found the axe which was hidden in the pile of toys and shit. Of course, the sharp edges of the axe and its iron has blood all over it.

 **Monochrome Door -** The door to that one room is opened, completely. I wonder why?

 **Red Paint Message -** Oh god, there's another red message inside of the monochrome door. It said, "REVEAL YOURSELF :D". Cute.

 **Lens Cap -** There's a lens cap that was hanging parallel, far from the red paint message. Is this really that important? Am I just tricking you?

 **The Obvious -** Okay, thing is, remember: Monokuma is messing with everyone's personalities and whatever. Who fucking knows what else Monokuma's planning right now? Maybe this murder was made because of him, who fucking knows. Do you fucking know?

Also, maybe you already know. Who the fuck cares? I honestly should've just not give out truth bullets and just make you all write shit down instead. Fuck you all. Also, I am totally not Monokuma here speaking. Totally not.

 **Motive -** The motive is basically people getting each other's backstories. They cannot tell anyone who has whose backstory unless… yeah, whatever. You bitches like to complain about the tiniest details.

 **Testimonies** \- Here are the list of testimonies for you.

1.) Kamui, after locking up Minori and Saori, left to prepare dinner. Oh my, and there he found Fumio who left. Apparently he had gotten a snack.

2.) Minori and Saori were held in the storage room. They were tied up, so they couldn't have escaped till Kamui or someone else released them.

3.) Sagiso was alone in her room. Apparently she was writing some notes in her room about the perpetrator.

4.) Kaniza as well was holed up in her room. Wow, these are great testimonies. You can totally figure out who did it now.

* * *

Minori could've looked through the bullets for a second time, but he flinched at the sound of metal clanking against metal. The pseudologist whipped his head to Monokuma, the bear suddenly having a scepter in hand and banging it against the sudden metal platform beneath him. The monochrome bear was sighing.

"Hurry up, hurry up." Monokuma's expression was that of apathy, expression blank. "We don't have all day. I want to see your pitiful faces already."

"You're so sadistic." Sagiso gritted her teeth.

"Yeah, stating the obvious?" Monokuma rolled his eyes. "Wow, I never knew I was sadistic. Say something better next time, my little flower."

"That's so disgusting." The woman's eyebrows furrowed. Her fists were clenched, and her face was red. "I swear I'm going to hit you."

"Pfft, yeah, sure." Monokuma smirked. "If you wanna die, that is, go ahead."

"Wha-?" Sagiso's eyes widened, and she quickly averted her gaze and scoffed. "Tsk. Fine then."

"Well…" Saori warily looked at everyone present in the courtroom. "I guess we'll have to start the trial. Does anyone want to bring something up? If not, I'll start."

Kamui adjusted the hair tie around his ponytail. He bobbed his head back and forth before clearing his throat and asking, "I want to ask- Sheina and Fumio are the victims, right?" He quickly then brought his hands up. "I-I know it sounds stupid, but my mind is beginning to become fuzzy or something… Ah, I'm so sorry, please, just continue."

"The fuck?" The psychogeographer looked worriedly at the mortician, but slowly heeded his words and turned to Saori. "What did you want to discuss about then?"

Saori bit into her lips, feeling the woman's gaze upon her. She couldn't help but steal a glance to Fumio's portrait, then flushing her face and saying, "Well, uh… The basics, I guess."

"Uhh, obviously." Sagiso rolled her eyes, but pursed her lips and sighed. "So, let's talk about the truth bullets, because it's obviously worded differently."

"Differently?" Kaniza gulped. "You mean because of what the bullets said. They sound so rude and sarcastic…"

Minori curiously looked over to the monochrome bear, ignoring the overt fact that he was drinking, like always, a cup of martini. "Is there a reason for this?"

Monokuma eyed the pseudologist before smirking, speaking in honeyed voices, "Does it matter? Do you feel that godlike that you can count on me to answer everything? You're so cute. Just so, so cute."

The pseudologist bit into his lips. _That obviously means no._ He quickly shook his head and focused his attention back to the group, clearing his throat. "Let's talk about how Sheina and Fumio died then. I think that's a good start. We always try to go over the basics anyways."

"True…" Kaniza smiled awkwardly at the group. "I think that should be fine then, right?"

"We're not dumb enough to not know the basics," Sagiso bluntly remarked, crossing her arms. "But, it is good to review, so let's do it."

Kamui nervously scratched his head. "Yeah, alright then…"

Minori held his breath, grabbing ahold of his MonoPad and keeping it close to him. He felt sweat trickling down from his forehead, and his lips pursed. _Let's see._

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Case File #006 | Case File #007 | Axe | Monochrome Door | The Obvious**

 **Sagiso:** Apparently from what the case files are telling us, _**Sheina died first**_.

 **Kamui:** True, but I do want to ask- how are we sure Monokuma isn't lying to us?

 **Saori:** It's getting really difficult if that's the case then. _**Monokuma's not that stupid**_.

 **Minori:** Okay, then let's not-

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: The Obvious-**

 **Sagiso:** You're wrong!

 **BREAK?**

* * *

Minori flinched as Sagiso's voice boomed. He looked over to the woman in complete and utter bafflement. "Uh, Sagiso? What's wrong?"

Kaniza was still for a moment, silent. She slowly then gulped as she tried to reach a hand, a slightly shaky hand, to the psychogeographer. "Sagi…? Are you okay?"

Sagiso simply stood her ground, eyebrows furrowed. She stared at the body broker with a bemused expression, lips pursed. It took seconds. Slow, long seconds, and then she opened her mouth and said, "It's obvious that Monokuma would do something. He's definitely the type to make things difficult for us."

Saori frowned, eyeing the woman. "Yeah, and? Are you trying to nitpick everything I say then?"

The psychogeographer shook her head. "No, I'm only stating what is factual. Sure, you might be right, but at the same time we can't just negate the possibility that Monokuma would do shit like that."

"Yeah, sure." The body broker sighed. "I can't argue with that."

"Okay…" Kamui awkwardly looked at Saori and Sagiso, giving them side glances. "I mean, excuse me if it sounds rude, but even if we have discussed this possibility, it really doesn't mean much in the overall picture. It doesn't lead us to who killed Fumio and Sheina."

Sagiso eyed the mortician for a moment, then scoffing and averting her gaze. "I mean, if that's what you think, sure."

"Sagi…" Kaniza threw the woman a worried expression. Sweat was trickling down from her forehead. "What's wrong with you…?"

"Well, let's just put that aside for now," Minori said, quickly asserting leadership into the conversation. He looked at the group with a stern expression, keeping his composure steady and lips pursed. "What we need to discuss right now is who killed Fumio and Sheina, and how everything went down, right?"

"Right…" Saori blinked. For a second, she looked slightly dazed, confused. "Right."

Kamui raised a hand, eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, who died first again?"

Kaniza frowned. "I-it's Sheina."

"Oh, right!" The mortician awkwardly laughed. "Oops, sorry about that. I blanked out again."

Minori stared at the mortician worriedly, then eyed the others. He couldn't help but gulp. Something was wrong- that was obvious. "... What's listed down in the case files are the basics- that Sheina died first, that she had her head bashed in, Fumio was suffocated, etc. Given from the truth bullets we- no, I have, I cannot pinpoint who is guilty immediately. So, I want to suggest something- can we go over the alibis and testimonies we have?"

"The testimonies?" Sagiso's expression immediately calmed and turned to slight confusion. She cupped her chin and folded her arms, thinking. "Most of us weren't around each other though."

"False testimonies are a thing," Minori mused, eyeing the auburn-haired woman. "If there's something off, then we can easily press them for more information."

"Hm…" The woman thought for a moment, then slowly nodding her head. "Alright then, who starts?"

Kamui awkwardly laughed. "Well, to be honest, I did have something to do involving Minori and Saori."

"Something?" Kaniza worriedly turned to the mortician, hands cupped together. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well…"

* * *

 **NoNSTop DeBaTE?1? 3**

 **Trbuth Buleslets: ERROR ERROR ERROR**

 **Kamui:** Most of you were all alone, correct?

 **Kaniza:** Yes? If you're saying that to Sagi and I while ignoring Minnie and Saori, then _**yes, you're right…**_

 **Sagiso:** What is this about?

 **Minori:** I…

 **Saori:** Minori? _**Are you okay?**_

 **Minori:** … Sorry, my head is hurting. It's nothing special.

 **Kaniza:** Minnie?

 **Kamui:** Well, considering my testimony, I have to admit something- I held _**Minori and Saori**_ hostage.

 **Sagiso:** Wait, what? What the hell?

 **Kaniza:** Why? Why would you do something like that?

 **Kamui:** I was afraid. I… I was worried about the perpetrator, and so when I saw Minori and Saori, I thought they were the perpetrators and were working together, so I knocked them out.

 **Sagiso:** Why would you do that though?

 **Kamui:** … I-I had something. I had something, I had something…

 **Saori:** Are you okay?

 **-NOTHING IS SELECTED-**

 **Minori:** Stop it right there! This isn't right!

 **YOU DIDN'T BREAK ANYTHING**

* * *

Minori felt his head aching. Something was burning, causing him to wince. He had to fight through this burning sensation, shaking his head as he stared into Kamui's eyes. He looked at him for a moment, then throwing his hands out and expressing loudly, "Kamui knocked me and Saori out and tied us up in the storage room. We were knocked unconscious, so when the body discovery announcement sounded, we couldn't do anything till Kamui untied us."

"Minnie?" Kaniza gulped and worriedly looked over to Kamui. She knew there was something wrong, and her eyes began to become watery as she fearfully asked, "But why?"

Minori bit into his lips. Something was wrong, and everyone was beginning to forget everything. He threw Monokuma a cold glare, in which the bear simply smirked at him.

This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair at all and Monokuma should know that. He clicked underneath his tongue. He couldn't fight.

* * *

 **PRESENT THE EVIDENCE**

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Kamui's Letter-**

 **Minori:** This is the answer!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori crossed his arms as he stared down the astrophotographer. "The perpetrator wanted to scout out Kamui for some reason."

Kaniza's eyes widened as she looked at the letter. She gulped as she looked over to Sagiso, letting the auburn haired woman speak.

"This is definitely suspicious." Sagiso looked over to Saori and Minori, keeping her gaze steady and firm. "Were you two just caught in the moment then?"

Minori awkwardly smiled. "Well…"

"I got it." Saori calmly stated. She raised a hand, taking over for the pseudologist. She cleared her throat and remained calm, tapping her foot on the ground. She looked at Sagiso keenly before explaining for herself and Minori, saying, "Minori and I came up with a plan to throw off the perpetrator. By assuming the role of perpetrators ourselves, we planted fake messages around the school to scare the perpetrator off, or for Minori to gauge your reactions. We accidentally bumped into Kamui throughout our work, and so he assumed we were the perpetrators and promptly captured us."

"Y-yeah." Kamui nervously scratched his head. "And because of the letter, I was afraid of being killed so I prepared myself to chloroform the perpetrator." He quickly bowed his head to Minori. "I'm sorry about that." He then turned to Saori. "And I am sincerely sorry for injuring you."

Saori scoffed, turning away. "It's fine."

Minori quickly shook his head and smiled. "I'm fine with it. It's not your fault at all."

"Hm… if that's the case, then Minori and Saori aren't guilty, nor are either of them the perpetrator." Sagiso bit into her lips. "However, the letter does bring concern."

"Yeah." Kaniza gulped. "But… Uh, Kamui, what were you doing after you captured Minnie and Saori though?"

"Ah, right." Kamui scratched his head, forcing himself to stay steady and composed. He breathed in, and then out. He smiled softly. "I left to prepare dinner. I didn't want to look suspicious if I just watched over Minori and Saori, so I went to prepare dinner. I always prepared dinner since days ago, so… I just didn't want anyone to be suspicious, and I thought those two sent me the letter, so I thought I was in the clear."

Sagiso frowned. "And you didn't think about telling me or Kaniza? Or even Fumio and Sheina for that matter?"

Kamui's eyes widened. "I… I was too scared about telling anyone. Besides, I… I wanted to know for myself even if I captured them. I was going to pry them for information later anyways…"

The psychogeographer shook her head, expression stern as she stared into Kamui's eyes. "Even if that was the case, it would've been obvious those two were missing if we had ate dinner, right? You would've had to admit what you did sooner or later."

The mortician averted his gaze, lips pursed. "I… I guess you have a point. I wasn't in the right state of mind during that time, I suppose."

Sagiso threw him a worried look, but shook her head again and kept herself steady. She instead switched the topic, asking, "Do you know why the perpetrator sent the letter to you?"

Kamui's eyes widened. "No… Why?"

"You're specifically the perpetrator's target," Saori answered, taking over Sagiso's role. "We never gotten a letter except for you. We don't even know if Fumio or Sheina got a letter either."

"Fumio did get one," Kaniza murmured, cupping her chin. "But, that wasn't from today… Hm… Maybe the perpetrator was sending letters to each person individually within each day? Fumio got his yesterday, and Kamui got his today?"

"That sounds plausible." Sagiso nodded her head. "If that's the case, then the perpetrator was targeting people randomly…"

Kamui frowned, face hardening. "Is there a reason why Fumio was targeted first?"

"Alphabetically, for one thing." Sagiso threw a hand out. "If we went alphabetically, it would be Fumio, you, Kaniza, Minori, me, Saori, and then Sheina."

"I mean…" Kaniza awkwardly scratched her head and laughed. "It sounds about right, but it doesn't feel right at the same time…"

"That does not make sense," Saori bluntly said, shutting down the astrophotographer who flinched. The body broker threw the raven a saddened look afterwards, knowing she scared her off. Saori quickly cleared her throat and spoke up, "But, even with that, we don't know who the perpetrator is, or even if they're the ones who killed Fumio and Sheina."

Kamui raised a brow. "Should we talk about who the perpetrator is then, or move on?"

Saori slowly nodded her head, contemplating. She wasn't sure and she turned to Minori. She bit into her lips as she noticed the pseudologist who was silent, thinking to himself. He seemed to be deep in thought.

Deep in thought? No, it looked more like he was forcibly thrown into a comatose state.

The woman slowly looked over to Monokuma who was simply eyeing his claws, almost gawking at the sight of them. He was a strange beast, but a malicious and sadistic one. She had no idea why he forcibly threw the Ultimates into this unfair situation- the lack of truth bullets and testimonies, but she couldn't reject what he ordered. He would've punished them severely if they didn't listen, after all.

Sagiso slowly looked over to the group. "... I say we discuss about why Sheina and Fumio were killed in such a short amount of time, and why they were inside of the MonoLottery room together."

"A-ah, right." Kaniza shook a bit- Saori assumed it was because of the similarities between this case and the one involving Kakuma and Nezumi. Kaniza had woken up inside of the room where her boyfriend was killed, after all.

Kamui held his breath. "That's fine with me."

* * *

 **ITS NORMAL: NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Kamui's Letter | Blood Stain | Red Paint Message | Lens Cap**

 **Sagiso:** So… we're going to discuss about the reason why Fumio and Sheina were killed in such a short time span, and why in the same room.

 **Saori:** We cannot exclude the possibility of someone _**accidentally walking in a murder**_ taking place.

 **Kaniza:** T-true… But why would someone die in the lottery room? We never use that place much anymore…

 **Kamui:** Maybe the killer _**lured**_ the victim there? Like with my case to the music room.

 **Sagiso:** Through what? Blackmail? A letter? If it's a letter, then we _**haven't found one**_ on the victim's body.

 **Saori:** I mean, Monokuma did _**cut time short**_ this time.

 **Sagiso:** Okay, I actually agree with you there, but it's really hard to not blame Monokuma for everything… It makes everything so much more complex too.

 **Kaniza:** Hmm… Well, is there a chance that maybe Fumio and Sheina _**fought**_?

 **Kamui:** Hm? What do you mean by that, Kaniza?

 **Kaniza:** I'm not sure, but since we can't exclude all possibilities, this just came to my head… I don't know, it sounds stupid, ignore me…

 **Sagiso:** Kaniza… It doesn't sound that stupid, promise.

 **Saori:** Maybe…

 **Saori:** _My head is coming to a blank. Why is it coming to a blank? I feel like I had something…_

 **Kamui:** Well, does anyone else have some other ideas? I honestly cannot find any reason to believe that Sheina and Fumio didn't die for a purpose.

 **Sagiso:** Obviously not. You still have to consider the motive. That _**played a role**_ , after all.

 **Kaniza:** That's true…

 **Kamui:** Yes, I believe that's true too, but then what would it be?

 **Saori:** … _I seriously felt like I had something, but why can't I remember it? What the hell? I can't remember what it was…_

 **-ERROR Truth Bullet Selected: Blood Stains ERROR-**

 **Minori:** The answer's obvious!

 **BREAK?**

* * *

Saori's eyes widened as she whipped her head over to Minori. The pseudologist had been quiet for the past few minutes, so to hear him scream and look at the group with those fiery dark green eyes of his shocked her. "M-Minori…?"

It was obvious something was wrong. Minori's face was pale and it looked like he had been sweating profusely. Something was wrong, and Saori didn't know what to do about it. Was she suffering the same thing he was suffering, or was it something else? All she knew is that she couldn't find the words to say, but to Minori, she wasn't sure what his problem was. It wasn't anything good, that was all she knew.

"Kaniza's right!" Minori cried out, though it sounded like he was in excruciating pain. "I- the blood stains-! … Shit, Monokuma's-"

"Oops, and that's it for him."

Saori saw Minori falling to the ground, instantly blacking out. She was unsure of what to do as Sagiso and the others ran over to his side, immediately expressing their concerns and pleas.

Sagiso immediately placed her hand on his forehead. "He's hot?!" She gritted her teeth and turned to the bear. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

"Making things fun." Monokuma smirked, continuing to toy with his claws and gawk at it. He wiggled them around for a while before finally looking down to Sagiso and the others, laughing. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

"You better tell us what the hell is wrong with him!" Sagiso cried, balling her hands into fists. Anger was obvious in her face, entirely red. "What are you doing? This isn't fair!"

"Well…" Monokuma thought for a moment, then chuckling maliciously. "Let's just say we want to experiment a bit with everyone. We've never tried this sort of thing before, so you guys are the first to experience this."

Kaniza gulped, face whitening. "Experience what?"

"Nothing that big." Monokuma shrugged, though it was obvious he was amused and entertained. "Since you guys made it so far to whittle down to like so few of you, we just want to reward you with more obstacles!"

Sagiso felt her entire body heating up, her face becoming red. She was ready to attack and charge at the bear, and she would've it if weren't for Kaniza and Kamui holding her back. "Why us though? Why are you doing it to us?"

The bear chuckled. "Nothing that big. You guys are just really interesting. We just want to mess with you all."

Kamui gritted his teeth. "And that means forcibly ending the investigation, tarnishing the trial, and messing with our brains? And I thought it couldn't get worse after what you did to make Seiga kill Rin…!"

"You guys are the one stalling." The bear's smirk widened. "The person who even had a grasp of the basics right now was Minnie, but it's a shame he blacked out. He actually had a lot of information you guys would've loved to hear… A lot of juicy, juicy information~"

Kaniza shook her head, teary. "T-that's obviously because of you!"

The black-and-white bear shrugged. "Well, who cares? I know shit as well, and the killer does as well. You guys all know shit too, so if you all work together I'm sure you'll figure out who killed Fumio and Sheina."

 _He's right._ Saori held her breath. They were, and still are, currently in a trial. They were supposed to solve the case of Sheina and Fumio, yet everything was stalling and turning into chaos. She knew they wouldn't be able to do anything like this.

… _Besides, I couldn't even apologize to Fumio properly, and I lost my chance._ Saori's heart sunk as she thought about this, and she couldn't help but hate herself even more for it.

 _Still, that doesn't excuse me from quitting right here and now. I made it this far and I saw so many people die. Even if their souls peacefully reached the afterlife, it was too early for them to die. It's too early for me to just quit right now… everyone's waiting for me back home._

Saori slammed her fists into the podium. Everything immediately went to silence. Heads whipped and looked over to her. The body broker stared at the group for a moment. She heaved in a deep breath of air, calming herself down. One. Two. Three. She felt her body composing itself as she felt a surge of confidence raining through her.

"We need to figure out who killed Fumio and Sheina," she loudly proclaimed, face entirely firm and still. "We can blame Monokuma all we want and worry about Minori later, but we need to work together and figure out who killed them."

Kaniza gulped, staring shockingly at the body broker. "Saori…"

"From what I can see, we seem to be losing our words throughout this discussion." Saori folded her arms. "I'm sure we can solve this case despite that. We just need to work together and cooperate, like we've done before."

Everyone, just about everyone was staring at her. Everyone stared at her for a while before slowly registering what she said. They slowly began to move, nodding their heads.

"Um…" Kamui quickly stumbled to his feet. "R-right. She's… Yeah, she's right."

Sagiso worriedly looked down at Minori's unconscious body. "Uh, right, but, uh, should we just lie him here or…?"

"Oh, yeah." Kaniza turned to eye the bear on his throne. "Um, what do we do?"

Monokuma grinned as he looked at the woman. He pointed his glass straight at her, ignoring the droplets of martini that fell to the cold ground. "Just leave him. It's not like I'll let him sleep on some luxurious mattress while you guys suffer. I'm not that biased."

Saori threw him a disgusted look, but quickly turned to focus on the task at hand. She watched as everyone slowly went back to their seats. Uneasiness continued to fill the room, and Saori held her breath. She had to resume this trial. "Alright, so what were we talking about previously?"

"Well…" Kaniza cupped her hands together. She was now currently rubbing her fingers, back and forth. "Minnie apparently agreed with what I said, I think… Something about the blood stains relating to Sheina and Fumio having fought."

"What about the blood stains though?" Sagiso raised a brow. "I don't see the connection."

Saori thought for a moment, thinking to herself. A moment of silence inside of her head before her eyes widened. "Oh, it's because the blood stains didn't come from Fumio."

"They weren't from Fumio?" Sagiso frowned. "Are you sure about that?"

The body broker nodded. "There weren't any wounds on Fumio other than the rope burns around his neck, right?"

Kaniza slowly nodded her head, bobbing it up and down. "Yeah, that's right…"

"The blood was on Fumio's clothes, and those clothes didn't come from anywhere on Fumio's body. He wasn't bleeding at all aside from the burns." Saori kept herself steady, breathing in, out, in, out. "Thus, the blood must've come from someplace else… and the most logical reason would have to be from Sheina."

"W-wait a second though." Kamui gulped. "Does that really implied that they fought? The killer could've easily just mishandled Sheina's body and caused some to spill on Fumio."

Saori shook her head. That was obviously not the answer, and she knew why:

* * *

 **WOOOOOOO THINKING TIME**

 **Question: Why do the blood stains relate to the idea that Fumio and Sheina fought? :D**

 **A. The blood stains' color are similar to Sheina's blood color.**

 **B. It doesn't, nevermind, next question.**

 **C. Because the killer isn't that stupid.**

 **[D. The killer would've gotten blood spilled on themself then.]**

 **Saori:** _This is the right one!_

 **BREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!**

* * *

"It's because if the killer had killed Sheina, their clothes would be bloody." Saori frowned, folding her arms now. "I know it doesn't sound that concrete, but it would take a while for the killer to hide their bloody clothes then, wash their face, change, and make sure no one saw them throughout the entire process."

Kamui bit into his lips. "I mean… Yeah, I suppose you do have a point there."

The body broker nodded her head slowly. "It might be possible, but I doubt the killer would really want to take that risk."

"I guess. But, why would Fumio and Sheina fight though?" Sagiso now asked, baffled. "It's strange to think about that."

Kamui perked his head up. "Unless one of them was targeting the other for a specific reason? Most likely relating to the motive."

"Hm, but if it's Sheina knowing of Fumio's past, or vice versa, there shouldn't be much to discuss." The psychogeographer frowned. "Unless one of them was the mastermind, that is."

"Yeah, but if the mastermind died, then this game would be over." Saori bit into her lips, eyeing the other woman. She felt her head slightly aching, stinging. "But, I can think of a few other reasons why they would fight."

"Really?" Kaniza's eyes widened. "Like what?"

 _Well… unfortunately for you, it's beginning to fly- fleet? Yeah, it's fleeting away from my memories._ Saori bit into her lips. _Nonetheless, I'm the one who said we should cooperate, so…_

"Let's talk about it."

* * *

 **IS IT A DEBATE?**

 **Truth Bullets: IF YOU KNOW YOU DON'T NEED THIS FUCKING KNOW-IT-ALL :)**

 **Saori:** Unfortunately, my memory is hindering me from speaking much since I _**don't remember**_ , but…

 **Saori:** Well, I do know it concerns the idea that it was _**accidental**_.

 **Kaniza:** Huh? But we said that they fought?

 **Saori:** Even if they had fought, Sheina or Fimio could've accidentally walked in on the other doing something inappropriate.

 **Kamui:** I see. So… Erm, then we can also assume the person who was first inside the MonoLottery room was _**plotting something**_.

 **Kaniza:** And then that person got scared and ended up _**killing**_ the other.

 **Sagiso:** I mean, that does make sense, but this would mean that the killer who bashed Sheina's head in was…

 **Saori:** It would have to be _**Fumio**_.

 **Sagiso:** That… Yeah, that just doesn't sound right to me.

 **Kamui:** Really? Why would you say that then, Sagiso?

 **Sagiso:** We know what he's like, and I don't mean to judge since, well, I couldn't do it either, but isn't it impossible for him to have killed Sheina?

 **Kaniza:** Why?

 **Sagiso:** I'll put it bluntly- he's not strong, _**he's weak**_. If not for his build and the fact that Sheina's quite tall, he wouldn't have been able to kill Sheina. Sheina's death wasn't something that anyone could have done.

 **Kaniza:** T-true… Sheina's head was bashed in too…

 **Sagiso:** So, I cannot see this as a possibility. Fumio _**couldn't have been**_ the one who killed Sheina.

 **Saori:** …

 **Saori:** _She could be right, but… I'm missing something here…_

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Axe-**

 **Kamui:** There's something wrong with your statement!

 **BREAK! :0**

* * *

"It does sound impossible," Kamui began, eyeing Sagiso kindly, "but there's a reason why he could've been the murderer to Sheina."

Saori noticed that Kamui was throwing her a look. She couldn't help but smile inwardly. It seemed like the mortician had read her mind, and knew immediately to assist her. _Intuition, huh?_

Sagiso was curious, eyebrows raised. "I'd like to hear it then."

"Certainly." Kamui smiled. "Before Monokuma was able to unfairly end the investigation, Minori found the murder weapon to Sheina's case. It was hidden underneath the pile of objects near to the side."

"Oh, he found the weapon?" Kaniza's eyes widened. "That's Minnie for you… Always seeming to find everything."

The mortician chuckled at the statement. "Yes, and if you do not believe me, I believe Minori had cut himself while looking for the axe. You can check if you desire, though…"

Sagiso blushed slightly as the mortician eyed her. She knew exactly why the man hesitated, falling in-between his words. "It's not like I'm immediately stalking him while he's asleep. It's an investigation. You're unintentionally implying things here."

"I mean, looking at people while they're asleep is quite strange in my book… Then again, people have always called me eccentric." Kamui awkwardly scratched his head. "Ahem. Anyways, when Minori picked it up, Saori and I immediately noticed it and thought something was wrong."

"Right." Saori nodded her head. "I'm not offending him or anything, but I doubt his physical capability. For him to wield an axe so easily is pretty substantial."

"True…" Kaniza tilted her head. "Going through my head, I can only imagine Asami or Seiga carrying the axe…" Her eyes then glommed. "Maybe even Rin…"

Kamui quickly cleared his throat and tried to divert the woman's attention. "We questioned Minori about it, and he commented that it was light to hold. We held onto it ourselves and a strange occurrence happened- while Minori was first able to hold onto the axe, now he found himself struggling to hold onto it the second time."

"Really?" Sagiso's eyes widened. "Is this true?"

Saori nodded. "Yeah."

The body broker bit into her lips. _I didn't even question it though, especially concerning the idea that he might be lying… It's all because of the deal I made with him. Besides, it's not like he was the only one who didn't hold onto the axe._

"I mean…" Kaniza gulped. "If that's the case, then Fumio really could've…"

"Fumio…" Sagiso thought to herself for a moment, her expression saddened and melancholic. She then immediately shook her head and frowned. "But, I still find it hard to believe that he could've killed Sheina. There's no reason for him to have killed her, nonetheless be inside of the lottery room to start with."

"True." Kamui slowly nodded his head. "But it's the same for everyone. We don't know what anyone's purpose is to be inside of the lottery room- Fumio, Sheina, and even the killer."

"Why would he kill Sheina though?" The psychogeographer's lips pursed. "I get that we mentioned it having to be accidental, but then what other purpose could he have to be inside of the room? He was already revealed to be a spy and it's not like he could've not told us what he was planning. He already revealed himself to us."

Saori frowned. She knew Sagiso was close to Fumio, but at the same time she honestly wished that wasn't the case- she saw how Sagiso's morals tipped to the side, and she saw her beliefs falling and crashing over. "He could've still hid things from us."

"What else could there be to reveal about him?" Sagiso frowned, glaring at the body broker. "He told us everything. In comparison to everybody else, he was the one who spilled the most about himself."

Saori bit into her lips. _At least Minori would've considered this whole thing as a possibility… He did that to everyone he considered a friend, and it seems like no one took his advice on how trials work. Christ, how does he handle with these types of people?_

Her criticism aside, it seemed like she had no choice. She knew she had to assume the role as the detective, and sure as hell will not back down now.

* * *

 **ITS A SHOWDOWN!**

 **Truth Blades: Red Paint Message | Lens Cap | Testimonies**

 **Sagiso:** I'm sorry, but there is no way Fumio could've been the killer.

==SLASH!==

 **Sagiso:** He has no reason to.

==SLASH!==

 **Sagiso:** He already revealed himself… In comparison to us, he told us to much about himself that it's impossible to just disregard him like this.

==SLASH!==

 **Sagiso:** Other than that, there's just no reason for him to have killed Sheina.

==SLASH!==

.

ADVANCE!

.

 **Saori:** Then why did Sheina die? And in such a short time between her and Fumio's case?

 **Saori:** Besides, even if he had revealed a lot about himself, what makes you so sure he wasn't lying the entire time?

 **Sagiso:** T-that's because…

==SLASH!==

 **Sagiso:** … W-well, even if he was, I doubt he'd kill Sheina.

==SLASH!==

 **Sagiso:** Even with the evidence you provided, I don't think he could've been the killer.

==SLASH!==

 **Sagiso:** There's _**no reason**_ for him to even be in the MonoLottery room.

==SLASH!==

 **Sagiso:** There's nothing that tells us why Fumio would even be in the MonoLottery room in the first place.

==SLASH!==

 **Sagiso:** I… I just…

==SLASH!==

 **Sagiso:** I just don't think he's the one who killed Sheina!

.

 **-Truth Blade Selected: Red Paint Message-**

.

 **Saori:** You're wrong!

==SLASH!==

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Sagiso, please." Saori gritted her teeth. The desperation in the psychogeographer's face almost made her want to die in the inside- she couldn't believe she had to argue with her. "If not Fumio, then it could've been anyone- but there's a reason why the MonoLottery room was chosen as the crime scene… rather, the inside of that room, on that matter."

Sagiso's eyes widened. "What?"

"O-oh…" Kaniza gulped, keeping her hands closed and to her chest. "She means the message on the wall inside of the monochrome door, right?"

Sagiso was silent for a moment. However, that silence ended as she threw a hand over her mouth and cried, "Shit, that's right! I-I had forgotten about that!"

Saori nodded her head slowly. _I don't even know if Sagiso really forgot about it, or if she wanted to hide the embarrassment on her face… Nonetheless, the first idea is definitely a possibility, darn Monokuma._ She, nonetheless, explained, "Of course, speculation will always be speculation, but the red paint message inside of the monochrome door is definitely a strange placement. It's not obvious like the ones we've seen before."

"True…" Kamui gulped, pursing his lips. "You would think that the perpetrator would paint the message somewhere where everybody would see it, especially if their purpose was to call someone out."

"Wait a second though." Kaniza raised a meek hand up, confused. "Uh… I don't know, but isn't it a bit weird though? Fumio wasn't only threatened with the letter, but with the fake blood too. How would he be able to pull that off?"

Sagiso averted her gaze. "I mean… I guess he could've spilled the blood everywhere, washed his hands, and kept the letter bloody so he can explain everything else."

"We were caught in the moment too," Kamui mused, folding his arms. "If anything, Minori would've noticed something was off since Fumio went to him first."

Sagiso's face saddened. "True…"

Saori frowned, her head slightly aching and screaming at her. She pursed her lips and pondered. _It's possible for him to have faked it and give himself a fake letter, but…_

 _Hm… Something's on the tip of my tongue. I need to think through this a bit more._

* * *

 **HANGMAN'S GAMBIT?**

 **Question: Why would it be hard for Fumio to threaten himself with a letter?**

 **. . . - . . . . . . . . . . .**

 **Saori:** _The answer's at the tip of my tongue… I just need to think really hard and closely… Concentrate, Saori._

 **. . s - . . n . . . . . . . .**

 **Saori:** _Fumio and the letter… The red paint messages… the one at the scene of the crime…_

 **H . s - . . nd . r . . . . .**

 **Saori:** _I think I'm slowly beginning to see something here…_

 **His - . . nd . ri . . n .**

 **Saori:** _No, wait a second… is this it…?_

 **His - H . nd . rit . ng**

 **Saori:** _I think… I think I got it!_

 **His - Handwriting**

 **Saori:** _This is the answer!_

 **Answer: His Handwriting**

 **Saori:** _Take this!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Fumio wasn't the person who wrote himself the letter," Saori bluntly explained, "it was someone else."

"W-wait, what?" Sagiso was baffled, shocked. "But I thought you were arguing that he was the one who wrote it… it implies that he wrote the red paint message too, right?"

"No, it's like what Minori and I did too." Saori threw the unconscious pseudologist a worried look, but quickly shook her head and focused back to Sagiso. "What about this possibility- it wasn't only Fumio who wrote the messages, but other people as well?"

Kaniza's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Y-you really think so?" Kamui was shocked, pale. "That… that does make sense, but how are you so sure of that? Fumio's letter could've been something he made himself."

Saori shook her head. "Okay, but I want to ask you this- how many times have we seen Fumio's handwriting in comparison to our own or each other's handwriting?"

"Handwritings?" Kamui looked at the body broker for a moment before his eyes widened. "S-so we would've been able to tell if Fumio was faking it if he wrote the letter… we all saw his handwriting, after all."

Saori nodded her head slowly. She recalled all the times Fumio wrote in his notepad. She recalled the times she saw the scholar worriedly looking at the group and hiding whenever he believed they were judging him. She remembered that she was confused and frustrated that Fumio wasn't actually mute, but she had forgiven it after so long of coming to know him and hearing about his background- or what she knew of it.

 _Minori and Sagiso are probably closer to him…_ Saori awkwardly scratched her head and eyed the psychogeographer. "The messages we saw on the walls… other than them coming from me and Minori, there's a chance it could've been from other people as well and not only Fumio. If it was Fumio, we'd notice it, especially through the letter he got."

Saori then looked back to Kamui. "Can you show us your letter again?"

The mortician nodded, quickly grabbing the letter from his pockets and walking over to hand it to Saori. He walked back to his spot and observed the body broker curiously.

Saori was silent for a moment, observing the letter. Although she wasn't close to Fumio as Minori or Sagiso were, she had to do this- Minori was unconscious, and Sagiso doesn't seem to be stable at the moment. Although Saori wasn't sure herself if she was sane at this time, she felt comfortable enough to investigate what was in front of her. At least, well, for the moment.

She noticed the letters, eyeing each alphabet in attentively. She recalled back to Fumio's notepad and remembered his handwriting, concentrating entirely on how he looped each letter and placed them on the notepad. Yes, she remembered how different it was to every red paint message that she and Minori had written- that the perpetrator, and possibly everyone else, had written. The letter Kamui got was different, and she knew.

"The letter's handwriting is completely different to Fumio's handwriting," she finally explained, showing the letter to the naked eye. Sagiso, Kaniza, and Kamui all stared at her and the letter curiously. "I know we don't have the letter Fumio received, but I know any one of us would've noticed if the letter's handwriting was similar to Fumio's. He showed it to us, after all."

Sagiso looked at the handwriting of the letter, eyes squinted. "... True, it doesn't look like Fumio's handwriting at all."

"But, if you actually think about it…" Kaniza awkwardly scratched her head. "Doesn't the paint message inside the monochrome door look like Fumio's handwriting though? I mean, I believe that the letter didn't come from Fumio, but it looks different to the red paint message inside the room…"

"Really?" Saori thought for a moment, then grabbing ahold of her MonoPad and turning it on. She immediately swiped her finger over and eyed the picture of the red paint message. She frowned- thinking back to Fumio's handwriting. _It… it does look similar._

Saori bit into her lips, heart beating erratically. She felt her head stinging, screaming at her. _But why would he write it there?_

"Hey, Saori." Sagiso threw the body broker an uneasy glance. Her light blue eyes were slightly saddened and downtrodden. "Is Kani… Kaniza right?"

The body broker pursed her lips. She folded her arms and looked at the psychogeographer for a moment. She slowly nodded her head and answered, "It does look like Fumio's handwriting."

"What?" Kamui's eyes widened. He quickly took out his MonoPad and eyed the red paint message. "But… the other messages around the school…"

Saori shook her head. "Okay, we have revealed that Minori and I have painted messages around the school, but that was only today. Yesterday, Fumio had gotten the bloody letter. We confirmed that the letter didn't come from Fumio himself, nor was Kamui's letter as well."

"Yeah." Sagiso cupped her chin. "But if it wasn't Fumio, and if he was the one who wrote the message on the wall in the monochrome room…"

* * *

 **THINK**

 **Question: …**

 **[A. Fumio was one of the perpetrators.]**

 **B. Fumio was an innocent victim.**

 **C. No, let's go back, this is wrong.**

 **D. Fumio is the perpetrator.**

 **Saori:** … _!_

…

* * *

Saori held her breath. "That means that he was most likely a perpetrator, and there were multiple perpetrators."

Kaniza's face paled. "B-but that's…"

"Multiple perpetrators." Sagiso pursed her lips, eyebrows furrowed. "Eliminating you and Minori then, everyone else could've been a perpetrator… But I need to ask- what would be the purpose of Fumio writing the message inside of the monochrome room? And Sheina somehow conveniently walking to the room."

Saori's head was screaming, ringing at her. She felt like she was burning, her entire body burning up in red. She found herself unable to think straight.

 _But still… I can't just give up._ Her head screamed. _I can't think… damn it, just try- what could be the reason? I… I don't know._

Monokuma was messing with her. The mastermind was messing with her, and Saori couldn't think straight. She knew there was something wrong, but she didn't know what- she couldn't grasp the truth.

 _There were multiple perpetrators. Other than me, I can cross off Minori from the list. Fumio's one of the perpetrators and had painted a message inside of the monochrome room, and for what? And why was Sheina even in the MonoLottery room in the first place?_

… _And why even drag out Kamui with the letter? He didn't do anything as far as I know. It still disgusts me that he aided Asami, but he didn't do anything other than that._

 _No… I can't think of anyone in a negative light._ Saori's eyes widened at this revelation. Even while she was pressuring everyone during this trial, she knew her heart was sinking at every second she spoke. She hated it. This wasn't right.

 _Monokuma's messing with me- but what if that's just what I want to think?_

 _No, he's definitely messing with me and the others- but what if that's wrong? What if I'm just stupid?_

Saori was falling into a complete breakdown and she didn't know why. She knew she was wrong and that second guessing herself will never bring her to a happy result, but all of this chaos and turmoil was getting to her head. She thought simple headaches were all that bothered all. Honestly speaking, those headaches and utter confusion and blank faces she and the others experienced were all she thought would happen- yet she felt this sense of complete desperation and fear, and she hated it. She hated this feeling.

This trial was slipping from her fingers, and she knew if she allowed herself to break everything would fall and everyone would die.

But her heart was beating so quickly and pounding inside of her head that it was hurting her.

 _What if I just lie down and rest for a bit? Kamui might've… he might've blanked out a couple of times so far, but I can trust him to lead the trial. Maybe Minori will wake back up and take over like he always does…_

 _I should sleep._

She felt Monokuma smiling from his throne, but she couldn't bother to comment on it.

"Saori, what the fuck?!"

"Hey! … ey!"

Saori closed her eyes, and decided it was best to throw the workload onto someone else. Kamui, Sagiso, Kaniza… Hell, maybe Minori if he ever comes back from his unconsciousness. She just couldn't think straight, and even if she knew it was Monokuma doing his demonic work on her, her feelings of complete dizziness and tiredness overwhelmed her.

"And more people are falling by the second. How sad, really."

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL POSTPONED**

 **Survivors: 5/16**

* * *

And here is the end of this chapter! Hopefully everything is slowly making sense, though I doubt it to be honest. Anyways, I wrote this all and posted it today instead of working on my homework, so I should probably do that right now after this! I'll see you all next time!

Plugging stories:

 **Danganronpa: The Pitiful Plague Called Ignorance** (by moi, winkie)

 **Danganronpa: Remnants of My Heart** (by our amazing Prince PokePersona)

 **Danganronpa: Final Flight** (by the lovely Shirasaur!)

 **Desperatio est Colosseum** (by the awesome tobi-is-an-artist-too)

 **For Whom the Rabbits Mourn** (by SanityRequiem who literally tortures my heart :D)

... And that's all! I'll see you next time, like I said, haha.


	47. Chapter 5 - Part 2, Part C

Hello, and I am finally here with yet another chapter to this case! I hope you all didn't wait long! I am actually really busy this month, so it was a miracle I was able to get this chapter out so soon, aha. Despite how confusing this trial seems to be in one way or the other, I hope you do enjoy this one!

 **Ziggymia123:** "Yes, you have a great writing review style, hehe. Aish, everything is difficult concerning trials. Maybe? Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. Who knows? Aish, you need to get some good sleep, Ziggy. Be a healthy person with a good sleep schedule!"

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Yay, homestretch means closer to the final chapter, and closer to death! Aish, same. Monokuma is a great villain, in more ways than one. He's a bit too sadistic in this version, oops. I eat beef. We can just cry and theorize over everything, but Monokuma will fuck our little thoughts over with more bullshit. The mastermind is a constant mood. Fumio's a good boy, yes. Yes, of course!"

 **Emma2448:** "Shit is going to go down, yes. Aww, thank you so much! You're too kind!"

 **FruitlessKitty_74:** "There's no need to apologize! It's not like you're expected to do something here and you'll be sent to prison if you don't review or something, hehe. Aish, that laptop must hate you. That sucks D: Aish, Saori is such a girl. Ooh, interesting theory. Haha, the longer the review, the more interesting it is, I'd say!"

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL IS STILL IN SESSION**

 **CAN ALL RISE?**

* * *

Monokuma was laughing at the Ultimates and it was already obvious that everything that happened was his fault- honestly, it shouldn't be a surprise. Everyone had always blamed Monokuma for everything- the killing game, the victims, the killers, just about anything bad was linked to that damn bear.

So, why was it that seeing Saori and Minori unconscious and lying on the ground was so surprising and 'unexpected'? Why was it that seeing this now rendered the complete and utter bafflement on the Ultimates' faces?

 _Are we screwed?_ Sagiso felt sweat trickling down her forehead. The unconscious bodies that fell made her want to jump out of her seat and slap them awake. Maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn't. All she wanted to do was smack them around until they were awake. _Why am I even thinking of hurting them? It's not like they can help it._

"Why is Saori unconscious?" Kaniza asked, holding her breath as she looked at the black-and-white bear.

Monokuma simply smiled in response. As expected, he was nothing more than manipulative, a schemer. Sagiso hated that smirk of his, and she was sure everyone else had did from the start. That smirk was what caused harm, and what caused death. It was disgusting, and downright frightening. If it weren't for the fact Monokuma was high up, elevated from the Ultimates, expressing superiority- she definitely would've pounded her fists into him. Even if Seiga couldn't do such and Monokuma came back to life, he honestly angered her.

"Why're you asking me questions when you're obviously not going have answers?" Monokuma continued to smirk that sadistic smirk. Somehow, his martini glass had been filled to the tip again. It was full. "Instead of worrying about Saori and Minnie who could easily wake up at anytime, given specific conditions and requirements met, why don't you focus on the trial? You're not even close to figuring out who could've committed the crime."

"He's right." Kamui held his breath, keeping his posture steady and still. The mortician was pale, but kept his ground as he turned to the two Ultimates left. "Saori brought us this far into the trial, but we're not done yet."

Sagiso averted her gaze. She couldn't help but scoff. _It's not like I hate her, but…_ The woman forfeited her thought midway and shook her head- Kamui had a point. "Then where did we last leave off to?"

Kaniza cupped her chin, poking onto it quite timidly. "Um… I think we left off around the perpetrators. It was Saori, Minnie, and then we have Fumio…"

"Right." Sagiso frowned. "But the other messages from before, especially not the ones from today, were not from those three mentioned. Counting in Fumio's handwriting, someone else definitely was a culprit in this… maybe even being the original perpetrator."

"I'm not sure," the astrophotographer admitted, gulping. "But who else could it be? We haven't seen anyone's handwritings… and we can't just ask ourselves to write something down here."

"No, we can't," Kamui began, "but we can definitely make an educated guess. There's still the need to question why Sheina was inside of the MonoLottery room to begin with. Saori mentioned, or at least pointed out, that it's strange for her to suddenly be in the room."

Sagiso frowned, thinking hard with eyebrows furrowed and teeth slightly biting into her lower lip. "Hm…"

 _This is harder than I thought. Why would Sheina be inside of the MonoLottery room? Hm… Maybe I have to think about this slowly and thoroughly._

Sagiso held her breath. She needed to calm down, and concentrate. _Alright then, let's think about this._

* * *

 **WOOT! PSYCHE TAXI!**

…

 **Question 1: Who wrote the message inside the monochrome room?**

 **A. Sheina.**

 **B. Monokuma.**

 **[C. Fumio.]**

 **D. Someone unknown/possibly the culprit.**

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Question 2: Why was Fumio inside of the MonoLottery room?**

 **[A. To write the red paint message on the wall.]**

 **B. He was looking around the school for the perpetrator.**

 **C. To meet with Sheina because he had a letter from her.**

 **D. Simply to look through the toys inside the room.**

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Question 3: Why use the MonoLottery room?**

 **A. Because it is far away from sight.**

 **[B. The convenience of the objects inside.]**

 **C. Not many visits the room altogether.**

 **D. Because the carnival music drowns out the noises.**

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Question 4: Why did he write the red paint message inside the room?**

 **A. To scare anyone who sees it.**

 **B. To have fun graffiting the wall.**

 **C. To lure Sheina inside.**

 **[D. To lure out the mastermind.]**

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Question 5: Why would this message lure out the mastermind in comparison to the other messages before?**

 **[A. The message was part of a grander plan inside of the room.]**

 **B. The mastermind would've eventually found the message.**

 **C. It wasn't, it was a joke.**

 **D. The mastermind hates red paint.**

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Question 6: Then, why would Sheina have a role in this?**

 **A. She was the mastermind.**

 **B. She was nothing more than a victim.**

 **[C. She had a role in the plan.]**

 **D. She was out for Fumio's head.**

…

 **GOT IT!**

…

 **Sagiso:** _This is definitely the answer!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Sagiso immediately slammed her fists into the desk, making Kamui and Kaniza jump in shock. They all stared at her confusingly before the woman grinned at them and said, confidently, "I think I know the purpose in what Fumio was trying to do, and what role Sheina has in all of this."

"W-wait, what?" Kaniza's eyes widened. "Really?"

The psychogeographer nodded. "Just think about it for a second- why would Fumio write a message on the wall?"

"... Given what every other message has been saying, and assuming that the perpetrators all had the same purpose in luring someone out…" Kamui's expression hardened. He stared fixedly at the auburn-haired woman. "... It's to lure someone out, more specifically- the mastermind."

"Yeah." Kaniza cupped her chin, fingers fiddling with locks of raven hair. "I don't see anyone else Fumio could've targeted too…"

"Exactly. If Fumio wanted to target somebody else, there would be no reason to go to such lengths. He could've easily confronted them if they were a perpetrator like himself and were against what he was planning." And it pained Sagiso to say this- Fumio was a close friend of her's, and knowing how pained Minori would be to hear her spout such words, her heart couldn't help but ache. "The only person he would go to such lengths to target would be the mastermind."

Kamui pursed his lips. "Then, what does this mean for Sheina? And why inside of the MonoLottery room specifically?"

The woman averted her gaze. "... I think Sheina was helping Fumio catch who the mastermind is."

"What?"

"W-wait a second, Sagi." Kaniza looked worriedly at the woman, lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed. "I don't mean to be rude, but… Monokuma specifically said that we can't tell anyone whose memories we have."

Sagiso slowly cupped her chin and pondered. _True… but, I feel like there's something I'm missing… Hm, what is it?_

* * *

 **THINKING TIME :D**

 **Question: Why is it possible for Sheina to have worked under Fumio to catch the mastermind?**

 **A. Nevermind, let's think about it some more.**

 **[B. Fumio could've easily not tell Sheina who the mastermind is.]**

 **C. He made another deal with Monokuma to let him do this.**

 **D. 0111100101101111011101010010000001100011011000010110111001101110011011110111010000100000011101110110100101101110**

 **Sagiso:** _This is it!_

 **ANOTHER BREAK**

* * *

The woman crossed her arms and stared into Kaniza's eyes. "I believe that there is a way for Fumio to persuade Sheina into working with him."

"Really?" Kaniza was shocked, eyes blinking. "How?"

Sagiso smirked. "That's easy, Kani. Sheina can be persuaded with the simple words, 'I had the memories of the mastermind, so please help me catch them'."

Kaniza stared dumbfoundedly at the woman, completely shocked. "R-really? But… isn't that…?"

"It's not," the woman replied, curt and reassuringly. "As long as he doesn't name who the mastermind is, then he is safe. He doesn't need to name who the mastermind is, since Sheina would still be unsure of who the mastermind is this way."

"Sheina would seriously believe in that and trust him though?" Kamui frowned, lips pursed and nose wrinkled. "That's quite stupid and foolish of her."

"Well…" _I'd probably have to depend on Saori to tell me if she'd be that stupid, but she's busy being Sleeping Beauty._ Sagiso quickly cleared her throat and continued, putting her hands out, "Anyways, point is, it's possible for Sheina and Fumio to have worked together. That would explain why Sheina was inside of the MonoLottery room and why the messages are so diverse in handwriting, excluding Minori and Saori's."

Kamui was hesitant, blinking. He slowly brought a hand to his chin and cupped it, pondering. "But that brings up a lot of other questions. Why would Fumio kill her then? I can understand him killing her because she stumbled upon his wrongdoings, but if they were working together… then what's the point of working together at all? She wasn't his target."

 _Oh shit. That's right._ Sagiso immediately wanted to slap herself upside the head. She was internally screaming in the inside and looked to Kaniza who gave her a comforting smile. The woman held her breath, held in her scream, and nodded. "Okay, let's just think about it for a second, alright?"

"I'm fine with that," Kaniza answered, knowing it was best to go along with Sagiso's words to comfort her. "I guess, hm, we need to think about why Fumio would kill Sheina then, right? But… actually, I am curious though." She gulped. "How exactly did Fumio plan to lure the mastermind out with the message?"

"Right." Sagiso frowned. "I think the message is part of something grander that was going to happen inside the room."

Kamui was silent. A few seconds passed. "Wait, what?"

"It makes sense though, right?" Sagiso crossed her arms, staring into Kamui's eyes. "If it was just that message alone, then Fumio and Sheina are nothing more than stupid for thinking that would lure the mastermind out."

"True…" Kamui scratched his head, pursing his lips. "Well, but I still have a lot of questions to ask concerning this idea then."

 _Well, shit._ Sagiso's heart was pounding. Her head was hurting her, and she felt as if she was burning up inside. Still, she had to focus, and if she fell here, it was most likely going to be Kamui and Kaniza left. She frowned. _Saori and Minori better wake up soon, or I'm going to sue them when we get out of here._

* * *

 **NONSTOP ETABED**

 **Truth Bullets?!: Kamui's Letter | Lens Cap | The Obvious | Motive | Testimonies**

 **Kaniza:** The message was to _**lure out the mastermind**_ … but how?

 **Kamui:** Exactly. Even if it was part of a _**grander scheme inside of the room**_ , I still have a lot of questions to ask.

 **Sagiso:** Yeah? Shoot.

 **Kamui:** Fumio and Sheina are _**luring the mastermind**_ \- we agree on that, right?

 **Kaniza:** I'm pretty sure…

 **Kamui:** Okay, by going that logic, then couldn't they have easily lured out the mastermind by handing them a letter?

 **Sagiso:** It's not that easy.

 **Kamui:** We established that Fumio _**didn't name the mastermind**_ to Sheina, but even if that's the case Sheina didn't have to know who the mastermind is exactly and only helped Fumio in writing a letter to the mastermind.

 **Kamui:** In that case, Fumio could slip a letter underneath the masterind's door and lure them out _**to confront them**_.

 **Kaniza:** That makes sense… but what would Fumio do afterwards? Isn't it dangerous to confront them, and how about Sheina?

 **Sagiso:** Exactly! The mastermind could've hurt Fumio then, and Sheina's _**still eligible**_ to the consequences from the motive.

 **Kamui:** True, but I still do not see _**the purpose**_ then.

 **Sagiso:** You… you really are not making sense. Like, really.

 **Kaniza:** Uh, well, I do have a few questions then.

 **Kamui:** Hm? And what would that be?

 **Kaniza:** Well… I know it's not about what happened inside of the room, but, like, it's kinda obvious that Fumio and Sheina weren't only targeting the mastermind then, right?

 **Sagiso:** Huh? Really? Explain.

 **Kaniza:** I don't know. I just think if they were targeting the mastermind, they'd _**only harass them**_ , right?

 **Kamui:** Hm, what're you getting at then?

 **Kaniza:** W-well, maybe their targets were _**somebody else**_ , and the mastermind was the one left?

 **Sagiso:** That…

 **Kaniza:** Does that even make sense? God, I don't even know…

 **Kamui:** Well… hm…

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Kamui's Letter-**

 **Sagiso:** Is this it?!

 **BREAK?!**

* * *

Kaniza's eyes widened and she jumped at Sagiso's sudden claim. She sheepishly looked at the woman and tugged at her skirt. "O-oh! Am I right?"

"It makes sense." Sagiso thought for a moment. She was silent at the moment, but after a while her eyes widened. "It makes sense!"

"Um…" Kamui blinked confusingly. "Can you explain?"

The psychogeographer nodded. "Yeah, I will." She cleared her throat. "Instead of specifically targeting the mastermind through all these messages, this perpetrator- no, these perpetrators, they weren't going to capture the mastermind, but everyone else excluding the mastermind."

The mortician was silent. He looked at Sagiso for a moment, eyebrows raised. It took a few seconds before he could even manage a stutter. "W-wait, what?"

"It would make sense." Sagiso folded her arms, steadying her position. "The mastermind wouldn't care if Fumio and Sheina wanted to capture them. It would've been too easy for the mastermind to ignore their threats. What would those two do? The mastermind could've easily hurt them instead."

"Then…" Kaniza gulped. "That means Fumio and Sheina were targeting us…?"

"Exactly." The woman bit into her lips. "That would explain the letter Kamui had gotten then."

Kamui pursed his lips. An uneasy look was on his face, though he tried to hide it well by clearing his throat and speaking. "That would make sense. I do not see the reason why they would target me in the first place then. It was only by pure luck that Minori and Saori came by instead."

"And Fumio's letter serves no purpose other than to paint him as a victim of this too." Sagiso held her breath. _Fumio…_

Kaniza rolled her strands of raven hair around her finger. "So… The mastermind was not the one who was being targeted, but lured out."

Kamui rubbed his hands together. "Well, on the bright side, Fumio and Sheina aren't the masterminds then, right?"

"I guess so." The auburn-haired woman shrugged. "But this revelation doesn't exactly pinpoint us any closer to the murderer. In fact, by learning that Fumio and Sheina worked together, it makes it harder to reason why they're dead. Us figuring out they were targeting us for the mastermind doesn't mean much other then it makes this case more clearer."

The astrophotographer frowned. "What if they killed each other then? Isn't that a possibility?"

"No." Sagiso immediately shut it down. "It's a bit hard, if not impossible, to do that."

"Really?" Kaniza bit into her lips. "Why?"

Kamui suddenly snapped his fingers. "Oh! Proximity, and how they died."

 _Huh. Wow, looks like Mr. Mortician himself actually knows how death works. He really acted like this was an epiphany or something,_ Sagiso dryly reported to herself, then folded her arms and grinned forcibly. "Yeah, that's what I was assuming. You seem to agree with me."

"Mhm." The man held his breath, calm. "Even though anyone could've wielded the axe, suffocating someone, while seemingly easy, is quite difficult. It would be hard for Fumio and Sheina to kill each other not only because of where they died, but how they died as well. Sheina died first too, after all, and the rope that strangled Fumio was not hung to anything like a noose. Either, Sheina somehow tied the rope tightly enough to cause Fumio to struggle, or someone else did it."

"Ah, I see…" Kaniza pursed her lips, frowning. "It would be hard for Fumio to kill himself as well since his natural instinct to survive would kick in too, huh."

"Yes, that's right." The mortician bobbed his head. "So, there's obviously a killer among us, not Sheina and Fumio being each other's killer."

"Okay then, we're bringing in a third person into this." Sagiso held her breath. She knew they would continue to find more revelations and piece together a truth or so, but she was worried there would only be more questions raised. It scared her, but she had to continue. "But, if we were establishing a killer outside from Sheina and Fumio, who, and why?"

Kaniza gulped, face pale. "Hm… Well, between us here, and Minnie and Saori, our alibis aren't really airtight."

"Yeah." Kamui looked bemused at this fact, eyes staring straight to Monokuma's sight. "It's a surprise he hasn't done anything yet right now too."

"Hey, you're going to remind him." Sagiso immediately shushed the mortician, eyeing him angrily before shaking her head and cupping her chin. _But it's true our alibis are decently reliable at best. Anyone could be the killer in this case-_ "But wouldn't Saori and Minori be free from suspicion? Kamui had tied them up."

Kamui blushed slightly, embarrassed. "Y-yes, I did. I was afraid and acted hasty."

Kaniza frowned. "Now that I think about it… Isn't it weird for those two to work together? They haven't talked much at all from what I've seen."

"That doesn't mean one of them's the killer though," Sagiso murmured. She then thought for a moment, cupping her chin. _Hm… Why would they work together though? They don't have anything much in common, and considering the situation-_

Her eyes widened. A greatly soured expression escaped her, and she immediately slammed her fists to her desk. "I got it."

"What?" Kaniza was baffled. "What is it?"

Kamui's expression hardened, nose wrinkled and arms folded. "Explain, please."

Sagiso nodded her head. She was about to open her mouth, but instead of her voice echoing inside of the courtroom, she heard a stifled laugh. It was at first a small giggle, then a loud, roaring laughter. That high-pitched voice told her everything, and her direction immediately turned to Monokuma's.

 _What the fuck is he laughing about?_ Sagiso's face was paling, and she hated how her body was freezing up in place so much. She hated this, and she felt her hands balling immediately into fists. Still, she had to hold her anger in, and moved her lips to ask, forcibly calmly, "Monokuma, what's wrong?"

Monokuma didn't answer, only reeling his head back in overwhelming joy and laughter. "Puhuhuhu! You guys are amazing, being able to survive through this whole shit. I shouldn't even be surprised actually- you guys are Ultimates, the best of the best."

"Why…" Kaniza gulped, sweating. "Why are you talking to us about this?"

The bear smirked, expression that of usual malice and amusement. "Because you guys are not like the rest. Maybe it's because you guys are Ultimates, maybe it's because you're just different. Either way, it's really interesting you're able to survive this long, and it's tiring at the same time. It's a bit… well, frustrating, to say the least. It's the expected results."

Sagiso raised a brow. She was not going to have any of this. No, not at all. "And your point is…?"

Monokuma clapped his paws together, chuckling. "Easy!" His eyes seemed to sparkle. "Because I have a very special surprise for you all waiting after this, you disgusting tryhards!" He then scratched his head. "Oh, and also, you've seemed to have met the requirements, and he made his own as well, so…"

Shuffling. A small, soft groan.

Sagiso and the others immediately looked back to find a familiar, familiar face. The psychogeographer's eyes widened, and she dropped everything she had in this exact moment to run, run straight to that one person. She charged and jumped, and she threw her arms around the man without considering their situation.

"Woah!" They fell straight to the ground. Sagiso was overjoyed, lips curving up to a wide, gigantic smile as she embraced Minori tightly. She didn't even consider his confusion and shock at her sudden affection. He only eyed the woman confusingly before looking over to the others. "Oh, hey there."

Kaniza smiled sweetly, hands cupped and rubbing against one another. "It's so nice to see you again!"

"Minori." Kamui looked over at the man and nodded. "I'm glad you've gained consciousness. We were worried."

"Y-yeah…" Minori awkwardly looked around the room for a while, then frowning. "Um, where's Saori?"

Sagiso frowned. "She fainted too." She looked over to Monokuma and grimaced at the sight.

The bear simply smirked at this. "Hey, she's not going to be hurt," he mused, "You guys only need to reach certain requirements and all that. Besides, the surprise extends to everyone in here, not those who are conscious only, so Saori and Minnie count. Besides, I already made sure Minnie met everything that was needed, so he's fine. Well, he would've been no matter what with the surprise, but whatever."

 _What? That doesn't make sense._ Nonetheless, Sagiso couldn't speak against it, and she slowly scooted back from the pseudologist who adjusted himself to the sight, eyes slightly squinted at the brightness of the room.

"I don't really understand," Minori began, speaking calmly. He moved his hands to his eyes and rubbed it, then slowly standing up. He looked around the room. "If Saori's unconscious, then I'm assuming I wasn't the only one who fainted? Is there a reason for this?"

 _Hm…_ Sagiso nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, but we're not sure why. Monokuma only said something about meeting requirements- that's all."

Kaniza crossed her arms. "Yeah… we're still in the middle of the trial too, and this suddenly happened, so we're not sure like you, Minnie."

The pseudologist bit into his lips. His dark green eyes scanned the room for another moment, then slowly moved themselves to the group. "Right… the trial…"

"Minori?" Kamui gulped. "Are you alright? Does your head still hurt?"

"That means Fumio and Sheina… right…" Minori's expression was calm for a short while, but it changed- it suddenly changed into a grimace, and he quickly bolted his body straight and bowed his head down, screaming, "I'm sorry!"

Kamui blinked. "Huh? What?"

"Uh…" Kaniza worriedly stepped forward, reaching a small hand out. "A-are you okay, Minnie?"

Minori was silent, holding his breath. A moment passed between the tension, the air looming inside of the entire courtroom. Sagiso was unsure of what to say, even unable to stand up from her crouched position- even when Minori slowly brought his head back up, cleared his throat, and politely said, "Everything is my fault. I… I caused all of this."

Silence.

"Hey, Minori." Sagiso's lips curled to a small smile. It was a smile that was forced and worrisome, especially considering her furrowed brows and wrinkled nose. She knew, she just knew- _something was wrong with him._ But, she didn't know what. She had no idea what happened to Minori- did Monokuma do this, or was something truly off? Her legs shook slightly, her step offbeat as she slowly went up and asked, quietly, "What're you talking about?"

Minori averted his gaze to the floor. His face was truly, genuinely pale, almost whiter than snow itself. "Everything happened because of me. This all happened because of what I did."

"Minori, calm down." Kamui bit into his lips. He was profoundly worried now, forehead covered in sweat. "Can you tell us what's happening?"

"I…" The pseudologist looked over to Monokuma. The bear sneered at him, and the white-haired man quickly looked back down. "I don't know why I did it. Whether it was something deep inside me that wanted me to be so cruel, or if Monokuma deliberately changed me at that time… No, I'm still me, and it's still my fault. I caused them to die. I didn't accomplish anything."

"Minori, you're talking in riddles right now!" Sagiso immediately stepped forward and grabbed onto the man's shoulders. Her grip was tight, nails almost digging into his clothes. Was she afraid? Was she worried? Oh, damn, that is underwhelming her feelings right now- she was scared beyond her imagination. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I…" Minori gulped. "I came up with the motive."

Silence. A sudden waft of complete and utter tension filled the air. It was a horrible feeling. Lukewarm air that choked and suffocated the Ultimates, god, oh god it was so horrible. Horrible. It was a horrible, horrible feeling.

"Upupupupu!" Monokuma suddenly roared straight into the air, breaking the tension with his high-pitched laugh. His belly was shown in full sight, the bear having reeled his entire body back out of pure joy and humor. "And there's the ticket, folks! There's the fucking ticket!"

"Minori…" Kaniza looked over to the pseudologist. A forced, kind smile escaped her lips. "Please tell me you were just joking with us."

Kamui shook his head and walked over to the shorter man. "You're not the type of person to do this. You're lying to us, right? Please, I know you are."

Minori's eyes widened at these… these pleas. He looked so fragile just from hearing the astrophotographer and mortician's pleas, and Sagiso wasn't even sure if this version of the pseudologist was real or not. She didn't know, and she may never know. Minori only knew himself, but at the same time Sagiso wasn't so sure if she herself was even real or a doll, a robot. What was real? What was fake? Nonetheless, her heart had immediately broke once he looked away, pure guilt written over his face. He could only manage a soft, "... I'm sorry," in response to everything.

Kaniza immediately fell into a gasp. It was a short, quick, abrupt gasp that led her to that breathless, but enunciated word, "God."

Yes, and Sagiso witnessed those looks of pure terror. Was there rage? Was there anger? Maybe, but there was definitely confusion and complete dismay. This cannot be real, and Sagiso refused to believe it.

"Monokuma's just telling you to say this," the woman suddenly declared, loudly. It was such a desperate attempt to escape reality, and even she knew that herself. "Did he rewire your brain or some shit while you were unconscious or something?"

"God, Sagiso, I…" The pseudologist's breaths were shaky. He was clutching tightly into his scarf, fear written in his dark green eyes. "I just… I just don't know myself any longer. After I fainted and woke back up here, I suddenly felt this surge of emotions that I… I'm just not myself, and then it made me think if I really even had been myself before and… I'm sorry."

 _Oh, fucking hell. Monokuma forced Minori into an identity crisis, god dammit._ Sagiso had to do something about this. Who the fuck cared if Minori from ten hours ago was the real one, or if the Minori here was the real one? Everyone had a part of themselves that they hid from others and showed to others. Besides, Sagiso had no time to focus on an identity crisis- this was a class trial, and she is not just going to let Monokuma execute them on the spot. She would damn herself to Hell if she let that happen.

 _But he came up with the motive._ Sagiso stopped and second guessed herself. She hesitated now, eyes shifting to Kaniza and Kamui. They were both worried, but suspicious of Minori- it was understandable, really. _But is it even right?_

Monokuma certainly didn't care, clapping his paws together and loudly screaming, "Hey, hey! Now that cute little Minnie's up and ready to go, let's continue the trial! Let's start from when Minnie said he came up with the motive! Go, go! Hurry up!"

Kaniza jumped at this. Monokuma was shooing them back to their seats, and the woman was baffled by all these twists and turns. Her head ached as she darted her eyes back and forth, then stopped straight at the body broker's unconscious body. Her lips pursed. "U-uh, but then what about Saori? She's still unconscious, right?"

"You guys will find the killer anyways, and then the surprise will come!" Monokuma whistled into the air. High-pitched noise echoed throughout the room and scared the Ultimates to their designations. Monokuma scoffed. "Jesus fucking Christ, stop worrying about Saori. She's not dead. I'd be executed myself for directly causing their deaths."

"Maybe you should execute yourself," Sagiso dryly murmured underneath her breath, scoffing as she walked over to her seat. She honestly didn't want to oblige to Monokuma, but seeing everybody sitting down (albeit reluctantly), she followed suit and brought her bosom down.

"A-anyways…" Kamui looked around the room. He was still shocked from what Minori had said, his voice slightly shaky and face pale. "Uh, I'm assuming we need to hear an explanation from you?"

Minori nodded his head slowly. "Yes, of course." He tugged at his scarf; Sagiso always considered that mannerism of his telltale to his anxiety- and really, she already knew how much he had done it these past few minutes. "As I said before, I… I created the motive. The idea for us to learn about each other's past was my idea. I shared it to Monokuma."

Everyone couldn't believe it. It was too impossible to be true.

"But why?" Kaniza began, holding her breath. "Why would you- er, your past self, do that?"

"Past or not, I'm still to blame." Minori pursed his lips. It was so obvious he had been tormented by this fact, his expression downtrodden and dark green eyes lacking of any glint or sparkle. "I thought the motive would help me figure out who the mastermind is, but I never really thought about the consequences… but here we are… I'm so stupid, I just…"

 _God, seeing this side of him is too uncanny to me. What the hell is happening here?_ Yet, Sagiso hated how this was the thought that ran through her mind as Minori spoke. It bothered her, but honestly it was just slightly. She was just overwhelmed by how pitiful the pseudologist looked. _I can't help but think Monokuma's truly brainwashing us to become different versions of ourselves or something…_

"Minori, you need to relax." Kamui stared straight into the pseudologist's eyes. "Just breathe, alright?"

"I… Alright." And so Minori followed what the mortician said. He took a deep breath. He inhaled, then exhaled. Breathe in, breathe out. A few seconds passed before the pseudologist slowly composed himself, slowly turning his head to look at Kamui. "Thank you."

 _So, was Monokuma altering our brains to make us become more villainous or something? What a bitch-_ Sagiso quickly shook her head. No, she had to focus. She told herself to focus, and she was going to Hell if she didn't listen to her own orders. "Minori, I don't mean to sound accusatory, but this could just be Monokuma trying to mentally drain you."

"Mentally drain me?" Minori blinked confusingly. "Sagiso, what are you talking about?"

The psychogeographer frowned. "I mean, let's consider this- Monokuma has been torturing us ever since we were kidnapped here and forced to do his bidding. We've recently learned he's been toying with our minds, so what's to say he isn't mentally torturing you right now?"

But, oh god, Sagiso knew Minori could refute her. Confirmation or not, she just knew what he was going to say.

"If Saori was conscious," the pseudologist began, speaking softly and more politely than usually, "then she can vouch for me. We had each other's past, and we worked together because of it."

Kaniza blinked. "Each other's past? How would you know? You couldn't have blatantly told her, right?"

Sagiso frowned. _No, I'm pretty sure there's a reason for this… Tying in that Minori created the motive for Monokuma in the first place, and given the rules…_

* * *

 **THINKING TIME**

 **Question: Why could Minori and Saori know about each other's past?**

 **[A. Because the rules could've worked around it.]**

 **B. Because the rules aren't necessary.**

 **C. Because Minori was the killer and killed someone.**

 **D. Because there is no other way to not share backstories with one another.**

 **Sagiso:** _I got it!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"The rules aren't concrete," the woman began, speaking up for Minori who eyed her cautiously. "You cannot blatantly tell others whose past you have, however it could be worked around if something happened."

Minori pursed his lips. "Well, that 'something' was Saori's attempted murder on me."

"What?" Sagiso blinked. "Wait, what?"

"It was attempted, Sagiso," the pseudologist repeated, flinching at the woman's sudden shift in tone. "She's not guilty of anything. My past was uncomfortable and disturbing to her, so she tried to kill me."

Kaniza gulped. "But why?"

Minori averted his gaze, looking aside. "My father was abusive, and he tried to hurt my siblings, so I killed him."

He spoke softer than usual, but those words had pierced straight into the air, and straight into Sagiso's heart.

"I-I don't understand," Kamui began, trying to shake his nerves away. "Why would that make her want to kill you?"

"Some parts of our memories are not intact. Saori was unaware of the circumstances that led me to killing my father." Minori took a small glance at the group, then quickly shaking his head. "Since we already knew we had each other's memories, and my life did depend on me revealing hers, we struck a deal to work together to find the perpetrator."

Kaniza was silent. She looked at the group for a moment, then releasing a soft breath. "Minnie… We found out there's more than one perpetrator."

"T-there is?" The pseudologist was shocked, baffled. He was silent with his mouth agape, but slowly calmed himself down and nodded his head. "So, what did I miss? You can continue from where you left off. I'm… I'm sorry I wasted your time."

Kamui looked at the pseudologist. "... And I'm sorry as well."

"What?" Kaniza raised a brow. "Kamui?"

Sagiso raised her head. She looked between Minori and Kamui, and instantly her heart dropped. _Oh god, I should've expected this._ She quickly slammed her hands down. "Kamui, I know we haven't found the killer yet, but I'm pretty damn sure Minori's not the killer."

Minori's eyes widened. "K-Kamui?"

The mortician shook his head, turning to the auburn-haired woman. "Please, let me explain myself."

 _Oh god dammit._ But Sagiso knew she had no choice.

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Case File #007 | Monochrome Door | Red Paint Message | Motive | Testimonies**

 **Kamui:** Please let me explain myself. I have reason to distrust Minori.

 **Minori:** Uh, is it because I made a deal with Monokuma concerning the motive? Yes, I do admit it was foolish of me to do such a thing, but I have no idea why you would think I'm the killer…

 **Sagiso:** Yeah, exactly. What're you talking about, Kamui?

 **Kamui:** He is working with Monokuma. That alone _**should be enough**_ to claim him as suspicious of murder.

 **Kaniza:** W-why? Like… what evidence is there against him?

 **Kamui:** Well, he already admitted he _**killed his father**_. Doesn't that mean he's used to murder?

 **Minori:** K-Kamui!

 **Sagiso:** Oh, you are not just going to throw that at him. That's so _**hypocritical of you**_. Did Monokuma hit you in the back of the head or something?

 **Kamui:** He didn't, I assure you. My case is _**different**_ from his.

 **Sagiso:** D-different?! How is it different? Just because you didn't _**murder Ko with your own hands**_? You were still an alibi in that case!

 **Kamui:** … That's different.

 **Sagiso:** And wasn't Minori the one _**who helped you**_ open back up to us? You're just going to betray him like this? Besides, you don't know jack shit about Minori!

 **Kamui:** I rather be skeptical of everyone than to blindly trust them! I'm just following my gut instinct!

 **Kaniza:** G-guys…

 **Minori:** Oh god, can you guys please not argue? What has Monokuma done to you guys since I was gone…?

 **Kamui:** Then how would you explain why he's innocent? Do you even have proof that he's innocent? _**You don't**_!

 **Sagiso:** You're so annoying! You better shut up right now or I'll-

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Testimonies-**

 **Kaniza:** Please stop this right now!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Kaniza had suddenly screamed into the open. Sagiso and Kamui fell silent. Minori looked at her. Everyone was in shock, having been shut into silence.

The raven gulped. She rubbed her hands together, prayed softly to the stars above, and slowly explained herself, timidly, "If you don't mind, I think I know why you're wrong, Kamui."

Kamui was still dumbfounded. He looked at the woman in silence, blinking once or twice before slowly shaking his head. He coughed, awkwardly scratching his head, then smiled. "Yes, and why is that?"

The astrophotographer took a moment to prepare herself, holding in a deep breath of air. She scanned the room- Sagiso was eyeing her in shock, but her composure slowly loosened once Kamui spoke softly; Kamui was staring at her, observing her; and there was Minori, unsure of what was even happening. Everyone's attention was on her, and she couldn't help but fidget about in her seat.

She inwardly prayed to herself. _Dad, Mom… Nezumi… please look over me._ A deep sigh escaped her breath, and shakily, she continued, "I believe that Minori's innocent. Even if he… killed his father, it was out of self-defense. A murder does not automatically define you as a bad person, in my belief."

"Kaniza…" Minori averted his gaze. His expression had paled even more than before. Was it out of guilt? Was it out of exasperation? She wasn't sure, and her prayers went out to him nonetheless.

Kamui continued to stare at her, and Kaniza's attention had to shift to him instead. "So, well… I believe Minori is innocent just because of what happened to him."

Everyone continued to stare at her. It seemed like they wouldn't stop staring, unfortunately enough. It only seemed to stress her out further, honestly.

"I remembered what Kamui said: that he had a letter and bumped into Saori and Minori. He ended up knocking them out, and you tied them up inside of the janitor's- er, storage room." Kaniza held her breath. "M-Minnie definitely wouldn't allow this to happen to himself if he was the killer."

Sagiso's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah! That's right!"

Kamui simply frowned in return. He pursed his lips and crossed his arms, stern in his expression. "I understand that, yes, but I am concerned over the fact he made a deal with Monokuma."

"Huh?" Kaniza blinked confusingly. "What do you mean?"

The mortician sighed. "If Minori was working with Monokuma, then it begs the question- what makes you so sure Monokuma didn't free Minori and allowed Minori to kill Fumio and Sheina?"

Minori shook his head at this, face entirely white as he threw his hands up. "W-what reason would I have for killing them anyways?! Especially…" His expression gloomed. "... especially Fumio…"

Sagiso glared at the mortician, completely enraged as she slammed her fists down. "I have had enough with this!" she screamed. "I don't see why you would think he murdered them! You definitely have seen how he reacted to their deaths, right? Especially Fumio's! He was fucking heartbroken!"

"I know he hates this reasoning," Kamui began, "but he's an Ultimate Pseudologist for a reason; he could be lying."

The psychogeographer frowned. "He hates that, yeah. So, of fucking course he would be lying. You said it yourself! He hates this! He hates being the Ultimate Pseudologist!"

The mortician shook his head, keeping his composure stern. "He could be lying about that as well. In fact, this entire killing game has been nothing but lies and broken promises… it should've been expected that I'd be suspicious of Minori."

 _Oh god. I need to do something._ Kaniza noticed how much Minori was sweating, completely overwhelmed with guilt. She didn't even care if Minori was feigning his guilt or if this was even the 'real' Minori- all she knew was that Kamui and Sagiso were going to tear at each other's heads at this point, and Kaniza didn't care if Monokuma was manipulating their personalities, or if this was truly them being genuine. It shouldn't matter, and she wanted nothing more than to stop this.

She held in her breath. She stilled herself for a moment, and breathing in, she breathed out. She did this for another time. In, and out. Slowly, she began to move, opening her mouth and enunciating in a loud, clear tone:

"How about we discuss about this then?"

Everyone turned to look at her. Kamui and Sagiso's faces were filled with confusion and slight annoyance. Minori, on the other hand, was eyeing her with a melancholic, anxious stare.

"Instead of arguing and blaming Minnie, can we try to figure out what happened first?" Kaniza then smiled softly, even if it was awkward and worrisome. "I mean, I have a general idea of what happened: Fumio and Sheina are listed as perpetrators right now, and they were planning something, and that they couldn't have killed each other… but other than that, I have no idea of what else happened, and I know finding the killer is really important, but…"

"Oh." Sagiso's voice fell to a quiet whisper. "Yeah."

Kamui frowned. "But if we can get Minori to confess, then-"

"What if he isn't the killer? What if he doesn't confess? We…" Kaniza gulped. "We need to figure out everything to push the killer into a corner. If we have any open holes, then the killer doesn't feel inclined to confess, right?"

"I…" The mortician went silent. He slowly bowed his head down and sighed, begrudgingly acknowledging the woman's words with a blunt, "I guess you have a point."

 _Thank god._ Kaniza forced back the relieved smile creeping to her face. She looked over to Minori who cautiously looked at the group. The astrophotographer bit into her lips, feeling her heart pounding. "Well, since I did suggest it, I do have a few things to ask."

Sagiso carefully eyed her friend. "Mhm, like what?"

Kaniza went silent. She looked at Sagiso for a moment, then to Monokuma.

He was grinning, mocking her.

It was right here that she knew- she just had to do something, and she couldn't waste time.

For Minori, for Saori, for Kamui, for Sagiso… for even everyone else who weren't here physically, she had to do something. She was not just going to sit here, lying in wait for answers.

She had to move.

* * *

Yes, we are actually not done with this case! I am actually surprised the case is taking more than two chapters, but then again, that is most likely because of the other factors contributing to this madness. Maybe things are making more sense than before, maybe not? Who knows?

Promotions:

 **Danganronpa: The Pitiful Plague Called Ignorance** by RioA

 **Danganronpa: Remnants Of My Heart** by Prince PokePersona

 **Danganronpa: Blood Sport** by tobi-is-an-artist-too

 **Danganronpa: Execution Order** by Heroi Oscura

 **Danganronpa: Brightmere Mysteries** by WritersMind15

 **For Whom the Rabbits Mourn** by SanityRequiem

 **Our Ghosts Return** by TheRoseShadow21

... And that's all I have for now! I'll see you all next time!


	48. Chapter 5 - Part 2, Part D

I am finally back with another chapter of this story! How long did that take, haha? Anyways, I really have nothing to say other than to prepare yourselves. It's going to be a long trip from here, even more than before.

 **Emma2448:** "Oh gosh, I'm more than surprised to hear it! Usually, cases are my weak points, so it's surprising to hear this! Nonetheless, yes, everyone is suspicious, haha. I wonder if that's the case? Hm, no one will know, huh. Monokuma is a ho, that's all that can be said. Aww, thank you so much! You're too kind to say that! I love you."

 **Ziggymia123:** "Ziggy, no, why D: Kamui can be anything, everyone is suspicious of him, oops. I'll be the mastermind myself, who needs characters ;) Ooh, but yes, interesting theories. Anything can work here, and I love what you can think of. Monokuma is a rude bear, someone please sue him for what he's doing. Complicated or not, it's a good theory and it's good to think nonetheless! Ooh, interesting."

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Aww, thanks so much! You need to take care of yourself, that's your first priority, not reviewing! Haha, yeah, everything is getting confusing, and I am sick of the trial now. Yes, nothing will end well. Despair for all! Fumio's still a cutie. Sheina is Sheina, that's all can be said. Wow, the irony there, poor Sagiso and Kamui. Minori is still loopy af and yes, oof to Saori and Kaniza. POVs for all I say, maybe! Kaniza is a sweetheart, so show her some well deserved love! Oh my, theories are theories nonetheless. Nah, Monokuma is the mastermind, I've tricked you all. Yeah, keeping the plug right there! Oops, right, AoD. Someone tell me to work on AoD please."

 **FruitlessKitty_74:** "Aww, that's fine! Minori's reveal is going to be a shocker, woah. Kamui isn't helping, haha. No, it's fine! You're fine, don't worry about it. Interesting theory, I wonder if you are right? Saori is amazing, what a baby. Aww, yes! What a cutie."

* * *

 **BIG THANKS TO MY BETA READER: Ziggymia123!**

* * *

 **CLASS IS IN SESSION**

 **IS IT POSSIBLE TO RISE?**

* * *

Kaniza rubbed her hands together and kept them close to her chest. Her skirt moved slightly from side to side, dancing along to her nervous movements. Her lips parted, and her nose wrinkled and sniffed. She looked ahead, ahead to the group who were eyeing her.

Was she ready for this? Can she really do this?

The clock was ticking, and Kaniza knew- she had no time to waste. It was now or never, and she knew hesitation was not going to get her anywhere in life. She inwardly sighed to herself, and curled her fingers to form fists. _Well… here goes nothing._

The astrophotographer softly coughed, and spoke: "We came to the conclusion that Fumio and Sheina were not targeting the mastermind directly, right?"

"Yeah, that's right." The psychogeographer slowly folded her arms. "Why?"

"The grander scheme of things then." Kaniza gulped. "If they were not targeting the mastermind directly, then they were targeting us."

"Huh?" Minori looked at the group for a moment, then gasping as his dark green eyes widened. "O-oh! Is that why Kamui was called up to the music room?"

 _Ah, just as smart as always, Minnie._ Kaniza smiled softly, a sad tune to her expression. "That's right."

"But given that you said Fumio and Sheina…" Minori's voice fell to a mumble. "I see they were the ones who wrote those messages on the walls and did those things around the building…"

The woman saw Minori shudder, yet she wasn't sure if it was because of this thought, or because he had saw something himself. Nonetheless, she felt it was best to clarify things. "Well, we're still not sure if it was only Fumio and Sheina who did all those things."

Minori raised a brow. "Oh, really? Excluding me and Saori?"

Sagiso took on the role of leadership, clearing her throat and nodding her head. "We think the murderer would be the final one in the perpetrator list. Fumio couldn't have written those messages because we are already aware of his handwriting, and if Sheina had written everything by herself we'd be able to connect the handwritings of each message to each other."

"She's right," Kamui said, continuing, "Some of the messages' handwritings do connect with one another, now that I think about it, but the rest do not. Even if the perpetrator, in this case being Sheina, tried to write differently in each message, there will always be a connection when it comes to someone's handwriting. Whether from loops, how a letter is written… yeah."

The pseudologist slowly nodded his head and cupped his chin. As always, the white-haired man was one who thought and pondered, thinking about every possibility. "Hm… I see then."

"So, we already figured out that the perpetrators were planning to target everyone excluding the mastermind, and we already seemed to assume that Fumio and Sheina are not the only perpetrators, but that the killer is one as well." Kamui frowned. "So, what do you need us to clarify?"

Sagiso rolled her eyes at the mortician. "Obviously, what the purpose in going into that stupid room was about."

Kaniza nodded her head shyly, slightly shocked at how blunt her best friend was. "Y-yeah."

She held her breath. _But I need to think about it. I need to find a reason for all of this… I need to convince them._

* * *

 **PRESENT THE EVIDENCE**

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Lens Cap-**

 **Kaniza:** Here it is!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Kaniza bit into her lips as she looked at the group. She counted herself to three before slowly speaking, saying, "I… I have an idea of what Fumio and Sheina were trying to do, and who the third perpetrator could be then."

Sagiso's eyes widened. "Really?"

The astrophotographer nodded her head, causing Minori and Kamui as well to look at her in complete and utter shock. She gulped- her heart was pounding at her. "I think the reason why Sheina and Fumio were inside of the MonoLottery room, other than the objects inside of the room and being away from everyone… and why they were killed, I think it has to do with the third person- no, the third and final perpetrator, inside. It's the only explanation why they were killed in that manner."

"So, they didn't kill each other, and were instead killed by a third party." Minori slowly bit into his lips. "I see."

Kaniza nodded. "That would explain the message on the wall inside of the monochrome room… and the lens cap that was found inside of that very same room."

Kamui raised a brow. "Lens cap…?"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Sagiso clapped her hands together. The noise of her hands clapped echoed throughout the entire courtroom, causing the room to vibrate slightly. "I honestly didn't really see it as much importance though."

"Ah, I remember seeing the lens cap." Minori crossed his arms, frowning. "However, what is the purpose in that, Kaniza?"

Kaniza held her breath. "Well, the message is not enough to convince the mastermind to come out, I'm pretty sure. And considering the lens cap, it was obvious Fumio and Sheina wanted to record something for the mastermind… however, what would that be?"

Minori gulped. "That's…"

"It would be everyone excluding them and the mastermind," Kamui spoke, blunt and to the point. He had his arms folded, lips pursed. "Since the perpetrators were targeting us to bring out the mastermind, we were their victims. So, it would make sense for Fumio and Sheina to capture us and hold us for blackmail."

"Well, not exactly." Kaniza could tell that the mortician was baffled. She awkwardly smiled at him. "In my opinion, I think that what you said isn't right. If Fumio and Sheina wanted to hold everyone for blackmail, they would've done so much more sooner and discreetly, particularly during the nighttime where the mastermind would've been asleep."

She then gulped, feeling her throat drying. The woman had to admit- she was not used to speaking so much, especially under such a tense and serious atmosphere. "Uh, especially concerning you, Saori, and Minnie. If Fumio and Sheina wanted to capture us all, they'd have used you knocking the duo out to their advantage. I'd think Fumio or Sheina would've at least seen you since you were inside of the meeting place, right?"

Kamui pursed his lips. "... I suppose you're right."

Kaniza rubbed her hands together and continued, "If you weren't taken out, then I would've thought that Fumio or Sheina would've dragged Minori and Saori to their place then."

Minori slowly raised a hand up. "Excuse me, Kaniza."

 _Oh no, what did I do wrong this time?_ The woman blinked confusingly. "U-uh, yes?"

"I do not mean to be rude," he began, speaking in that polite tone of his, "but I do want to add in that there is a logical reason for Fumio and Sheina to not have dragged me and Saori to the MonoLottery room."

Kaniza held her breath. Beads of sweat immediately began to form on her forehead. "And why's that, Minnie?"

Minori tugged at his scarf. "Well, considering the timing of events, I would think that Sheina and Fumio did not take me and Saori to the MonoLottery room because of the risk that someone would catch them in the act. Other than that, Kamui himself can come back and see Fumio and Sheina in the action… and, also, I would think that either one of them would come to check on the meeting place, and the other would stay back to prepare what is happening in the MonoLottery room."

The pseudologist then cleared his throat, awkwardly scratching his head as he looked over to Kaniza. "Erm, you do understand where I am coming right, correct?"

"Y-yeah, right." Kaniza felt her shoulders slouching- no, her entire body slouched seconds immediately after Kamui answered. _Oh god, how do I respond to that? But I know I'm right._ She forced herself to calm down, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. She looked at the pseudologist, forcing herself to keep still. "I understand that, but there are a lot of reasons to why Fumio and Sheina didn't just decide to capture everyone for blackmail at the start."

Minori went silent, confused.

Kaniza sighed deeply. "The lens cap, as Sagi said, links to the idea of Fumio and Sheina wanting to record something. However, that recording wouldn't just be about the message or about them."

"Wait." Sagiso frowned. "Why not?"

The pseudologist averted his gaze. "The mastermind could reveal the tape to everyone else that way, so Fumio and Sheina would be in grave danger if that happened."

Kaniza nodded. "Mhm. Other than that, if they didn't want to capture everybody to blackmail the mastermind into revealing themself, then there has to be someone willing to help them film, or record."

Sagiso bit into her lips. "Couldn't they just have knocked someone out instead and drag them over to the MonoLottery room?"

"We established that it's impossible for just Fumio and Sheina to have written the messages on the wall, and the third perpetrator being at the scene of the crime makes a lot of sense." Kaniza held her breath, heart racing faster and faster as the seconds pass on by. "So… the killer and final perpetrator would be the one who was inside of the MonoLottery room to help Sheina and Fumio."

"Hey."

Kaniza looked ahead, eyes darting straight over to Sagiso's. The psychogeographer was looking at her warily, head slightly wet from sweat. The auburn-haired woman had her lips pursed, and they slightly parted to form a quiet, almost meek mumble of:

"Why do you sound so confident about this?"

Kaniza went silent. She slowly averted her eyes to the ground, head hung low, face slightly going pale, lips slightly agape, downcasted.

Sagiso knew these movements all too well- she already knew what they meant, and, honestly speaking, who wouldn't? It was so obvious what was going through Kaniza's head right now, and Sagiso felt completely betrayed as she scooted back from her chair. "Kaniza. Please, you're joking."

Kaniza simply stayed silent, eyes completely rejecting the distress on Sagiso's face.

"No…" Sagiso shook her head, suddenly shooting herself out from her seat. She turned to face the woman, taking a step out and forward. "Kaniza, you're fucking with me. I know you are."

"... Let's think about this." Kaniza spoke softly. "How will you be able to make the mastermind reveal themself?"

The psychogeographer gritted her teeth. "Kaniza, no."

"To record a video of someone being threatened directly, and have everyone else be captured for safekeeping."

And Kaniza suddenly raised a hand up, moving the sleeve of her sweater down.

Rope burns.

There were rope burns around her wrist, and Kaniza was pale as she stared straight into the audience watching her.

"K-Kaniza…?"

"Are you… are you serious…?"

Sagiso shook her head repeatedly. "Kaniza, you did not work for Fumio and Sheina!" She began stomping over to Kaniza, roughly grabbing ahold of her sweater and pulling the raven close to her face. Her entire face was red in anger, body shaking as she began screaming. "This isn't funny! You are joking with me!"

Kaniza stared straight into Sagiso's face, keeping herself still. "I am not. Fumio didn't only want Sheina to be his accomplice, but me as well. He took advantage of how weak I was, and used that to make me work with him… same with Sheina, but she's still different in comparison."

Sagiso's eyes began to grow teary. She forced those tears back and continued to shake the woman mindlessly. "Idiot! This isn't funny! We already know it's not you! You're just not the type of person to kill people!"

Minori gulped from where he stood. He couldn't do anything but stare at the scene in horror. "Sagiso, please calm down!"

The psychogeographer heard nothing, only staring straight into Kaniza's eyes hysterically. "Please tell me you're joking! You would never do something like this! You're lying!"

Kaniza simply shook her head, although her expression was pained as well. "I'm not… why else would I have the rope burns?"

"I-I don't know!" Sagiso spat. "You're just trying to trick us! I bet Monokuma's doing some weird shit again, and that's why you're acting like this!"

"Weird…" Kaniza pursed her lips. "It does explain everything."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sagiso was panting. "Just stop this! This isn't you! You're pulling my leg!"

"Sagi, I…" Kaniza bit into her lips, shakily grabbing at Sagiso's hands. "Can you please let me go? I… I want to explain myself to everyone."

"N-no!" Sagiso shook her head. Her entire face was pale. "I'm not allowing it! I know you're tricking us!"

Minori gulped as he finally stepped out from his seat, making his way over to the two women. "Hey, please calm down. Sagiso…"

"I know Monokuma is doing something!" Sagiso screamed, shaking Kaniza's entire body. It was violent, rough, and Kaniza felt her best friend's fingers digging into her clothes, almost breaking it into holes. "You are not guilty! It's impossible for you to have killed Fumio and Sheina!"

"They weren't supposed to die."

Shock. Kaniza and Sagiso stopped immediately from what they were doing, turning to Minori who was now in their line of sight.

Silence. The pseudologist gulped as he looked at the duo. His mind almost screamed for him to run to Kamui to hide, but he had to stand and hold his ground. He slowly moved his lips apart, and there he spoke: "I believe that Kamui was supposed to be one of the first people to be captured. It was by pure coincidence that I and Saori came, and the fact that there's so many bodies now led to the perpetrators' plan being stalled."

Sagiso eyed the man for a while, silent. Her grip on Kaniza loosened, but only slightly. "... What are you getting at?"

Minori averted his gaze. The woman's glare was piercing him, staring straight into his soul in a desire to burn him. "The perpetrators were supposed to capture us one by one, but that one incident caused everything to stall." He pursed his lips. "I'm not exactly a psychologist per se, but I know that would begin to stress them out. They would begin to argue and blame each other, right?"

"But what are you getting at?" Sagiso's lips curled to a hopeless smile. "You're not making any sense here."

Minori steadied his breath. "Sheina and Fumio ended up dying not because the mastermind ordered it or out of pure coincidence, but because they and the third party ended up becoming antagonistic with one another."

The psychogeographer went completely silent, dumbfounded.

Kamui bit into his lips, face hardening. "I see," he spoke softly, thinking to himself, "Because they didn't capture me when they were supposed to, and Minori and Saori were too much for them to safely bring to their hideout, they ended up becoming stressed out and pressured. This would lead to their group dynamic failing."

Kaniza smiled softly, gently bringing down Sagiso's hands away from her. She took a step back and turned to Minori and Kamui. "Yeah, that does play a role in everything."

"No, just fuck off with that bullshit."

 _What?_ Kaniza's eyes widened as she whipped her head over to see the auburn-haired woman- the woman was glaring angrily at her and honestly, it made her shudder. "Sagiso…"

"Group dynamics? Stress? I'm sorry, but just fuck off with that!" The woman gritted her teeth. "That's nothing more than a statement transformed into a stupid hyperbole or some shit! Besides, it doesn't make Kaniza guilty of anything! Even if she confesses, she might just be lying!"

Kaniza gulped. "Sagi, please. At least allow me to explain what happened."

Sagiso shook her head, eyes entirely riddled in tears. "No, I just don't want to see you die. You aren't the killer, and I can prove it!"

Kaniza knew her heart was breaking. "Sagi… I…"

"You are not the killer, and I am going to prove that!"

* * *

 **ARGUMENT ARMAMENT**

 **Sagiso:** You didn't do it!

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** You're not the killer!

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** Everything you said is a lie!

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** Monokuma's messing with you, Kaniza!

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** You can't be the murderer! It just can't be true!

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** There's nothing to prove you guilty! So what if everyone else isn't in the clear?

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** There's three perpetrators, but that doesn't make you one, idiot!

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** You just can't be the murderer. I know it isn't you.

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** Maybe it is possible for Fumio and Sheina to have killed each other?

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** Maybe it was by coincidence they died!

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** Nonetheless, it's just bullshit you're all spouting!

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** Group dynamics shouldn't count! Besides, that doesn't make you the killer!

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** I… I have a reason why you couldn't be the killer!

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** I don't have an alibi either, so that must also make me the killer! You're all targeting people who don't have alibis, right?

|BREAK!|

 **Sagiso:** Besides, there's no proof you even killed them! Those rope burns mean nothing!

 **FINAL BLOW!**

 **Sagiso:** If you really did suffocate Fumio, then shouldn't your hands be covered in rope burns? So, that means you're innocent!

 **NO ONE | ELSE HAS | ANY INDICATION OF | ROPE BURNS ON THEM**

 **Kaniza:** This should prove everything!

 **ANSWER:** _ **No one else has any indication of rope burns on them.**_

 **Sagiso:** N-no, that's not it! I…

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Sagiso, please." Kaniza looked into Sagiso's eyes, her hazel golden eyes staring into her best friend's upturned blue eyes. The shorter woman looked heartbroken by just staring up at Kaniza, and the astrophotographer wanted to just end this all already. "I,,, I'll explain myself, so please just listen, okay?"

"No…" Sagiso's head fell, downtrodden. Her eyes were entirely covered in tears, those droplets riding down her face and wetting her cheeks. "I…"

The raven smiled softly at Sagiso and turned to the audience. "I'll… I think it's best if I explain everything now."

Kamui gulped, having watched the pair argue it out. "Kaniza, are you sure?" He began, his voice falling into a gentle tone. "You really don't have to if you don't. You… you already seemed to prove you're the guilty one."

"No." Minori brought a hand up, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but I think it's best if she explains it. I… I would like to have some closure, especially since Fumio…"

"Of course." Kaniza pursed her lips. It should've been obvious the pseudologist would want that- his closest friend died, after all. "I'll tell you everything."

Sagiso clumsily slammed her fists down. She just didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it. _There must,_ she thought, _there must be a way to counteract this._ Her teeth gritted down, grinding against one another. _There's just no way this is the answer._

But, sadly, Sagiso only wanted to believe that. She looked over to Kamui. The mortician was simply staring at the astrophotographer, silent. It was hard to read his expression, and even when she had yelled at him before, she had reason to believe he was bothered by this whole situation. Minori was still slightly not himself (or so she would like to think), the pseudologist carefully analyzing the situation before noticing the psychogeographer. He threw her a melancholic smile, though Sagiso wanted nothing more than to slap that smile away and tell him that there's another answer… that there must be.

Kaniza sighed, her expression calm. Slowly, she parted her lips, and Sagiso had no time to convince Minori to salvage the damage.

* * *

 **CLOSING ARGUMENT**

 **Kaniza:** This is what happened!

Everything happened because of what Monokuma… er, Minnie, had with the motive. I don't think I had this person's backstory to spite on them. If anything, what I had wasn't of much importance to me, nor it was to everyone else, I assume. However, my case wasn't the same as everyone else's. Of course, someone had to get the mastermind's story, and that's what led to this whole thing.

… Fumio has gotten the mastermind's past, and as determined as he had always been he wanted to get the mastermind to confess their sins and free us. How would he do this though? A one-man army will not help him, so he had asked two people to help him: me and Sheina. Like what you all guessed during the trial, he was able to bring his way around telling us whose past he got. He asked us… I don't know why he asked us, though I assumed it was because of not trust, but because of how… easily he can manipulate us. I honestly did want to stop the mastermind though, and I was desperate. After so many people dying, especially with how Monokuma obviously had a hand in everything, I wanted nothing more than to grab Fumio's hand and help him out. I'm sure Sheina was the same, but I honestly can't be too sure.

So, what was the plan? Well… I'm honestly surprised you guessed most of it, everything that went down. The plan was to implant messages and a numerous amount of 'pranks' throughout the entire school. This is not to just make the mastermind wary, but it is to make everyone worry about one another and become suspicious. Of course, like you guys said, Fumio didn't write the messages, especially the one concerning himself. It was mainly me and Sheina who did the work. The reason for that is… well, you know.

Of course, the pranks were supposed to scare everyone. Fumio did have a plan to bring out the mastermind, and that was through the use of everyone else except for the mastermind. How? Well, to capture everyone, to put it lightly. Of course, we didn't want people to understand what we were doing, so our pranks and messages were random… Not to Fumio's case though, since we wanted to make sure he won't be considered suspicious.

Our plan was to capture everybody first except for the mastermind. Our first target, as you guys could probably guess, was Kamui. Sheina was the one who wrote him the letter. We were supposed to capture all of you guys, one by one. Sheina was there to go capture Kamui when he was there, but the unpredictable happened…

Instead of Sheina being there first, Minnie and Saori were there instead. We never expected Minnie and Saori to work together, especially to call us out as well and confuse us. I don't know what happened since I wasn't there, but Sheina immediately left after Kamui knocked Minnie and Saori out. She reported to us back when we were inside the MonoLottery room.

Why were we already inside of the MonoLottery room? Well, that is because we already planned what was going to happen. The MonoLottery room had everything we needed, and especially since we were quite far away from everyone else. The smaller room also provided us with the space just needed for us to do what we need to do.

The plan here was to lure out the mastermind with one pivotal thing- that not only were everyone else captured, but someone was going to be hurt if the mastermind did not reveal themself to us. It was a gamble, now that I think about it. Did the mastermind truly cared about us? Honestly, I never thought about this, and everyone was already falling out of proportion, so… I can't really say anything. Maybe Fumio knew more than I did, or even Sheina.

Nonetheless, the plan was set in motion right before Sheina was supposed to come out. I was going to be the one who was going to be directly 'hurt', and so Fumio had a rope and a video camera set in his hands. He did tie my hands up, and he was going to record me being deeply in trouble. Of course, he was not going to hurt me, but it should be enough to scare the mastermind…

… and that was when Sheina came in. Of course, she didn't have Kamui in her hands, and Fumio and I were confused as to what happened. She began to tell us what happened, and I don't know- I… I just feel like Fumio went completely mad at this point. Whether or not it was because of Monokuma, it didn't matter now. Fumio and Sheina eventually began arguing over this: Fumio yelling at how stupid Sheina was, and Sheina excusing herself and telling Fumio to stop it.

This eventually escalated, and a shuffle took place. Fumio got angered enough that it enraged him, causing him to grab ahold of an axe he found in the ground and slam it straight into Sheina's head. This automatically killed Sheina, and caused me to panic. He was scary, and I was scared he was going to kill me next, especially when he was about to walk straight to me.

I quickly tried to escape from my binds. I struggled as much as I could and freed myself just when Fumio was about to walk in. I was scared… and I tackled him. I tackled him and we fought and fought until I eventually caught him into a chokehold and suffocated him… suffocated him till he died… and he was lifeless.

I got scared and I hid the axe. I ran out as soon as possible until the body discovery announcement sounded, and I… I never wanted to see them again. I couldn't believe what I have done…

I… I am the killer. Kaniza Tsukitaiyo, the Ultimate Astrophotographer, that's the killer: me.

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Silence overwhelmed the entire room. It was entirely silent, other than for the breaths coming out from the Ultimates' lips. Dead, dead silence.

Sagiso looked to everyone around her. To Minori, Kamui, Kaniza- hell, even the still unconscious Saori. She looked at everyone, and then her eyes focused straight to Monokuma's. He smiled, and that disgusted her. More than disgust, it caused her stomach to churn and growl in an unusual uneasy fashion because: _No… no. No, there's something wrong. There's something definitely fucking wrong here._

Minori seemed to have noticed this uneasiness as well. Even Kamui had. They were all staring at Kaniza who was on the verge of sobbing, breaking down and falling to her knees. Even if tragedy and sadness overwhelmed them, there was a surge of complete and utter uneasiness that filled their heads- it was an uneasiness that was somehow, somehow just similar to something dreadful they had encountered before.

"Hey, Kaniza." Kamui was speaking in a soft, gentle tone. It was rather sweet of him to do, but it was obvious he was anxious. "I'm sorry, but please answer something for me."

Kaniza tearfully looked at the mortician. Her eyes were teary, lips pursed with her face pale. "Y-yes?"

The tall man held his breath. It almost looked like his ponytail was swaying from left to right, but yet there lacked a soft breeze inside of the courtroom. He looked warily at the astrophotographer, cleared his throat, and questioned, "Please tell us who killed who again."

"Uh… sure?" Kaniza awkwardly rubbed her eyes, sniffling. "I killed Fumio… that's because he tore open Sheina's head."

Somehow, that struck a bright hopeful light to Sagiso. She hated it, sadly- hope always tend to die out, after all. She couldn't help it though, her mind was beginning to react to this hope like it was a drug- a very, very addictive drug.

"I see." Minori cupped his chin, thinking to himself for a moment. He was silent for that short moment, his dark green eyes glistening a pondering glance before his nose wrinkled, eyebrows furrowed. He slowly focused his attention on Kaniza before he parted his lips. "Kaniza, I don't mean to impose, but I think we have a dilemma here."

Kaniza raised a brow. "Um… why? Did I do something wrong again?"

The pseudologist shook his head. "Not that." He then awkwardly scratched his head. "It's just… you might be innocent."

The woman eyed the man for a moment. A look of pure and utter bafflement resided in her face, eyes widening. "Wait, what?"

Sagiso had to hold in her grin. No, she didn't want to be hopeful. "Kani, I think you can be free from all of this. You could be declared innocent."

"W-why?" Kaniza's face was entirely pale, eyebrows creased just halfway above her head. "How…?"

Kamui coughed, clearing his throat. He had his arms folded, although his expression gave off a very anxious vibe. "You said it yourself, didn't you? Fumio killed Sheina, and then you killed him out of self-defense."

"Yeah…" Kaniza then averted her gaze. "But I still murdered him, right? I'm still alive too, after all, so…"

"That's not the point." Minori frowned. "Remember what happened last time? It's not exactly the same, but…"

Sagiso furrowed her brows. _Yeah, Amyto and Rin's thing. God, that brings back so many bad memories._ She instantly remembered how frightened everyone were, on the brink of death- Seiga threw Minori straight under the bus, and everyone was about to scream for help right until Fumio jumped into the fray and pointed at Monokuma. It was such a miraculous save that Sagiso had to weep about it straight after she left into her room that night.

Horrible. She did not want to experience again, and yet here she was now… now, and it concerned her very own best friend. _Shit._ She gulped, swallowed that lump in her throat. Her head was beginning to ache her even more than it had already did, and it was annoying her- was this headache supposed to mean something right now, or was she truly feeling the physical symptoms of stress?

"There's a chance you won't be guilty," Kamui began, speaking up for everyone else. He threw Kaniza a hardened look, eyebrows furrowed. "You aren't lying to us in anyway either, correct?"

"W-why would I lie to you guys?" Kaniza was shaky. "I wouldn't lie about being a killer if that's the case… Besides, I really like being with you all."

"She's not lying." Sagiso crossed her arms, glaring at the mortician. She knew the idea of lying was something to worry others, and she was not going to let the concept of someone lying get to their heads. She knew it would cause trouble. "I'm sure Kaniza would never lie to us if this was the case. She obviously wanted us to know of her guilt."

Kamui stared at the psychogeographer for a moment, then looked to Kaniza and gauged her response. He saw how she flinched at his stare, how she awkwardly twirled her locks of hair around and played with her skirt, eyes tearful as can be. He frowned, slowly pursing his lips. "I suppose you have a point."

 _Yeah, I know I do._ Sagiso sighed nonetheless. "But, anyways, I want to make it clear that I am not going to fucking vote for Kaniza."

"W-what? Wait a second there." Kamui quickly raised a hand up, staring straight into Sagiso's eyes. "I am not just going to allow that. Remember what happened with Amyto and Fuwari?"

"I know that," Sagiso growled. "But this is obviously different. Fumio was the one who killed Sheina first, remember?"

Kamui shook his head. "Yes, that's true, but Kaniza's the only killer who's actually alive. What if Monokuma wanted us to vote for her?"

"G-guys…?" Kaniza gulped as she looked at the group. She was unsure of what to do. She truly didn't mean to make this case so complicated- she honestly never thought about this, and everything was falling straight into an abyss of dark chaos. "Please, I-I'm pretty sure I'm the killer you should vote for. Fumio shouldn't count…"

"Kaniza, I know you wanted me to stop arguing about this, but I can't stop." Sagiso fiercely looked at the astrophotographer, shutting her down. She hated how Kaniza threw her a look of complete betrayal and hurt, but honestly speaking- fuck that, she was going to protect her. She slammed her fists down. "I am not voting for Kaniza."

"Excuse me, but we don't even know who the killer is anymore then!" Kamui clenched into his fists. Sagiso's stubbornness was truly grating on his nerves, and his stomach churned all over. "I don't want to vote for Kaniza if it meant us getting killed, but if she is the killer then we should vote for her! You can't just decide on something without proof that we'd be alive and not dead!"

"Yeah, so what?" Sagiso glared angrily at the mortician. "Maybe we can convince Monokuma to not kill us!"

"What?" The mortician was completely flabbergasted. "Sagiso, a-are you being serious with me? You're not Fumio! He's a completely different case!"

Sagiso scoffed. "So what? Doesn't he value our lives more than the killer's?"

"Oh my god, you're not making any sense here-"

"Hey, calm down!" Minori quickly shouted at the top of his lungs, completely breathless as he stared widely at the group. He panted, heart beating erratically as he slowly sighed, relaxing his shoulders- slightly. "Please, we need to calm down. Arguing and freaking out over this will not help us solve anything."

The psychogeographer looked at the pseudologist. She was still worried as to why Minori was suddenly acting so polite and modest, but simply sighed annoyingly and crossed her arms. "I don't know what we should do then, Minnie."

Minori averted his dark green eyes, slightly frightened by the sudden bluntness in Sagiso's tone. "Well… How about we list out the reasons why Kaniza should be the one being voted as the killer, and the reasons why we should vote for Fumio?"

"... That's clever." Kamui crossed his arms. He slowly focused his gaze on Kaniza. "We should hear what Kaniza thinks on both cases first though."

Kaniza jumped at this. "W-what I think…?"

"Mhm." Minori nodded his head slowly, carefully. "Rather than having us decide what to do, I would like to know what you, one of the people involved specifically in the incident, to explain to us on what to do… Er, convince us, basically."

Kamui awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I mean, she is the only one who's alive and involved in the incident."

"R-right." Minori blushed at this, flustered by his blunder. "I knew that."

Nonetheless, Kaniza knew what she had to do. She had to do this- not for her own sake, but for the others' sake as well. She pursed her lips, kept her posture steady, and began with a soft-

-"I'll explain what I think then, about both cases."

And everyone stared at her, waiting eagerly, impatiently.

Kaniza rubbed her hands together, breathed in. Breathed out. "I… I honestly think you should vote for me, no matter what. Even with the threat of Monokuma wanting the culprit to be Fumio, I think it's better if you vote for me because Monokuma would have someone to execute that way. If you don't vote for me and it's wrong, all of you except for me will die and I'd… It's just too sad for me to think about."

Sagiso pursed her lips, expression hardening within seconds of her words. She couldn't help but breathe out herself, her heart racing to her discontent. "But what if that's wrong? What if you're truly not the killer?"

The astrophotographer was at a loss. She didn't want to think about that, yet of course the inevitable had to come forth, pressuring her to answer. "I… uh… That's hopefully not… n-not the case…"

"That's not reassuring at all," Kamui huffed, shaking his head. "So, your solution is to have us vote for you, correct?"

Kaniza looked at the mortician before nodding her head, very slowly. "... Yeah, that's what I think."

Sagiso noticed that Kamui wanted to say something about this, and she knew better than to let it be, simply slamming her hands down the table for about the hundredth or so time in a row. Her eyes pierced into Kamui's as she spoke, fluently and as bluntly as possible: "If Kaniza wanted us to vote incorrectly, then she would've thrown us off already in the trial and not spoke about Fumio's part in the crime."

"I suppose so." Kamui shrugged the woman off, however almost too offhandedly. "But the question still remains: what should we do? We got her input, and I know we have different opinions ourselves, so what should we do? Vote for what the majority wants?"

"The majority seems split though." Kaniza nervously fiddled with her skirt. She couldn't help but throw a look to Monokuma who simply watched them with an observant, silent eye. It was frightening, even more so than when he would speak- she didn't know why it made her shudder, but it did and she felt like the world was crumbling down on her. "... What are we going to do?"

Sagiso frowned and turned to Minori. The pseudologist looked hesitant to speak, eyes darting back and forth between the Ultimates. Once his eyes fell down to hers, she cleared her throat and spoke. "You haven't made your input yet. Do you think we should vote for Kaniza or Fumio?"

It was already obvious what the woman wanted him to say. It was too obvious given her pleading look and shining eyes.

Minori gulped as he held onto his scarf, sweaty. "Well…" He awkwardly scratched his head. "I do have a suggestion, but I need everyone's complete confidence and assurance that they'll listen to me."

Sagiso frowned. _So he doesn't want to vote for Fumio? Does he want us to vote for Kaniza?_ She couldn't help but feel her chest tighten at this, yet she quickly shook her head and looked back to the man. "What do you want?"

Minori obviously noticed the aggression in her voice, his eyes blinking and suddenly looking to the side. "I, uh, think we shouldn't choose either one of them."

"What?" Sagiso's face immediately fell flat. "That will literally make us all get killed, Minori. The answer is either one of them."

Minori shook his head. "Please just trust me on this. We need to vote for ourselves, not anyone else."

"Minori…" Kamui looked baffled, eyebrows furrowed and nose wrinkled. He just didn't know what to say, lips parted yet unable to form a word for a few seconds. It took even longer before he was even able to speak, stuttering, "I-I'm sorry, but how will that save us…?"

"Please, just trust me on this," Minori begged. "I know it doesn't sound like a valid plan to follow up on, but this is better than voting for Fumio or Kaniza. Please."

Kaniza cupped her hands together. "I-I mean, I'm willing to trust you, but why?"

Minori averted his gaze. "... I just… It's based on my gut, my instinct."

"What?" Sagiso's voice fell flat. "Minori, no, that's not how trials work. We can't go base things on our own agenda, remember?"

Minori shook his head, clenching into his fists. "Please, just trust me. This will work, I know it. I know it sounds really stupid right now, and I know I've done so many horrible things to you guys, personality altered or not, but please just trust me on this one." He then averted his gaze. "You can punish me all later."

"A-are you okay?" Kaniza asked, softly. "Did something happen?"

The pseudologist bit into his lips. "... It's nothing, really."

Kamui looked at the group for a moment, then shaking his head and sighing. He scratched his head as he crossed his arms, pursing his lips. "This does sound like a careless plan, but I'll have to take your word for it. I don't know what else to do anyways."

Kaniza nodded her head, quickly following suit. "Y-yeah, guess I'll vote for myself then…"

Sagiso gulped, her heart tightening and stomach churning in pain. Thousands of questions rang through her head, and although she knew it served to make her hesitate, she couldn't help it: _Is this really the answer? What if Monokuma wants us to do this so he can kill us all? What if I'm right? But what if I'm wrong? Is this seriously going to work?_ All these questions were causing her heart to beat and throb, and her head to spin. She was unsure of what to do, but everyone was listening to Minori and although she loved him, she really did, she was worried he was being manipulated or forced- she was worried Monokuma was toying and using him.

And when she turned to look at Monokuma, he was smirking at her. He was mocking her. Was this a signal that he knew the outcome of the vote? Did this mean that they were right, or was it a blunder?

 _Shit. I don't know._ Sagiso grabbed at her head. Yes, it was hurting, and she hated how her head was screaming at her. Her decision was split between screwing everyone over and simply listening to them- she hated it, truly, but she couldn't help herself.

She was second guessing everything, and she hated it so much. She had to look at Minori to stop herself, the man eyeing her worriedly before throwing her a soothing smile. It was a cute attempt, surely, but it broke Sagiso's heart because- _damn, he really trusts me, doesn't he?_

She quickly shook her head and slammed her fists down. She had to inflict pain onto herself to settle things right. "I'll vote for myself too then. I'll trust you, Minori."

Minori's eyes widened at this, but it quickly calmed down as the pseudologist nodded his head. "Thank you."

"Ahem, well then!"

Monokuma loudly cleared his throat, easily disrupting the tension between the Ultimates.

"Since you all look like you have things settled, let's get on with the show!"

And like he said, the show must continue. The voting ballots immediately showed itself around the courtroom, and the MonoPads were vibrating, screaming for the Ultimates to vote.

Sagiso gulped as she stared at the screen. The majority of her friends were crossed out, marked with a blood-stained X symbol. It was irritating for her to witness, making her blood boil. She couldn't help but throw a look to Monokuma who smirked at her, and she could only shudder- she felt that something was wrong, but she didn't want to think. She didn't have time to think. She had to do this now.

"You ready?" Sagiso asked, turning to eye the others. They gave her nods and determined looks, and suddenly the woman felt like she didn't even need to ask.

She quickly cleared her throat, and breathed in deeply. _Alright, then let's do this._

* * *

 **VOTING TIME**

 **CHOOSE THE BLACKENED OF THIS CASE!**

Minori Watanabe

Fumio Fujiyoshi

-Kakuma Arakaki-

-Nezumi Jirokichi-

Kamui Setsushi

-Seiga Kosoku-

-Haruko Yoshikawa-

-Ryoichi Homura-

-Fuwari Akatsuki-

Saori Arai

-Rin Hoseki-

 **Sagiso Hazuki**

Kaniza Tsukitaiyo

-Sheina Yakamuro the 12th-

-Amyto Uchida-

-Asami Karihime-

* * *

Sagiso couldn't help but hold her breath. She swore everything would be fine. She trusted Minori, she trusted Kaniza, and damn she swore to trust Kamui. She wanted to put her trust in everybody, but her heart throbbed and beat nonetheless.

And Monokuma would notice this, snickering with that obnoxious high-pitched tone of his. He would rub his paws together and cry out, "Well then! Let's see what the results are!"

So, Sagiso would feel her body giving out on her, for she felt immense fear and worry overwhelming her in anticipation. _Oh god, oh god, oh god, please let this be the end of everything… Please._

* * *

 **VOTING RESULTS**

 **Minori Watanabe -** 1 Vote

 **Kamui Setsushi -** 1 Vote

 **Sagiso Hazuki -** 1 Vote

 **Kaniza Tsukitaiyo -** 1 Vote

 **?UNKNOWN?**

 **?CLASS TRIAL END?**

 **?PLEASE RISE?**

* * *

The results were in.

The results were in.

The results were in, and Sagiso couldn't emphasize just how much that _the results were in_ , that _the fucking_ _results were in_. Her heart immediately dropped, straight down into her stomach which screamed at her. She felt her legs immediately giving up on her, and she fell to the ground, unable to contain the overwhelming anxiety and fear that filled her head.

She would've stayed down and fainted out of pure relief, but instead of exhaustion taking over her body, she was filled with joy. She immediately threw herself to the floor and spreaded her body out. She threw a fist to the air and laughed, shaking her head. "Fuck yeah. I can't believe we actually did this and got through it. Oh my god…"

 _I look so crazy down here._ Sagiso continued to laugh, tears in the corners of her eyes. She had no idea if it was relief or extreme exhaustion that had gotten to her, but nonetheless she was just… she was just overwhelmed. "We fucking trusted each other, holy fuck."

"S-so… did we actually do it?" Kaniza looked left and right, eyes darting back and forth. Her voice was so shaky that she was unable to contain her own relief, breathing deeply. "D-did we actually do it?!"

"That scared me, oh my god…" Kamui was shaking his head, a broken smile painted on his face. He was entirely covered in sweat, his eyes turned to Minori who had been silent since Sagiso fell. "Y-you're crazy, you know that? I can't believe we actually pulled it off."

Minori sighed deeply, shaky. "Y-yeah." He bit into his lips, slightly jumpy in his steps as he looked over to Monokuma. The pseudologist looked like he wanted to say something, but his parted lips closed and opened after a short moment. "We did it… so you can't execute any single one of us. We all did the impossible, so you just can't execute any single one of us."

Monokuma simply stared at the group, watching each individually with a keen, observing eye. He slowly rose that frown of his into a small smirk, strangely calm in this sudden twist of events. He slowly jumped down from his seat, graceful, and stared into Minori's dark green eyes. "You know, Minnie, you always manage to surprise me. It's no wonder you're a favorite little slave to mess with to everyone back home."

Minori's eyebrows furrowed, for he instantly knew- something was wrong, and Monokuma's smirk, while small, told him everything. "What are you talking about?"

"Your personality is so fun to mess with." Monokuma chuckled. "You can either be a cute little polite and awkward boy, but you can also be the best manipulator that you can be. It's just fun to see you switch back and forth between each trait of yours and make you believe you're growing as a person."

The pseudologist gulped, paling at what the bear was saying. He was intimidated, his eyes averting to the side. "... I don't get it."

"Don't worry about it. I made you normal again. It was fun messing with you and seeing how messed up you can be despite your resistance." Monokuma then snapped his fingers, and suddenly everything turned black.

It only took a few seconds for the lights to come back, but when it did everyone suddenly found themselves confused and unaware of what was happening. They looked at one another, shrugging and blinking. It took seconds before they turned over, finding the screen with the votes gone from sight. It was gone, and Monokuma was suddenly back in throne, smirking and pointing faraway.

And turning, turning to the back, they found themselves looking at Saori who slowly rose to the occasion. Her head was hurting, the woman groaning and grabbing at her forehead. She was squinting, adjusting herself to the light and cracking the stiffness away from her limbs.

And even Saori was unaware of the situation. Saori was about to open her eyes wider to witness the sight ahead of her, and she thought she would've been bombarded with everyone's tackles and cries of comfort, she found nothing but sudden despair and fear.

Monokuma was staring straight at her from where he sat, and his voice was loud and clear for all to hear. "Ahem, well then! Saori, it took you long enough to get here. Christ, everyone had voted already and they're dying to get your vote!"

Saori's heart fell. _What? We already voted?_

She threw a look to Minori whose eyes had widened upon Monokuma's words. The pseudologist shook his head and gritted his teeth, paling immediately as he cried, "This isn't fair! She was unconscious during the voting, so she shouldn't be allowed to vote!"

Monokuma's sadistic smirk only seemed to widen, for it caused Minori to realize exactly what the bear was planning.

"Y-you're not being fair at all!" Minori clenched into his fists, sweating profusely. "You can't do this!"

Monokuma laughed and clapped his paws together, rubbing them excitedly. "You guys are a handful, you know that? I never expected you guys to cause me so much trouble, and honestly speaking all of us agreed to just take you out now. You guys are actually proving to be a threat, so we want to get rid of you in the most fair way possible while having fun… but oh well!" He laughed a second time. "I guess we actually have to play unfair here!"

"What?" Saori darted her eyes at Monokuma, then quickly turned to Minori. "What is he talking about?"

"This isn't right," the pseudologist cried. "You were the ones who created the rules, so breaking everything… this isn't fair to us!"

The bear cackled. "If you guys were cooperative with the experiment, then none of this would've happened! But nope, we had just the worst bunch of people! We had Asami, Rin, Seiga, Fumio… every single one of you wanted nothing more than to fight us off and not kill! We were being nice to you all at the start, but everyone started to plot shit and fucking Fumio had to be so sneaky about shit that we just got tired of making sure we followed the rules! So, fuck it, we say! You guys are done!"

Kaniza quickly ran up to Monokuma and grabbed, held her hands together in prayer. She bowed her head down repeatedly as she desperately moaned, "C-can you just execute me? Please, I'm guilty, so if you want anyone to die, then let it be me!"

"Nope, too bad." He smirked as Kaniza broke down into tears and began to beg more and more, shaking her head profusely and choking in her pool of tears. "We're done with you all. We were going to play fair as a last goodbye to you all, but Minnie decided with this stupid voting shit and while I'd normally think of it as amusing enough to let you all live, you guys are just mosquitos to me. We need to rid of you now, and what better way to do that than to give our little Saori here the last vote? Let's pin all the blame on her!"

Saori's voice fell to a sharp, "Me?!"

Kamui took a step forward, enraged. "This is outrageous! You're going to break your own rules just because we can pose a threat to you and your stupid coworkers? Just damn yourselves to Hell already!"

Without warning, Sagiso immediately jumped over to Monokuma to swing her fist down. She smashed into nothing but the cushion of the throne, and she growled once she saw Monokuma standing in the corner of the room. "I should just kill you right now!"

"I can always return," Monokuma snarked dryly, amused. "It's a miracle I didn't just open my claws and kill you, but- oh! I know why: because I want to make you all suffer at the same time. A quick and painless death is fucking boring."

"Fuck off!" Sagiso jumped back down, only having Kaniza to hold her down- to hold her down with a shaky hand. "You're the one who's been torturing us ever since this whole shit started! Messing with our mind, screwing our friends over, getting us to kill and hurt each other… everything was because of you, and now that shit's not going your way, you want us to throw ourselves in the goddamn trash? Fuck off already! We're not your fucking playthings!"

Minori was completely overwhelmed now, in complete grief as he began to sob and fall to his knees. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, I messed up again."

Saori was completely speechless, staring at the scene ahead of her. She was at a complete and utter loss for words, only seeing how helpless and desperate her very own friends were. They were pathetic, and she wasn't even sure what she should do.

And that was when Monokuma snapped his little fingers together, a sudden voting ballot appearing in front of the body broker's face. He smirked as he eyed her baffled and fearful expression. "You have a few seconds to vote, so go ahead. It's not like you'll change the outcome."

Saori took a step back. She stumbled. She almost fell. She looked wide-eyed at the ballot, then threw a look to the Ultimates. It was a cry for help, yet all she saw was their need for help themselves. Kaniza and Sagiso were now embracing one another, comforting and sobbing together. She looked over to Kamui who was enraged, glaring angrily at Monokuma who knew he couldn't do anything. She wanted Minori, she needed Minori- but he couldn't help her, for the pseudologist was overwhelmed in complete grief and self-hatred.

It was futile. Everything was futile, and despite having only woken up, she knew this situation was hopeless.

The world around her was collapsing, and she had no choice but to stare at the ballot and screen, and move her shaky finger over.

God, she doesn't know, but she had no choice. Everything was hopeless anyways.

Hopeless, hopeless, hopeless.

* * *

 **VOTE VOTE VOTE!**

 **IT'S TIME TO VOTE YOU HAVE NO CHOICE ANYWAYS :D**

Minori Watanabe

Fumio Fujiyoshi

-Kakuma Arakaki-

-Nezumi Jirokichi-

Kamui Setsushi

-Seiga Kosoku-

-Haruko Yoshikawa-

-Ryoichi Homura-

-Fuwari Akatsuki-

 **Saori Arai**

-Rin Hoseki-

Sagiso Hazuki

Kaniza Tsukitaiyo

-Sheina Yakamuro the 12th-

-Amyto Uchida-

-Asami Karihime-

* * *

Saori threw a look to Monokuma who laughed.

It was hopeless.

Hopeless, hopeless, hopeless.

* * *

 **VOTING RESULTS**

 **Minori Watanabe -** 1 Vote

 **Kamui Setsushi -** 1 Vote

 **Saori Arai -** 1 Vote

 **Sagiso Hazuki -** 1 Vote

 **Kaniza Tsukitaiyo -** 1 Vote

 **IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK**

 **YOU'RE ALL DEAD**

Saori's heart fell as she looked at the results. Despite having fainted, she knew Minori and the others had plotted something- and Monokuma wanted to make damn sure their plan wasn't going to work. Her heart broke as she looked over to the group, only seeing Monokuma smiling in front of her.

"Good job, now I can just casually blame you for everything." Monokuma laughed mockingly, making Saori more than bemused. It didn't matter though, for he rubbed his paws together and eagerly shouted, "Now, time for punishment!"

"What?" Kamui shook his head. "No! You can't!"

Kaniza's sobs became louder, and Sagiso quickly tightened her embrace around her, whispering sweet nothings into her ear- shaky, shaky sweet nothings.

Saori gulped. She was unsure of what to do- was it her fault? "I… uh…"

Minori forced himself to his feet, shaky. Despite the tears that was covering his face, he forced himself to look at Monokuma, throwing him the look of utmost disgust and hatred. "You'll pay for this."

"Aww, will I now?" Monokuma mockingly tilted his head. "You're dead anyways. No ways around it, my cute little Minnie."

Minori's expression soured, all the color in his face fading.

"Well, I'm done talking." Monokuma laughed, reeling his head back. "Let's get down to business, shall we?! It's fucking execution time baby!"

Sagiso snapped her head up. "No!"

"Yes!" Monokuma threw his arms out, basking himself underneath the lights. "Let's hit it baby! Execution time, bitches!"

"What?!" Kamui shook his head, completely speechless as he could only manage to stutter and shake. "D-d-d-don't you dare- You-!"

Kaniza immediately choked in her own words as she gripped tightly into Sagiso's embrace and sobbed into her chest. She couldn't even manage a word, crying and sniffling and shaking.

Saori was silent, frozen. She couldn't register anything, not her own voice, not the others around her, not Monokuma who laughed, not even Minori who seemed to have screamed something at her.

She couldn't hear anything.

She felt something wrapping itself around her, and she was going to scream. She was going to scream and cry, yet suddenly-

-the entire world turned black, and suddenly everything collapsed.

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - END**

 **Hall Om Mig Nu**

 **Survivors: ?**

* * *

 **WO2984 YO1248 LI20948 TO SA173463E?**

 **10498524978653147908**

* * *

... And that is the end of things. Hopefully this kept you guys in suspense, or not, I'm not sure. Er, anyways, I'll see you all in next chapter, since I don't have much to say. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Like always, let's get on to the promotions! Here we go!

 **Danganronpa: The Pitiful Plague Called Ignorance** by RioA

 **Danganronpa: Remnants Of My Heart** by Prince PokePersona

 **Desperatio est Colosseum** by tobi-is-an-artist-too

 **Danganronpa: Execution Order** by Heroi Oscura

 **Danganronpa: Brightmere Mysteries** by WritersMind15

 **For Whom the Rabbits Mourn** by SanityRequiem

 **Our Ghosts Return** by TheRoseShadow21

... And that's all I have for now! Hope you have a great day~


	49. Chapter 6 - Intro

This is nothing more than an introduction to Chapter 6 as a whole, since everything is going down, basically. I'll review what you all reviewed in the last chapter (and this one) in the next chapter!

* * *

Libertas. Theia.

Goddess of Liberty. Goddess of Light.

They sound like two different concepts, but they are similar and related in more ways than one. Whether it was out of misfortune or a mistake brought down by the gods themselves, these two concepts of liberty and light seemed to reflect a bigger role than the overused concept of darkness and light.

Emancipation is something desired. It is a drug, and I want nothing more than to devour it and be freed from these chains that held me captive here.

Everyone desired emancipation. They wanted freedom, and they had never gotten it. They wanted the freedom to know, the freedom to speech, the freedom to press… everything was lusted and desired after, yet what titled humanity as selfish came as a result from Libertas and Theia themselves.

Build this world. Mold this world. Create this world themselves as if they were gods.

What is seen on the outside is nothing more than a mask. What is in the inside is nothing but complete and utter chaos, misery, hatred. It was a massacre, and it was a betrayal to the naive little victims in front of their very eyes.

But, like Libertas and Theia themselves, I want to be freed. I want to escape from society, and I hate the chains that society forced me into.

I hate the labels society threw at everyone. Those classes of the rich, the middle, and the poor… who cares? Society caused these people to go poor.

Ultimates.

Who gives a damn about Ultimates? They're worth nothing anyways. They're the same as everybody else.

What makes them so special?

I can prove that they're not special. Every single one of us can prove these pawns are worth nothing in the end.

They're the same as us, so why do we care so much about them?

Can you tell me? Can you tell me why?

Of course you can't. It's all futile in the end, and we all die no matter what happens. Special or not, everyone will die either way.

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

 **Dernière Danse**

* * *

And yet there was no saving point, for I already knew it was futile.


	50. Chapter 6 - Awakening

Hello! Chapter 6 is going to be quite difficult for me to write, though different in how difficult it was to write Chapter 5's case! Haha, though that's probably because Chapter 6 is the mastermind and end all be all chapter, so... Let's hope for the best, shall we?

 **Ziggymia123:** "Chapter name is chapter name, hehe. Somebody save Kaniza, please. Chapter 6 is going to be crazy, ay. And yay, teaser to Chapter 6! The mastermind definitely has a more cynical perspective, definitely. Haha."

 **zephryr:** "Haha, reviews are reviews though, no matter late or early in a story. Oh my, interesting theory. So many interesting theories, but I can't say much about anything, oops. Haha, okay~"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "I'll screech with you! Ominous stuff are amazing, hehe."

 **Pretty Palutena:** "Aww, thank you so much! Atmosphere of stories are always a favorite for me to see, haha. Thanks so much! You're a very awesome person yourself~"

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Oh my, a long essay, did Lupus inspire you? Did Lupus take over you?! Haha, whatever you prefer for Kaniza, of course, you do you. Closing arguments are a pain to write, but help explain everything at the same time, so oof. I'd join the rebellion, screw the mastermind! Interesting mastermind ideas and theories, I wonder if you're right about anyone. Sudden shifts in perspectives are fun, aish. The mastermind is a beauty, definitely."

 **FruitlessKitty_74:** "Ouch, why are you even awake so early? Kaniza is an adorable cinnamon roll, please protect her. Oh my, someone likes a manipulative Minori, I see. Aww, but thanks! Yes, pessimistic."

 **Emma2448:** "Oh my. Woo, last dance!"

* * *

Eventually, something has to break through the darkness.

Whether it would be the light that had cast from the sinners below, or the saints from above, it didn't matter. Darkness will always be broken by a blinding light, having been cast from anyone who dares to defy its gravity.

And whoever broke that darkness will eventually realize that darkness was all that was needed in this world, yet light is what keeps humanity sane. A sad tragedy, but nonetheless a truth needed to be told to the ears of the ignorant.

Those dark green eyes meant everything. They can symbolize the greed for destruction, love, hatred… A shame they were not the color of blood itself, but nonetheless that beautiful hue of green can be twisted in corruption, and built into perfection.

Minori had yet to learn of this. All he could do was snap those lovely eyes of his opened. He would sweat with those beads of salty, misted water trickling down his snowy complexion. Like a deer in headlights, he was scared, and that fear of his caused him to jerk his head forward.

Forward, until he hit something.

"Ow!" And then he would throw his hands to his forehead, wincing in pain. He was ignorant of the immense stiffness his body felt, and the throbbing pain on his forehead slowly inched to pain once his eyes blinked more times than one. If it weren't for the wires that were tapped to his hands and wrists, then he would've blinked a few more times to register his situation. But, alas, he pondered, and worriedly took a look at his body.

Wires were everywhere, taped to him. He hated how loose his clothing were, only having worn a loose white shirt and some shorts. If someone had stripped him down and changed him without his knowing, then that only made him shudder even more than he already was. Wires were everywhere, and his eyes followed the wires' direction to a monitor- it was a monitor that was connected to a tall, whirring machine. There were so many buttons and mechanics around and inside of the machine that it made the pseudologist dizzy within seconds.

The machine's purpose was unknown, and Minori noticed the thing he had hit himself against upon his awakening. It was a projector of some kind, most likely a helmet? Minori frowned as he observed it, noting its circular shape and hard surface. It didn't seem to do anything at the moment, only serving as a obstacle for Minori's bruised forehead.

A soft groan escaped his lips. Dried and chapped like always, the pseudologist released a soft sigh. He had no time to worry over his physical state, even the bloodied bandages over the palm of his right hand. Wouldn't those cause him an infection? They were old, and Minori slowly took apart the bandages to toss them to the side. He had no need for that, and carefully observed his wound.

It was a long gash wound that dug halfway down his palm, up to down. It was a rather horrid wound, though that mainly came as a result of the amount of dried blood that painted around the wound and inside of the wound itself. Minori knew this would give him a scar, and so he bit into his lower lip accordingly in disdain.

But, nonetheless, his newly discovered scar was not of high importance. What was more important was what happened beforehand.

 _Beforehand._ Minori bit into his dried lips. He felt blood trickling, and the taste of it was nothing more than salty and metallic. _We were about to be executed, and then everything went black and… T-the others!_

Minori was lucky enough to have moved aside from the projector, for he would've hit his head upon thrusting himself up. He darted his head back and forth, and upon looking-

-the pseudologist found himself staring at his surroundings. The wires taped to his body were loose and falling off, yet he couldn't care. His entire body was aching, but he didn't care. All he cared about was his surroundings, and the fifteen pods (excluding the one he laid on) circling the entire machine-designed room.

"What…?" Minori couldn't even register how terribly hoarse his voice sounded, nor how meek it was. All he registered now were his shaking legs, and overwhelming confusion. "W-what is this…?"

Fifteen pods, most of them with nothing in sight, some of them with… with his friends, the people who were supposed to die with him. Minori's first instinct was to cry, to cry out of pure joy.

But the second instinct took over him, and instead thousands of questions rang inside of his head: why? who? where? why, why, why, why…? He wouldn't know anything, so his legs took him to the closest person in his sight and his body gave up on him and he fell over that person's unconscious (sleeping?) body.

"Wake up," Minori cried in a hushed voice. His dark green eyes were looking down at Saori's unconscious body, her face pale and her expression furrowed. She, like Minori before, was wired to that strange machine close to her own pod. The pseudologist frowned at this, unable to hold back from snapping those wires off. The machine whirred to a shutdown, and he rolled his eyes to focus back on the body broker. Desperate, he nudged her, begging with his shoving and rough hands. "Saori, Saori! Wake up!"

A few nudges or so seemed to do the trick. Saori's eyebrows hitched together, and a soft groan escaped her lips (which, Minori noted, were, while chapped, still smoother and softer looking than his). She began to twitch, slowly moving to the side, left to right, before eyelids slowly opened to reveal her dark brown feline-looking eyes. They blinked before slowly moving in accordance to her own head movement, straight to where Minori was. "M-Minori…?"

Relief instantly washed over the man's snowy complexion. "Oh, thank goodness you're alive." He quickly grabbed ahold of Saori's hand, urging her to sit up and adjust herself. He had to make certain she wouldn't hit her head however, and when he was able to bring the groaning Saori up to her feet, waited silently for her to adjust herself. "Are you okay?"

"I should be," Saori managed to grumble, voice strained. She took a look at her surroundings, expression immediately bittering. "Where are we? I… I thought we were in the courtroom…"

Minori pursed his lips. He tasted metal. "Yeah…" His eyes then switched over to the occupied pods, and he jumped. "R-right! Let's wake up the others."

"The others?" Saori's expression immediately washed with relief and shock. "They're here?"

Minori bobbed his head, almost as if he were a chipper little dog. "Yeah, Kamui and Sagiso and Kaniza! They're in the pods."

Without a second to waste, Saori immediately dashed over to one of the pods, leaving Minori to the last one. He moved to the left, finding Kamui in his own pod, features sickly and breathing shallow. Minori gulped as he began to nudge Kamui, slightly violent and rough.

"Kamui!" Minori cried out. He nudged the mortician a tenth time. "Hey, wake up!"

And, as predictable as ever, Kamui began to move. A low grunt escaped his slightly peeled off lips, eyelids twitching before his own pair of eyes began to open. The bright light that the projector emitted off blinded him, and he groaned before slowly shifting to the left and his nose almost moved into Minori's palm. "Mm… Is that you…?"

"Y-yeah!" Minori hated how squeaky he sounded there. He almost felt guilty, as if he had caused everybody's suffering- and maybe he did, considering the last events that took place. Tears wanted to ruin those eyes of his, but he forced it back to focus on Kamui's health. "It's me, Minori. Saori's waking up Sagiso and Kaniza right now."

"S-Saori…? Sagiso?" Kamui blinked a couple of times, those crusty grits escaping from the corners. He slowly began to move, Minori urging him forward as Kamui slowly got out of his pod to stand up. He cracked his arms and legs for a moment before looking around. "Where are we? Saori… Sagiso… Kaniza…"

The pseudologist moved to the side, allowing Kamui to take a look around, to process what was happening. Minori slowly brought his hands over to take the wires apart from Kamui's body, and although the mortician threw the pseudologist a questionable look, he didn't speak and Kamui promptly ignored it for: "Where's Monokuma? What happened?"

Minori shook his head sadly. "I don't know. I'm assuming that something happened that caused the entire process to shut down, given that we're…" He looked around the room. "... well, in a technology-based setting."

"So, a shutdown, huh?" Kamui eyed the pod he was in, then the rest that were unoccupied aside from Saori and a still unconscious Sagiso who hoarded one poor pod to the right. The mortician bit into his lips. His ponytail came slightly loose as he walked over to the farthest corner from the left, away from where the door would be. There, Kamui saw a television screen built to the wall. He lightly tapped onto it. There was nothing. "Hm…"

"God!" Sagiso suddenly jumped out from her seat, hyperventilating and gasping for air. "Monokuma! W-where-?! Huh…?"

"Nice to see you're alive," Saori joked, although that joke of hers was more genuine than anything, obvious by the worry that escaped her face. She placed a careful hand to Sagiso's sweaty shoulder. "How are you?"

Sagiso was baffled, eyes blinking continuously. "Uh… alive? No, are we even alive right now?"

The body broker's lips fell into a small smile. A small, yet genuine smile that caused a tear to her sleepy eyes. "I guess we are, huh?"

"Saori…" Sagiso went silent, flabbergasted. She then quickly grabbed ahold of Saori's arms, almost too tightly for the other's comfort. "Where's Kaniza? Is she safe?!"

Saori's tears fell, but it was more out of inevitability than anything. "Y-yes," she managed, nodding her head. "She's next to you there."

The psychogeographer whipped her head back, finding Kaniza's pod behind. She immediately dashed to the raven, shoving her and forcing her awake, almost causing her voice to strain and die. "Hey, Kaniza! Kaniza! Get ahold of yourself!"

A groan escaped the raven. Sagiso's eyes immediately began to well up, but she forced it back as she threw Kaniza into a tight embrace. "You're alive! Oh thank god."

"Nn… S-Sagi…?" Kaniza's eyes slowly opened, revealing their golden hue. It was slightly dull, though they knew it came from a result of both tiredness and sleepiness. Those sparkly eyes of hers would lit up when she began to notice her surroundings: Sagiso embracing her, Saori giving her a small smile, Kamui and Minori… Everyone was here, and Kaniza had to blink twice before realizing the situation she was in- the reality. "Y-you guys…"

A few minutes passed before Sagiso threw Kaniza a wide smile. Kaniza would smile at her, although confusingly, and Sagiso would then release her, moving out of the way. She held a hand out, helping her friend move out from her pod and to her two feet.

"So…" Kaniza yawned softly, groaning in the meantime. "A-are we alive? Or is this… is my mind playing tricks on me again? Is Monokuma…?"

"Kaniza, don't kid yourself," Sagiso teased, though it was gentle and soft as she nudged the woman. "We're not ghosts."

Kamui nodded his head slowly. "We're definitely alive," and then he would smile, even when continuing, "and I don't sense Monokuma anywhere."

"I don't even recognize this place," Minori commented, dark green eyes darting back and forth. But, even if his worry wanted to explode, his relief and happiness continued to wash over him, begging him to fall into a state of euphoria. _My head doesn't hurt either, unlike the times I was in the killing game…_

"S-so we're actually alive?" Kaniza's body straightened. "We're not dead? Monokuma's not here?"

"Geez, stop worrying." Sagiso grabbed ahold of Kaniza's cheeks, cupping them with her slightly cold hands. "You're fine, see? I'm alive, you can feel my hands, right?"

"Y-yesh," Kaniza was able to say, cheeks squeezed and cupped on her face. She then grabbed ahold of Sagiso's hands before suddenly tackling her, throwing her into a gigantic bear hug. "We're alive!"

Sagiso laughed. "Yeah, we are! Screw you, Monokuma!"

Kamui couldn't help but snort, watching the duo. "I thought you were going to cuss there, Sagiso."

"Huh? No, I wasn't-" She stopped. A sudden realization came through her head. "D… does this mean Monokuma and his lackeys' mind warping games are gone now? Negated?"

"O-oh, I haven't even thought about that." Kamui placed a hand to his forehead. He raised a brow and tilted his head, causing the scrunchie holding his ponytail to fall back down his hair even more. "Hm… my head doesn't hurt."

"Yeah, I noticed that too." Minori softly smiled at the group, although he made sure to speak in a more blunt and stern tone. "I hate to break the atmosphere here, truly, and- yes, I love you all, but I'm worried."

Sagiso slowly brought herself up, letting Kaniza stand up as well as the psychogeographer eyed the man with arms crossed. "Are you worried about the killing game?"

"Ah, more than that." The pseudologist awkwardly chuckled. "Uh, I have two things I would want to bring up. First of all, what happened before we were going to be… executed, and secondly, where we are and if the experiments don't have an aftereffect on us."

Saori immediately took on second-in-command. "Well, how does everyone feel so far? Is there anything wrong?"

"No, I feel normal. My head doesn't hurt…" Sagiso's eyes then widened. "Oh, right." She quickly bowed her head down. "Saori, I'm sorry!"

Saori flinched. "Huh?"

The psychogeographer's face was entirely red, darker than her auburn hair. "I know it doesn't excuse how I acted towards you in the killing game, but I'm really sorry! My opinion of you was really negative and I really hated how blunt you were, so I really tried to get out against you, which is completely unjustified. I'm sorry about it!"

The body broker blinked. Her pale face immediately became overwhelmed with pink, embarrassment screaming inside of her body. "Y-you don't have to apologize! I- uh, ahem, I forgive you. I should've been nicer to you as well."

Sagiso blushed, obviously unused to being in such positions. She coughed nervously and averted her gaze. "Yeah… We can still be friends at least, right?"

Saori nodded her head, smile clearly written on her face. "Of course. I don't discriminate."

Kamui awkwardly cleared his throat, eyes to the floor. "Sorry to break the mood, and I am glad you two are getting along now, but I feel like we do not have much time here. We need to discuss now and leave."

Kaniza scratched her head as she walked over to grab the other two women's shoulders, comforting them happily, though there were still tears in her golden eyes. "Yeah, we should listen to Kamui and Minnie."

Sagiso blushed as everyone's focus shifted. "Yeah, right."

"Sorry about that." Minori bowed his head down, then concentrating his gaze to the group. "I believe that we aren't safe here, given that we woke up here moments after Monokuma threw under the bus."

"Oh, shoot." The psychogeographer frowned. "That's right."

Kaniza's expression switched into fear as she looked around the room. She immediately noticed the ominous metal-built door from the front and pointed to it. "S-should we leave then?"

Saori immediately walked over to the door and grabbed ahold of the handle. She heard it creak once she moved the handle an inch away, causing the door to open slightly. She frowned and peeked an eye out. "... It's a hallway down there, but I'm not entirely sure. It's dark."

"Really? Well, I'm not exactly surprised, honestly." Sagiso frowned. "Though, if I think about it, I think we're in Monokuma's headquarters or something. Libertas, to be more precise. It would make sense, right?"

"Hm…" Minori cupped his chin, rubbing it with his rough fingers. "That does make sense, yes. I'm still a bit worried though."

Kaniza raised a brow. "Huh? About what?"

The pseudologist gulped. "Well, concerning about how we ended up here. Given what had just happened… I think it is safe to assume we've been booted out from wherever the killing game was."

Kamui blinked, eyes widened. "S-so, were we in some simulation the entire time?"

"I think that's most plausible." Saori nodded her head, instantly understanding what the white-haired man was saying. "Considering who Monokuma is, the experiments he's done, and then this, especially given our similar clothing now- I think this is the most likely answer."

Kaniza pursed her lips. Worry immediately overcame her first hand expression. "But then… what would this mean for the others? If it's all a simulation, then how did Monokuma come to be? And the others… are they still alive?"

Hope immediately washed into Minori's heart. _No, that can't be right. I don't want this hope to ruin me. It ruined me before in the killing game, and I know Libertas wants nothing more than to end us all here now._ Minori quickly shook his head and opted for a simple, "Maybe, we're not sure yet." He knew it would make Kaniza's own hopes die out, but he knew it was necessary. "I want to worry more about how we were able to escape the killing game."

"Yeah, we could've died back there." Sagiso took a step forward, pondering with squinting eyes. "Either it was a malfunction, or someone here saved us."

Kaniza shook her head. "I don't think any of us know how to hack or code. Monokuma would've stopped us anyways since we were near him, right?"

"Then someone outside?" Kamui raised a brow, finally having adjusted the ponytail with his scrunchie. "Fumio and Rin's group are rivals to Libertas."

"Ah, right…" The raven gulped, toying with the cloth that made up her white loose shirt. "Theia…"

"Oh, but if Theia saved us, we have hope." Saori threw the group a confident expression, lips curled into a motherly, kind smile. "There's a chance we're in Theia's own building as well."

"Here?" Minori raised a brow. "I doubt that, but it is a possibility."

The pseudologist brought a hand to his chin. He hummed softly to himself, pondering. _We don't have much time to think, considering Monokuma's gone and his lackeys are… probably here._ Minori turned to look at the door. He made his way over and took a peek outside. Nothing. He frowned and began to open it, opening it straight till the door was wide open.

Kamui was definitely baffled as well as the rest of the Ultimates, though his bafflement was clear with his vocal question of, "Minori?"

Minori pointed to the entrance and turned back to the group. "We don't have much time to sit around here. We should get out and explore."

"Huh? But isn't that dangerous?" The mortician held his breath. Sweat was trickling down from his Adam's apple and into his shirt. "If we're in Libertas, then wouldn't the employees see us?"

Sagiso smirked, instantly walking over to Minori and standing by his side. "Better let us play a game of cat-and-mouse than to sit here like ducks," she mused, a fire in her eyes. "There's no way to get out from this place other than to leave through the entrance, right?"

Saori couldn't help but sigh, scratching the back of her neck. "I admire your confidence, but although it is risky, I suppose we have no choice."

The psychogeographer nodded. "Yeah." She then threw a kind look to Kaniza. "Don't worry. If you're able to survive through this entire thing so far, then you'll definitely be fine."

"Yeah." Kaniza smiled in return and began to walk. "I guess you're right."

Kamui couldn't help but sigh, knowing he had no choice in the matter. He knew everyone else were going to leave, and he would rather not be alone. He quickly made his way over to the group. "Alright, but let's be extra careful, okay?"

"Of course." Minori threw the mortician a knowing nod. "I know Libertas' employees will be looking for us since they're watching over the killing game, from what Monokuma implied. We need to be careful and find a way out."

"That's only the beginning," the taller man retorted, sighing. "They're not going to stop just because we escaped the building though. They know we'll tell the others outside."

"Hey, let's not worry about it!" Kaniza cried out, although in a quiet, hushed manner. She smiled widely at Kamui in an attempt to comfort, soothe his nerves. "If we're lucky, we're actually in Theia. Let's just be hopeful."

Kamui pursed his lips and nodded, having nothing else to add once the group slowly took their first step out.

Upon their first step outside, almost as if they were babies being born into the world called Earth, their eyes awakened to nothing but the environment and their own overwhelming swarms of emotion. It was an empty hallway, a sterile hallway with switched off lights from above. The hallways led down, down and down to arch into two paths, one from the right, and the other from the left. The left and right hallways which would separate a group who was lost both had lights on, noticeable by the bright lights which overcasted into the darker hallway. What was worse for them, however, was that there was also an elevator which was right at the end of the hallway, almost mocking them.

Definitely, definitely this was meant to stir confusion into the Ultimates' brains. It was meant to separate them, to throw them into potential danger.

"Uh…" Kaniza looked up to the group. "What should we do?"

Saori turned to Minori. "Should we split up?"

Sagiso shook her head. "But if we split up between us, in three groups… someone would be left out as the only person in the third group. Shouldn't we be concerned over the mastermind? I don't mean to sound so accusatory, but…"

Minori nodded his head slowly. "Understandable. I am worried about that too, so… hm…"

"I wouldn't want us to miss anything though," Kamui admitted, apologizing to the group by bowing his head. "I would like to make a suggestion then… please, if you all trust me."

Everyone threw each other a look. It was obvious the mastermind was amongst them, and despite everything that Monokuma said, the want to trust each other was still there. Either one of them could've been the mastermind, and yet that would only raise the question: why didn't the mastermind let them die, and why did they let them escape?

Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe whoever did this shocked the mastermind. It was unprecedented, and the group still had no idea what to make of it.

Minori coughed. He decided to speak first, knowing that time was wasting, ticking away. "Please go ahead."

And Kamui would throw a soft smile, his trust in Minori merely having risen. "Thank you." He breathed softly. "I think the person who should separate from us should be whoever we least suspect."

"What?" Sagiso shook her head. "Wait, but Kamui, isn't it fine if we just go through the hallways in groups, then come back and take the elevator?"

Kamui frowned. "You never know how complicated a building can get. I've seen documentaries and heard people telling me about some buildings which are quite… tricky, to downplay it."

"Oh, right." Saori pursed her lips. "Some buildings are quite tricky to move across, all for the simple purpose of making sure robbers and potential criminals cannot escape or hurt or steal anything. And, given where we are…"

"That's true…" Kaniza breathed shakily. "The entire place already looks so high-tech. Given the killing game and what Monokuma did to us…"

"Yeah, noted." Minori thought for a moment, hands cupped to his chin. A moment passed before he snapped his fingers. "Okay, I think Kaniza should be trustworthy."

The astrophotographer's eyes widened. "H-huh? Me?"

The pseudologist smiled awkwardly as he noticed the group throwing him a weird look, eyes blinking. He laughed softly before explaining himself with, "I think out of everyone of us, we suspect Kaniza the least. To explain it briefly… If Kaniza was the mastermind, she wouldn't have done what she did."

Kamui was silent. A few seconds passed before he slowly nodded his head, clearing his throat with a soft cough. "I suppose you have a point. I do suspect Kaniza the least, true."

"I-I mean…" Kaniza awkwardly laughed, scratching her head. Her entire face was now red. "I do admit I'm not the smartest so that would hinder me from planning this type of thing, but… Are you guys sure? Isn't it dangerous for me to go alone too?"

Sagiso nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm worried about that. I don't want Kaniza to get in trouble if she were to get caught."

The pseudologist sighed. He couldn't help but throw the group a wary look. "Well, I'm going to be honest, but out of everyone here, I can tell you suspect Kaniza the least for a numerous amount of reasons."

"Yeah, but…" The psychogeographer went silent. She bit into her lips, and finally heaved a sigh. "Fine, but I don't want Kaniza to get hurt."

Kaniza pumped her fists. "D-don't worry!" She immediately threw on a hopeful expression. "If… if I was able to survive through the killing game, then I'm sure I can do it. I don't want to disappoint you all either."

Sagiso was shocked, eyes blinking a couple of times, eyebrows arched. "If you're so sure…" She sighed deeply, releasing a smile. "Fine. I trust you."

"Yeah, don't worry." Saori grabbed ahold of Kaniza's hands, comforting her with a squeeze. "I believe in you, just know that."

Kaniza bobbed her head. "Y-yeah!"

Kamui rubbed his hands together, a mixture of excitement and anxiety in his face. "I suppose we are ready to move?"

"Mhm, yeah." Minori forced a confident smile. "Kaniza will go through the elevator then. I'll go with you to the left side of the hallway, leaving Saori and Sagiso to go to the right. Does anyone want to disagree?"

"I don't see any problem with it," Sagiso answered, rubbing the white-haired man's back for reassurance. Her eyes shifted to Kaniza's direction though. "Or would you want to go to one of the hallways?"

"Uh…" Kaniza pursed her lips. "Is it more dangerous to go into one of the hallways than to go in the elevator?"

"Oh, right." Minori's face dropped. "Then Kaniza can take the right side, and I'll leave the Saori and Sagiso to go through the elevator to investigate."

"That makes things easier." Kamui pointed a finger. "If Minori and I are done with our investigation, we can meet up with Kaniza if she's done with her investigation in the right side if we see her."

Kaniza's eyes brightened instantly. "Oh! Then that's perfect! I really hate to go out by myself."

"Yeah, I know that. That's why this works out better." Minori threw a kind smile to the woman. "I'm sure we should be able to see each other, Kaniza. If Kamui and I are finished with our investigation and don't see you near the elevator, we'll give you a couple of minutes. Is that fine?"

"Yeah, that should be fine. I'll do the same if I don't see you two." The astrophotographer pumped a fist up. "I'll try to be as quick and efficient as I can. I can assure you that at least!"

"Definitely." Saori heaved a soft breath. "I know we'll be fine."

Minori clapped his hands together, heart beating at a slightly quick pace. "Okay, then we have our plan. We should get moving then."

Kamui nodded his head. "Yeah, right."

And with that finally settled, the group began to move. Their walk down the hallway was nothing short of eerie and bizarre. The darkness of the hallway did not help, yet the light that emitted from the ends caused the Ultimates' own shadows to appear behind them, on the walls, etc.

Minori couldn't help but label this as nothing but creepy. It was one thing that the Ultimates were inside of a dark hallway, but for the section they were trapped into being dark aside from the ends did worry him. It was as if people could not care less about these Ultimates, that they tried halfway before deciding to label the Ultimates as trash, tools. Maybe they had labeled them as trash, given what Monokuma mentioned during the trial, and it threw shivers down the pseudologist's spine.

Were they truly left for naught? Did the mastermind truly wanted them to die, leading to the unprecedented to happen? Why was the mastermind doing this to them, and why are they letting them live right now when they wanted them dead?

Maybe the mastermind wanted to die themselves. Minori probably should've thought of that before, yet now it crossed his mind. The silly pseudologist was still quite unaware of the situation, sadly.

Footsteps echoed. It stopped once the group stood remotely away from the darkness, straight into the light.

The group turned to look at one another. Although the group could've opened their mouths and speak, detail their goodbyes for the moment, that wasn't the case. The situation called for silence, sneakiness. They knew they had a chance of being caught, no matter who it was. Even if they were not in Libertas' vicinity and were in Theia, they shouldn't risk it. They couldn't, they did not want to.

Monokuma and Libertas somehow wanted them dead now. They were nuisances now, and although Minori worried about what Libertas was planning at this moment, he had to think about it while walking. He threw the group a small smile, and then turned.

 _I need to figure out what is happening. Why we're in the killing game in the first place, the mastermind... so many things to worry about._

It was a turn that motioned Kamui to follow, and soon the mortician and the pseudologist left, moving straight to the left. They heard the elevator door opened, and they heard a pair of footsteps leaving, becoming quieter and quieter from behind.

* * *

... And here is a rather short end to this chapter! Like I said, Chapter 6 will be different from how I write other chapters, though that might just be what I believe. Nonetheless, I really hope I will be able to finish Chapter 6 and this story as a whole, and be happy with how I end it. That's my biggest worry so far, but yet I am quite excited to be able to get all the way to this chapter and finally reach close to the finishing line! Woo, I'm nervous.

Of course, I have finally posted up the final poll on my profile which is the following: who is the mastermind? Please feel free to vote on the poll since I would like to see what you guys think! I am sincerely so surprised that I was able to even bring this story so far and keep a lot of you engaged. It's all thanks to you guys for motivating me and supporting me from the beginning to the very end! You guys are definitely the true MVPs!

Finally, here are the promotions:

 **Danganronpa: Blood Sport** (tobi-is-an-artist-too)

 **Danganronpa: Brightmere Mysteries** (WritersMind15)

 **Danganronpa: Execution Order** (Heroi Oscura)

 **Danganronpa: Remnants Of My Heart** (Prince PokePersona)

 **Danganronpa: The Pitiful Plague Called Ignorance** (RioA)

 **For Whom the Rabbits Mourn** (SanityRequiem)

... And that is all I have to say for now. I will see you all next time (which is hopefully soon since it is my summer vacation, haha)!


	51. Chapter 6 - Part 1, Minori and Kamui

Hello, and I am finally here with yet another chapter! I am more than excited to finish off this story, but of course I have to write some chapters in order to finish the story off with a bang, aish. Anyways, I don't really have much to say, but let's get on with the show!

 **Guest:** "Oh my."

 **FruitlessKitty_74:** "Haha, don't worry, everybody's confused, even me. Ouch, those dead bodies. Please save those dead bodies. Oh my, interesting theory! Haha, I wonder if you are right. Haha, at least they'll get along now! Aww, thanks! You're the best! Love you~"

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Hooray, the finale is finally here! Oh my, surprises are surprises. Aww, Kaniza had so many chances to die, but she's still here at least! Haha, Kaniza can tell all your OCs the horrendous suffering that's in Danganronpa. I love snooping around places. Heck yeah, mastermind theories. Kaniza's a cinnamon roll, that's why. She's a cutie. Aww, thanks! You're the best~"

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Aww yeah, Saori and Minori's meeting! Haha, thanks so much! Love you, Rosie."

 **Ziggymia123:** "Hello there, Ziggy! Haha, too much brain fuckery. Please save the children. Yes, the narrative voice is quite different, unless Minori hates himself that much. You must protect all of these children. Oh my, save Kamui and Minori. Haha, well, you can only hope it's Minori then. Giving lots of prayers and wishes and uh presents can make that happen, maybe."

* * *

Minori hated how much his footsteps echoed throughout the hallway. If it weren't for Kamui by his side, he might've screamed out of frustration over how unnecessarily loud his own footsteps were being.

Or maybe it was a mechanic meant to harm his mental state? Minori wouldn't have known, sadly, simply because it didn't matter.

No one seemed to be around the area. Only Minori and Kamui were to be seen, and the shadows that appeared as a result from the lights above. When the pseudologist and mortician glanced to one another, their worries seemed to fade away upon seeing nothing more than one another.

Of course, the metal-plated doors that decorated the sides of the hallway would've made them anxious. Maybe people were inside there, maybe they weren't. Nonetheless, the duo had no choice but to move. They had to investigate, and they couldn't let their friends down.

And Minori was still highly worried, maybe overly worried, about everyone else. The thought of Sagiso and the others being seen and captured scared him. It did not help that everything was baffling to him. Libertas wanted to rid of them during the trial, and they haven't bothered to walk to their room earlier to shoot them down upon awakening or something similar.

Strange. Everything was strange. Peculiar. Confusing.

A nudge. Kamui threw him a look, finger pointed to the left. There was a metal-plated door over to the left, a small window near the top. Minori nodded his head and the duo walked slowly over to the door, tiptoeing their way there.

Kamui peeked out the window. Since the window was quite small, Minori stepped back for Kamui to have a better look at what was inside, what was happening, etc.

A few seconds passed. Kamui looked down to Minori who raised a brow. The mortician nodded, and, being in the clear, Minori moved over to open the door handle.

A creaking noise. The door creaked, and it was a miracle Kamui and Minori weren't in anyone's vicinity.

Minori decided to take a step inside first, being greeted with a slightly cooler temperature than from the hallway. The room was quite dark, yet brighter than the hallway last seen. The lights were blinking, yet nonetheless it was working quite well despite its mishap. The room was quite spacious, seen by how there were only a few shelves and desks to be seen spaced out in the room. It was most likely a tidy, organized storage room, if Minori had to name it.

If there were anyone inside the room, they would've immediately spotted the duo. With that in mind, the pseudologist cleared his throat softly and glanced to Kamui who closed the door behind him. "Let's investigate what's in here," he said, though hushed.

"Of course." Kamui rubbed his hands together. "I will investigate the left side, if that is alright with you?"

"Fine with me," Minori mused, smiling softly.

So, with that settled, the two young men went to work. Minori and Kamui went to their designated areas, Minori taking over the right and Kamui taking over the left. Footsteps sounded off in the spacious, closed off room. Breaths, soft rustling of papers, bodies, etc.

 _Hm… How should I keep note of everything though?_ Minori bit into his lips as he rummaged through the boxes on the shelves. He stopped for a brief moment to look around the room, then finding on a desk (in the corner) a pen. He quickly moved over to fetch it, then carefully examining it with his dark green eyes. It was a regular pen, though it was quite fancy concerning its golden shimmer and silver grip.

 _Not that it matters._ Minori smirked inwardly to himself, then waved a hand over to Kamui to catch his attention. "Do you know if there's a piece of paper we can use? Or, if possible, a notebook around here?"

"Uh… Excuse me, let me look around." Kamui began to rummage through some of the boxes, eyeing each item inside carefully. A few seconds passed before a soft gasp escaped his lips, hands reaching into a box to grab a slightly beaten up, red spiral notebook. He skimmed through the pages before nodding his head and tossing it over. "There's a few scribbles inside, but most of it is empty. Most likely used as a sketchbook."

Minori easily caught the notebook and flipped the pen. There, he scribbled his own name down, and his own handwriting was now seen in clear view. The pen was working perfectly, fortunately. The white-haired man smiled and began to jot a few things down.

* * *

 **Minori Watanabe's Notebook**

\- We split up the group into three teams: I'm with Kamui to the left side of the hallway from where we last were, Kaniza is to the right, and Sagiso and Saori are searching up using the elevator.

\- We all woke up in a high-tech room. We were kept in pods, though we're the only ones inside. I counted 16 pods, and next to each pod was some machine of the sort.

\- No more experiments? No one noted anything about their head hurting. I feel normal so far, if that even means anything.

\- There's a scar on my palm? Recent? It looks like it came weeks ago? Maybe days since there's some dried blood around it.

* * *

And Minori lifted up the pen and hung it to the flap of the notebook's cover with its grip. He sadly didn't have any pockets on him (damn the clothes), so he had to carry it around. Not that he minded though, he would rather carry a notebook with him than to forget something valuable along the way.

With that thought settled into his head, Minori continued his search through the boxes. Although the chance of nothing valuable being found was near, he couldn't take the risk of not investigating. Besides, Kamui was investigating himself, so why shouldn't he? Minori took down one of the boxes, adamant on searching.

A few papers messed up the room as Minori took some out. Wanting to make sure he didn't skip over anything, he mentally counted in his head and skimmed through the documents. These documents found were nothing more than detailing the obvious. They were most likely newspaper articles translated into printer paper, given the dates, headlines, etc. Nothing of interest, unless you would love to hear about taxes and the comebacks from many different Korean idol groups, that is. Well, ignoring that, it took a few or so minutes before Minori sound something of interest, eyes squinting as he read:

"'A Virtual World for All to Hope For.'" Minori frowned, deciding to read into more of its contents. "'Highly anticipated by people worldwide, the rivaling companies Theia and Libertas have finally introduced their new solution to solve the issue of overpopulation and other economic issues: a virtual reality. It's been widely known that this idea will be a massive hit with people worldwide, and many are on the waiting list to beta test their new concept, higher in Libertas, but nonetheless highly anticipated no matter the company…'"

Minori bit into his lips, having to reread through the article a couple of more times. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Despite how long it has been since he's been away from the real world, he's never actually heard about a virtual reality.

 _But, then again, if Theia and Libertas are widely known and respected, implied from the article… Then it must be because of our memories being erased._ Minori held his breath. He had no idea what to think of this, because, from what he's seen- _the virtual reality we were in led us to a killing game, not a place to solve our economic issues._

Minori's heart throbbed. This newspaper article was definitely important, and the pseudologist easily folded it up and stuffed it into his notebook. He even decided to write a note to himself.

* * *

 **Minori Watanabe's Notebook**

\- The newspaper article is about Libertas and Theia's virtual reality.

* * *

And, upon further thinking, Minori could only bite into his lips. _Even Theia was in this? Then again… they are rivals, but this doesn't necessarily mean Theia helped us get into a killing game. Libertas and Theia don't seem to be working together, but then again…_

Minori poked his head up, now focusing his vision on Kamui. The mortician didn't find anything so far, given by his slightly bemused expression and continuous rummaging of the papers. Minori walked over to the mortician, catching his attention.

The mortician raised a brow. "Yes, did you find something?"

The pseudologist nodded his head and showed Kamui the newspaper article. He waited for a while for the man to read it, and once Kamui's head poked back down to eye Minori, the white-haired man spoke. "What do you think?"

Kamui bit into his lips as he handed the article back to Minori's hands. "I'm assuming Libertas and Theia are of high status then. Highly respected and loved, judging from the newspaper."

Minori nodded his head slowly. "Yes… it could also be propaganda though, but nonetheless they'd be highly respected."

"Mhm." The taller man cupped his chin. "But I'm worried about the idea of a virtual world. It's said there's a waiting list too, right? Let's tie in the killing game to the virtual world idea… is it possible this is what the virtual world refers to?"

"It's likely, but I'm not sure." Minori frowned. "Theia is following what Libertas is doing, so I'm not sure if they're actually allies…"

He stopped himself. To think of that would mean to think of Fumio and Rin as enemies. No, he does not want to think about that. He quickly cleared his throat and asked, "But, given what happened, only Ultimates were in the killing game. Sixteen of us. Did Libertas pick Ultimates as their subjects for the beta test?"

"That… that would make sense." Kamui gulped. "In order to bring their ideas into fruition, having Ultimates be the ones testing it would give their experiment more validity."

Minori's face paled. "So… was the killing game a beta test? If they're planning to release the idea of a virtual reality to the world publicly, then if we're the beta test…"

Kamui instantly shook his head. "Let's not think about that. We need more information. Maybe we're the only ones being targeted… But for why, I don't know."

The pseudologist pursed his lips. "It could've been picked out of random. Maybe we ourselves wanted to participate in this experiment and now have no memories of it. That, or… I wouldn't know why."

Minori and Kamui went silent, their discussion somehow ending. It was an awkward silence that made the pseudologist quickly cough his breath, smiling awkwardly as he mumbled, "I'll note our ideas down."

* * *

 **Minori Watanabe's Notebook**

\- Theory 1: We're subjects for the beta test of the VR.

\- Theory 2: We have no memories about what happened before the killing game, so we might've wanted to participate in the VR like everyone else did. No idea if anyone in the world has a negative view of these companies so far.

\- Libertas and Theia are rival companies, like Fumio said before. They copy, so it might be possible Theia's guilty? I hope not.

* * *

After that, Minori and Kamui continued their investigation inside of this spacious room. Although it took about half an hour or so before Minori and Kamui finished their extensive, thorough search, they were at least glad they had the newspaper article to look at and examine. It was definitely something to note to Sagiso and the others later. Minori was worried Theia and Libertas were bigger threats than he thought- or possibly he had already underestimated them. He wouldn't know.

"Are you done?" Minori asked, glancing over to Kamui. "Did you find anything?"

"No, sadly." Kamui bowed his head down. "Sorry, I found nothing in comparison to you. Even if it was one thing, I still feel bad."

"N-no, it's fine!" Minori blushed, shaking his head. "I'm sure you'll find something. We're in this together, remember?"

"Ah, that is true." Kamui smiled softly in response. "Well then, I suppose we shall investigate in the next room?"

The shorter man nodded. "Of course."

Minori and Kamui were both on the same wavelength, leading to them walking back to the entrance and opening the door. They had to be careful though, Kamui checking in first to see if anyone were on the lookout. No one, and the duo went out and carefully walked down, straight to the next door in sight- another metal-plated door, unsurprisingly.

Kamui looked through the window. Nobody was in sight. He turned the handle, and so he and Minori were inside of another room.

This room, similar to the other, was slightly dark, but bright at the same time. However, the room would've been completely dark if it weren't for the computer screens pinned everywhere on the walls. It was a control panel, static to be heard as there seemed to be a rolling chair that continued to roll, slowly- creepily.

"I wonder if any of these are working," Kamui murmured, slightly anxious as he closed the door behind him. "It's just… static."

Minori nodded his head. "We can try, but I highly doubt they're working. Uh, do you even know how to work this thing?"

The mortician sighed. "We'll find out."

The shorter man couldn't help but chuckle, finding the annoyed tone in his companion's voice slightly amusing. "Right."

Nonetheless, the duo made their way over to the control panel, millions of buttons and keys to be seen. The computer screens around the room were entirely static, some black and off. It was eerie, and Kamui and Minori had to share a glance with one another before even deciding to move and examine what buttons and keys could be pressed. Sure, maybe they could pick at random, but they had to be cautious.

Minori examined the buttons and keys on display, reading each one carefully. Red buttons, yellow buttons, blue buttons, green buttons… And the alphabet keys, number keys, backspace, unknown keys… He decided to shift his focus over to the keypad, eyeing the arrow keys. Hesitation escaped his breath, but within a second's notice, he pressed to the left arrow key, forcing himself to take a gamble.

One of the screens switched. From static, it changed back to… static. However, before the pseudologist could curl his lips into a frown, his eyes noticed something in front of the static, covered in black font: 'Location: ULTIMATES'.

"Minori?" Kamui worriedly threw a glance at the screen. It was entirely static aside from those big letters. "Where is that?"

"I don't know…" Minori pursed his lips, turning to eye the mortician. "It's all static. I'm going to assume it's where the killing game was?"

Silence. Minori should've known. Nonetheless, no one had an answer. The pseudologist lifted up his pen and flipped to a page.

* * *

 **Minori Watanabe's Notebook**

\- In a security room (?) there is a screen with the words 'Location: ULTIMATES' on it, though the rest was static. Everything else is static or black, off.

* * *

Minori sighed, pondering. He wasn't sure he would be able to get anywhere with that simple note alone- most likely not, he would have to admit. Knowing he wouldn't be able to get anywhere now, he glanced over to the arrows and began to play with them carefully, hoping to get a desirable result.

That seemed to go well in his plans. After a few seconds of tarnishing the former result, something else popped up on the screen:

'ERROR, VIRUS?'

"Ah!" Minori jumped, shocked by the sudden red, flashing words in the screen. His face paled as he stared blankly at it, then became red as he noticed his hands were on Kamui's arm. He quickly threw his hands up. "S-sorry! It was so close to me, and then it suddenly turned red and started to flash in front of my eyes, s-so I got scared…"

Kamui eyed the shorter man for a while before chuckling, massaging Minori's shoulders reassuringly. "It's fine. We're not exactly in some cheerful place."

"Aha, yeah…" The pseudologist slowly relaxed himself, face falling into a concentrated gaze. "Hm, an error, huh?"

"I wouldn't expect such a well-known company to fall to a virus," Kamui admitted, eyeing the screen with a raised eyebrow. "It's quite unnerving."

"They should've had some systems to fight off these viruses, especially if they have money and are respected to the public." Minori cupped his chin, thinking to himself for a moment. "Hm, I think this should be something to tell the others?"

The mortician nodded his head. "Definitely."

With that settled, Minori began to jot this down.

* * *

 **Minori Watanabe's Notebook**

\- After messing around a bit in the security room (?), we got a screen with red flashing words that said, 'ERROR, VIRUS?'. Its purpose is unknown.

* * *

Minori placed the pen and notebook back under his armpit, turned to Kamui. "Alright, I think we are done here, correct?"

Kamui glanced around the area for a moment. He frowned, but turned to Minori and nodded his head. "I would think so, yes. There seemed to be nothing here… rather, I wouldn't want to ruin anything here, given our lack of knowledge."

"Ah, yeah." The pseudologist awkwardly laughed. "Yeah, good point."

Kamui threw him a comforting smile before slowly making his way out. His hand was about to reach the doorknob until-

-suddenly, the door opened.

Someone in a lab coat. Definitely a worker, especially given the suit underneath their lab coat and lanyard around their neck.

"Hey, what're you two doing here?!"

Kamui and Minori exchanged looks.

The worker reached into his pocket and took out a walkie talkie.

 _Ah shit._ Minori's heart pounded. "Kamui!"

Kamui's eyes widened and he lunged at the man. He grabbed at the man's wrist, easily overpowering the man with his towering height. The walkie talkie was thrown to the wall and the duo fell, struggling and shuffling on the floor.

Minori quickly picked up the walkie talkie. There was static, buzzing. Nothing. He quickly threw it down and broke it apart. His foot smashed it into pieces.

He whipped his head back to the shuffle.

Kamui was suddenly on the ground. The worker pointed a gun at his forehead.

Minori's heart throbbed. Adrenaline ran through his head. He lunged.

It happened within an instant.

The worker fell, struck unconscious. Kamui's eyes widened as he felt the worker's body fall on him, causing him to grunt. His face paled, but after a second he snapped out of his trance. The mortician quickly shoved the worker to the ground, causing a thump before he breathed deeply. "Minori…?"

Minori was breathless, panting deeply. His body was still twisted, his left leg up and sole right in front of Kamui's face. The pseudologist went silent for a moment, cold sweat trickling down his face. It only took a moment before he fell down, gasping and grabbing at his head.

"Minori? Minori!" Kamui crawled over to Minori, shaking his shoulders. "Are you alright? Calm down!"

* * *

" _I know you're weak. You should really learn some self-defense for once!"_

 _The dead look in his eyes slightly changed. It was some form of excitement, anxiety. Maybe it was fear? He didn't know, but the white-haired male simply hummed in response, "Self-defense?"_

" _Yeah, some self-defense. Learning some skills should help you out a lot." A small chuckle. "You can protect your siblings that way, you know?"_

" _Protect…" That frown on his would eventually curl to a smile, even if it was subtle and slight. "I guess so, yeah."_

" _See? There we go, some actual progress." A smile in return. "Here, I'll teach you a few tricks. Just follow me, alright?"_

" _Yeah… alright."_

* * *

Something hard bruised his cheek.

Minori looked up, finding Kamui's red-colored flesh on his palm. The mortician was completely pale, staring at him. "Minori, what the hell?! You can't just do that on me! You worried me for a second there!"

"Kamui…" Minori glanced around the area. It was silent, except for Kamui and Minori's own breathings. He could see behind Kamui- the unconscious worker he had just shoved his sole into. The man was knocked unconscious- and hopefully it would be for a while. "Uh… what happened?"

Kamui threw the pseudologist a worried look. "You looked really shaken up there. I know you could've died, but I was the one held at gunpoint, remember?" It was definitely meant to be taken lightly, but given how Minori went silent, the mortician shook his head and stood up. "You were out of it for a moment. I had to slap you so you can regain your senses."

"I-I was?" Minori gulped. "Why? How?"

Kamui shook his head, reaching a hand out for the shorter man to grab onto. "I wouldn't know. Do you think your memories have something to do with it? Are you regaining your memories, or is there something else wrong?"

"I… I think so." The pseudologist averted his gaze once he grabbed onto Kamui's hand and stood up. "I think I just remembered something, that's all. It wasn't anything important though."

"Really? You really look shaken up right now." Knowing he won't get an answer however, he sighed and turned to look at the unconscious worker's body. "Well, let's take advantage of what we have here. Let's see if this man's from Libertas or Theia, but considering what happened…"

Minori nodded his head slowly, following Kamui. He took a look at the unconscious worker, noting the gun in his hand. The gun seemed to be loaded, and it seemed to be working perfectly- or it looked like it was. Nonetheless, he was unwilling to experiment with it. He grabbed ahold of the gun, then bit into his lips and threw it at Kamui who took it with a strange gaze. "Self-defense," the shorter man murmured, uneasy.

"Ah, I see." Kamui sighed, then concentrating his gaze back on the body. His hands reached over the worker's body, specifically to the lanyard. It took seconds before the mortician frowned, mumbling in a disgusted voice, "Libertas, huh?"

Minori and Kamui continued to search through the man's body, although nothing else was of interest. Minori simply noted what they found together, Kamui then keeping the gun to himself and throwing the lanyard over his neck.

* * *

 **Minori Watanabe's Notebook**

\- We got attacked at the security room (?). Maybe more are coming, sadly can't warn the others. They do seem to want us dead despite the lack of appearance in where we woke up from?

\- The worker's lanyard tells us we're in Libertas.

* * *

That seemed to be all that can be said. Minori glanced over to Kamui who stood up, ready to move out. The mortician noticed the uneasiness in the pseudologist's gaze, and he smiled softly. "I'm sure the others will be fine. We need to trust them."

"I know, I'm just a bit shaken up over what happened." Despite that, Minori forced himself to move, closing the door behind him (of course, after Kamui checked for any other workers in close vicinity).

It was back to silence, although the next room was close in their view. The duo slowly made their way over to the next room, looking back and forth, then inside of the window. No one was in sight. Hearts throbbing, the door to the next room opened and they made their way inside, closing the door behind them.

It was a simple storage room, noted by the stereotypical singular lightbulb hanging from the middle of the ceiling. In comparison to the last two rooms, this one was quite cramped and small, given the boxes around and scattered on the floor.

Minori and Kamui threw each other a look, then began their investigation.

The two young men were rummaging through the boxes, looking and spotting for any clues. They would look for minutes, minutes almost turning into hours as they looked and looked.

Minori rummaged through the boxes, checking through each one. He looked through each paper and each document, sadly noting on how tedious the workload was. The silly pseudologist never would've expected what he would see next- then again, it was quite an interesting note to look at. It wasn't a surprise Minori's focus would be fixated on what he saw next, what was on his hands.

It was a crumpled up diary sheet. It was obvious torn out from its diary, noted by not only the lack of a diary near its proximity, but because of the torn and ripped edges on the side of the note sheet. The pseudologist's lips curled to a frown, and then he began to read:

["I know you may not want to do this, but you know you have no choice. Haven't you seen what's been happening? Everyone's on edge now, and you're already trapped. Just accept it."]

Minori frowned, rereading through the diary sheet. He wasn't sure what the purpose of this letter was, only noting how it sent shivers down his spine. But, nonetheless, he had to note this down. He stuck the diary sheet into his notebook, grabbed his pen, and began to write a few things down.

* * *

 **Minori Watanabe's Notebook**

\- There's a storage room with a lot of boxes and papers.

\- In the storage room, I found a diary sheet that said the following: 'I know you may not want to do this, but you know you have no choice. Haven't you seen what's been happening? Everyone's on edge now, and you're already trapped. Just accept it.'

\- I'm not sure what the purpose of the letter was. Something to do with the mastermind?

* * *

Minori stood up from his position and stepped over towards Kamui. He took out the crumpled up sheet and handed it to the man. "Here."

Kamui eyed the pseudologist for a moment, then took the sheet and read it to himself. It only took a few seconds before he passed it back to the shorter man, frowning. "That's… strange, to say it lightly."

"Mhm, it is." The white-haired man bit into his lips. "I'm assuming it's from one of the workers here."

"Most likely, given the tone of the letter." The mortician tapped onto his chin, eyebrows furrowed with his hardened expression. "I'm not exactly sure about the purpose of the letter though."

The pseudologist shook his head. "Me neither, but we can figure it out with the others later."

"Yeah…" Kamui nodded his head slowly. "True."

Minori and Kamui went back to work. They continued to search around the room, unloading the boxes and checking its contents, but nothing of use was there. They were just simple, useless white sheets of paper. There was nothing special to them. It was even a miracle that Minori found that crumpled piece of diary note.

A long time spent on investigating the room, and only one thing was to be found. Was it a waste of time? Such a silly thought couldn't be answered.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find more clues elsewhere," Kamui remarked, comforting Minori with a calm smile.

And Minori would smile back at the mortician, saying, "Yeah, I know."

So, with that settled, they once again left the room to move to another one. They walked down the hallways, silent and careful. They were mindful of their surroundings, though it didn't take long before they reached their next destination.

Kamui looked through the window, and threw Minori a look. The pseudologist's eyebrows raised as Kamui urged him to look himself. Minori would then peek, and frown at the sight.

There were two workers who were inside, most likely having hidden inside of the room in order to smoke- it was all too obvious, given the cigarettes in their hands and the lack of a clean environment inside of the dusty, unkempt room.

The silly pseudologist did have to note that it was strange nobody seemed to be active on the lookout for him and the other Ultimates. It was quite strange, as if they couldn't be bothered- or maybe that they were confident Minori and the others would've died off without their care? Minori wasn't sure, but it was unnerving. He felt shivers running down his spine.

"What should we do?" Minori whispered softly, close to Kamui's ear. "Should we go to another room?"

Kamui thought for a moment, then biting into his lips and whispering back in response, "But there might be something important in there, correct? We can't just give up."

The pseudologist raised a brow. "Should we just come back later then?"

"... Can you check the other room then?" Kamui pointed down the hall. "Let's make sure no one's in another room as well."

Minori nodded his head, making his way down the hallway. He reached the iron-plated room and looked inside, then finding the window blocked with metal- he couldn't see anything. Frowning, the pseudologist reached for the handle and tugged at it. He expected it to open slightly, but nothing. It was locked.

The pseudologist quickly made his way back to Kamui and shook his head. "The door over there is locked," he whispered softly. "You can't see what's inside either."

The mortician raised a brow. "Can we use the worker's ID?"

Minori glanced to Kamui's lanyard, then to the ID. He shook his head. "There wasn't anything like a code to get through. It was just locked."

"Hm…" Kamui pursed his lips. "I'm assuming the other rooms are faraway then."

"We're not sure if they're locked like the last one," the white-haired man admitted, slightly disheartened by this information. "Should we leave?"

Kamui glanced over to his gun, then biting into his lips and eyeing Minori. "We could knock them unconscious. I feel like taking the risks outweighs everything else."

The pseudologist's eyes widened. "I'm usually the one who would say stuff like that, but…" He sighed, forfeiting. He knew he was just worried about what happened last time, but seeing how Kamui was willing to take a risk, he had to do so as well. "Alright then, since you actually sound confident about it."

Kamui laughed softly. "Yeah, I know. Surprising, huh?"

Minori chuckled, then throwing the taller man a serious look. "We're just going to knock them out, alright? Let's not hesitate."

The mortician nodded his head, hand close to the handle. "I know. I'll use the gun as a threat."

"Uhuh."

With that settled, Minori held his breath. He couldn't panic, forcing himself to stay calm despite his overwhelmingly loud heartbeat ringing in his ears. He cracked his knuckles for a moment. A deep breath escaped his lips. He then gave Kamui the nod- the go sign.

Bam!

The door was slammed open.

Minori and Kamui charged in, scaring the two workers whose eyes widened and cigarettes fell. Before the workers could even muster a scream or attack, they were immediately overpowered. Kamui elbowed the worker's face in, and a large thud was heard against the wall. Minori slammed his fist into the worker's stomach before immediately bringing his foot into the worker's face. The workers were instantly knocked out. The cigarettes slowly began to turn cold.

Minori panted, finding himself immediately out of breath. He dropped to the ground, shaking his head. He felt like he was remembering something- something, something that should've been known already. It pained him, somehow, but he didn't know why.

* * *

" _Big bro!"_

" _Minori!"_

 _A large smile appeared on his usual solemn face as he saw them- his two younger siblings, completely teary-eyed and sobbing his name. He immediately ran up to them and embraced them, sobbing._

" _They're safe," the officer said, scratching his head. "You really shouldn't worry about anything. You already did everything you could to bring them over to safety."_

 _He didn't care. He didn't care about what the officer said, only hugging his siblings tight. They were crying, calling his name repeatedly. He would then call out their names, his smile never losing its composure on his pale face._

" _God, I'm so glad you two are here," he mumbled, their sobs soaking his clothes. His breath was shaky, his heart throbbing. "I thought I wouldn't be able to see you two again."_

 _It was a silly thing to worry about- yes, he knew that. However, it was something he was deeply worried about despite the officer throwing him a baffled expression behind that somewhat genuine smile of his._

 _It was because he knew- his siblings' lives were in jeopardy, and he wanted nothing more than to destroy that damn man's corpse over and over again- the same man that brought them to these circumstances in the first place._

" _Hey, food's here. Let's go."_

* * *

"So, Minori, are you going to help me restrain them, or not?"

Minori's eyes widened, finding himself back in reality. He looked over to Kamui who threw him a playful smile, having fortunately found some rope from one of the dusty shelves atop. The pseudologist then glanced over to the unconscious bodies of the workers, reality having struck him. "Oh, right! Sorry about that."

He quickly closed the door behind him first before helping Kamui. The duo easily restrained the workers and tied them up, then taking ahold of their lanyards and throwing it over them- Kamui with two, and Minori with one.

Minori took the walkie talkies as well, smashing them into pieces. He would then grab ahold of the guns the workers had, eyeing them for a moment, then keeping one and tossing the other to Kamui who decided to hide it in one of the many boxes inside the room.

"Time to search this place next," Kamui softly sighed, noting the amount of stuff around the messy, dusty room.

"There's an old television here," Minori commented, smiling as he pointed to the dusty television set at the corner of the room. He walked over to the box and tapped on it. Nothing happened. "I'm not sure if it works though."

"I mean, it is quite old," Kamui mused, speaking as he searched through the area. He continued to look through the few boxes in his direction, then to the shelves. There, his eyes widened and he took a few videotapes from the top. He immediately walked over to the pseudologist. "Here."

"Hm?" Minori grabbed one of the videotapes and read it to himself, "Death #98…?"

The pseudologist immediately looked over to the rest of the videotapes Kamui had in hand. There was the following: Death #1, Death #128, Death #89… Everything labeled on the tapes had something to do with death, and Minori was not at all pleased.

"Uh…" Minori slowly looked over to the television box. "Should we see if it can play?"

Kamui nodded his head slowly. "Yes," he answered, calm. "We wouldn't be able to see what is inside these tapes otherwise."

"If it works," Minori mumbled, but nonetheless grabbed the first one he took and looked for the videotape slot. Seeing it below, he bit into his lips. He slowly inserted it inside, and pressed the 'On' button.

He took a step back, causing Kamui to move forward to protect, shield him. The duo held their breaths as the television began to power on. It powered on, yet there was static. Silence. Static changed into black, and suddenly white font appeared on screen:

["WHAT IS THE PASSWORD?: 000000000"]

"Of course there has to be a password," Kamui sighed, shaking his breath. He looked over to Minori, then throwing him a reassuring smile. "I bet you're quite happy about it, huh?"

Minori blushed, finding Kamui's word to be held true. He did not want to admit it though, quickly grabbing his notebook and covering his face, saying, "N-not exactly. I'll note this down though, along with other things."

* * *

 **Minori Watanabe's Notebook**

\- A lot of the rooms down the hallway we're in might be locked. One of them's locked, but there looks like there's no way to open it?

\- We found videotapes titled 'Death #98', 'Death #1', 'Death #128', and 'Death #89'. They're protected by a password.

* * *

And what Minori wrote was right, given how every other videotape Kamui tried to play only gave him the same result. Kamui shook his head and began to walk back to the other side of the room, sighing, "Guess we'll keep looking. They're locked."

"Alright." Minori decided to do the same, walking away from the TV and onto his investigation. He began to look through the shelves and boxes himself, rummaging through the area.

A few minutes were spent searching through the room, however it wasn't all for naught. Within minutes, Minori found himself reading something of quite great interest. It had caught his attention, and he knew it was immediately important, especially with what the file had said:

["File #354:

Please do remember to take caution over the participants for the tests. Be mindful that these participants must be put through the common procedure- most importantly, the procedure concerning the loss of memory. This is highly important, for if this procedure is not taken into action, Libertas will be in jeopardy. There are certain other procedures and plans that can be taken as well, but our priority is to keep these participants' memories jaded."]

Minori could only frown in response. _So our memories were erased. I shouldn't even be surprised anymore at this point, but it still irks me…_ He slowly took out his notebook and began to jot his thoughts down first.

* * *

 **Minori Watanabe's Notebook**

\- File #354 talks about erasing memories of the 'participants'. Did we really decided to willingly participate in this though? Then again, considering Libertas' reputation and its false hope of solving overpopulation…

\- The file confirms the idea our memories had been erased, if that wasn't obvious enough.

* * *

Finishing his notes, Minori quickly finished his investigation and walked over to Kamui who wiped the sweat off from his forehead. The mortician eyed him with interest, and Minori passed the file to him.

Kamui took it slowly to read it, then frowning upon its contents. He passed it back to the shorter man who kept it secured into his notebook. The mortician sighed. "Well, at least we know Libertas were meticulous in their plan for the killing game."

Minori nodded his head slowly. "That's true, but it makes me very worried. They definitely are something incredible."

"Yeah…" Kamui bit into his lips. He thought for a moment before looking over to the workers, then back to Minori. "I'm assuming we're done here then. Have you searched everything?"

Minori smiled softly. "Yeah."

Kamui nodded his head and slowly walked over to the door. He placed his fingers around the handle, then turned back to Minori who walked his way. "We'll check if the doors down the hall are locked."

"I know." The pseudologist chuckled. "Hopefully not. If so, then we'll go back to see if Kaniza's around."

Kamui smiled at that, then opened the door. The duo made their way back to the hall, going down, first moving to the aforementioned locked door.

Minori pointed at it, then pointed to the door that seemed to lack even a handle. Kamui frowned as he looked at it, then sighed and pointed downward. It was a concern that a room wasn't even there with a handle, but they had nothing to do about it, and kicking down the door would only stir trouble, and Minori was confident even that wouldn't work.

So, they continued down the hall. They would continue to find some more doors, and although there were handles on the doors, they were bolted shut. Kamui couldn't pry them open, and neither could Minori. It was beginning to worry them, and the distance between one door from the other seemed to continue growing longer and longer. It was worrying them, but they had no choice but to continue, to risk it. They weren't even sure how long the hallway would extend, or if it would even stop- most likely it would, and at best there would be an elevator or staircase to the next floor. They wouldn't know.

They walked and walked. It took over a couple of minutes or so before they would even begin to see the near end, a wall faraway that blocked entrance elsewhere. There was a final door in that far end, and Minori and Kamui threw each other a look- they couldn't back down, after all.

Once they were near the sight of the wall, their focus was fixated on the door in the middle. It was another metal-plated door, though without a window (or blocked and covered window) in comparison. Luckily, there was a handle there, but upon trying to open it, nothing happened. It was locked, like almost half of the other doors were, and the duo was unsure of what to do.

Though, upon closer inspection, the duo noticed a long, really long code plastered to the bottom right corner of the door: ["01100010011101010110111001101110011110010000110100001010"], it read.

"What does this mean?" Kamui whispered. "... I seriously wish I learned coding now."

"Is it a code for something?" Minori wondered to himself, writing down the numbers into his notebook. He hated how he had to reread and count over each number- truly a nightmare to be held, the worst kind of nightmare.

"It most likely is, or else it wouldn't be there," the mortician murmured. "But… would a code this long work as a password?"

Minori would've said yes, but his thoughts were disrupted as he heard the sounds of distant footsteps from behind.

 _Shit, I shouldn't be surprised. Our luck is really running dry today._ Minori's heart was racing, but he had no choice but to disregard it. He quickly grabbed ahold of his gun and pointed it, Kamui's eyes widening as he immediately understood what was going to happen. Kamui quickly followed, pointing his gun out as they anticipated the worst.

 _I shouldn't even have to point a gun!_ Minori found himself screaming in the inside, hating how sweaty he already was. He hated how the footsteps were becoming louder and louder, and he hated how his finger was close to the trigger. _God, just turn around and leave us._

Yet, that was only wishful thinking.

Those footsteps became louder and louder, and soon a figure of the worker came to the duo's line of sight. The worker was walking over towards them for some reason, and the duo could only assume they were actually beginning to look for them- the Ultimates.

Which would make Minori say, "About fucking time!" but: one, he was not in the mood to cuss right now; two, the situation was dire and he had no time to ponder anymore; and three, his focus was fixated on that damn gun.

"Ah, damn, it's the guy you knocked out earlier."

Minori's eyes widened at Kamui's words, and everything made sense. He would've sighed in relief that people weren't chasing them, but at the same time he felt nothing more than fear and anxiety.

The worker immediately saw the duo and began to charge, charge straight at them with his bruised face and body.

Minori quickly threw Kamui a look: "Don't shoot."

The mortician nodded his head as the worker charged. Kamui immediately cocked the gun to its handle and slammed it into the worker's face. The worker fell back.

Kamui pointed the gun at the worker, but was suddenly tripped. He let out a soft cry as he fell, Minori's eyes widening as he charged at the worker and tackled him to the ground.

The pseudologist rolled around with the worker for a while before feeling his body being grinded into the floor. His face was buried into, and he felt rough hands pinning his arms together. His gun was roughly grabbed and it pointed at Kamui.

 _Bang!_

Kamui's finger was on the trigger as well as the worker's. The mortician gritted into his teeth as he fell to his knees.

The grip on Minori's arms loosened, and the pseudologist couldn't help but cry out in shock as the worker's body collapsed to the ground. He felt hot liquid on his back, and it was obvious that it was blood.

"Oh god!" Minori quickly scooted back, eyes dilated. In front of him now was the worker, having been shot in the head and bleeding, painting the floor. The pseudologist felt sick to his stomach. He had seen so many different types of murder before, yet to see one being caused so suddenly in front of his face just scarred him. He couldn't help but tear up, shaking his head. "Kamui, what the hell?"

"You already know that I would rather kill him than have you dead!" Kamui cried out, though in a hushed manner. He quickly grabbed ahold of Minori's hands and forced him to his feet. "We need to get going," he spoke, as calmly as he could. He completely disregarded the body he had just disposed of. "I'm sure people heard that, even if we're all the way here. Kaniza and the others might be in danger."

"True…" Minori bit into his lips. "Ugh, why're you so calm?"

"I'm not." And Minori instantly noticed how shaky Kamui's hands were. He looked over to the mortician whose body was completely trembling, cold sweat trickling down his forehead. "God, we should've restrained that worker or something… Too late to change reality though. We have to move."

"Kamui…" Minori slowly let go of Kamui's hands. He eyed him for a moment, then forcing himself to smile. _I need to calm down. I can't let my emotions get the best of me._ "I got it. I'm worried about Kaniza and the others too."

"Yeah, hopefully they can manage themselves." Kamui then began to walk back, throwing on a fatherly, stern stance. "Let's get going."

And the silly pseudologist would follow, ignoring the dead body behind him, and completely forcing himself to forget the memory that slowly ran through his head.

* * *

" _You know, I never would've pegged you as the Ultimate Pseudologist!" A cheerful smile escaped the lavender-haired young man's face. "I know we just met and all, but you really don't look like a pseudologist, y'know? You're too timid."_

" _I'm… sorry?" The pseudologist frowned. He wouldn't necessarily call himself timid, but rather solemn. "I just don't like conversing with people."_

" _Nah, we can change that." And the young man threw a hand out. "Seiga Kosoku, Ultimate Stunt Double. The others don't seem to be here yet, but I know a friend of mine's been accepted! She's really cool."_

" _Friend…" The pseudologist honestly never expected somebody to say such a term. Nonetheless, he took Seiga's hand and shook it. "Minori Watanabe. Pleasure to meet you… uh, Mr. Seiga?"_

" _No misters and misses here! We're buddies, y'know?" Seiga easily patted the white-haired man's head, smiling widely. "We're both Ultimates, after all."_

 _And Minori would blush, suddenly finding himself flustered. "Y-you want to be buddies with me?"_

 _Seiga threw his arms around the pseudologist. "Of course, you look like a cool person! I'm more than willing to befriend anyone and everyone, of course- oh, other than my stupid, amazing brother though!"_

" _Brother?"_

 _And Seiga would smile at him again, beaming. It would cause Minori's face to become red, and it would stay red as the door opened, and everyone slowly began to come inside to greet themselves to one another._

 _And Minori's head would hurt. His heart would throb, for he knew he shouldn't be feeling this way._

 _He was an awful person, especially because he committed nothing but murder._

 _A sick, sick person who deserved nothing but hatred and disgust._

 _He was a liar for a reason, and it sickened him to his stomach._

 _It sickened him even though he knew he was going to use that lie of his for a long time- that he was a normal, normal person who was an Ultimate and just a simple high schooler._

 _Sad._

 _Truly, it was a tragedy._

* * *

And that is the end of this chapter! We are here at the finale, and I want nothing more than to finish off this story with a bang, haha. There's a lot of things that has to be uncovered, so hopefully I can uncover everything smoothly. Probably not, but I'll try my best!

Anyways, as usual, here are the promotions:

 **Danganronpa: Blood Sport** (tobi-is-an-artist-too)

 **Danganronpa: Last Hurrah!** (mandipokemon)

 **Danganronpa: Execution Order** (Heroi Oscura)

 **Danganronpa: Remnants Of My Heart** (Prince PokePersona)

 **Danganronpa: Tall Tales and Other Murders** (ChaoticMercy)

 **Danganronpa: The Pitiful Plague Called Ignorance** (RioA)

 **For Whom the Rabbits Mourn** (SanityRequiem)

 **Our Ghosts Return** (TheRoseShadow21)


	52. Chapter 6 - Part 1, Kaniza

Hello and I am finally here again after what feels like years of waiting! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, but at least I'm here! Now then, I don't want to keep you all waiting, so let's head in straight to the chapter!

 **limenightsky:** "Haha, oops. Welp, guess you figured out the code."

 **Ziggymia123:** "Investigations are fun, trials who? Minori has a good notebook, yes. Viruses are not fun at all, they ruin all your computer work! Aish, it makes sense layout wise for me since Sagiso and Saori search more parts than Kaniza and the guys did, so yay~ Oh my, the Minori is the MM theory is still on the run."

 **Emma2448:** "Ayy, binary code. I should learn binary code."

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Heck yeah, investigations! Thrillers are fun to read, haha. Hopefully you will! Aww, thanks so much!"

 **FruitlessKitty_74:** "Haha, it's fine. Reviews are still reviews nonetheless, like how compliments are compliments and complaints are complaints, woo. Action scenes are fun, I want to write more, but I suck at them. Yes, Minori prioritizes Sagiso, lol. Heck yeah, theories and thoughts~ Oh my, a Kamui fan. Monokuma is just staring at everyone, sad he's not here. Haha, well, personally for me, I usually let others take the lead. I only talk in a debate when I'm confident (which is rarely even though I actually have strong opinions on a lot of things), so for me I'd think a bigger class trial would work for me, but it'd be more chaotic. Smaller class trials seem easier to work with, but it does depend on who's left and how people cooperate together or whatnot. Ayy, I don't know. Also, thanks so much!"

* * *

The moment Minori and Kamui left, and the exact moment Sagiso and Saori entered into the elevator, Kaniza was left alone.

She honestly wouldn't have thought that this would pain her, but when she saw nothingness, her heart began to ache. The sudden urge to tear up and chase after Minori and Kamui, or to press the elevator's button and force her friends back down- those urges were overwhelming her.

 _No. I have to calm myself. I told them I can do this anyways._ She immediately slapped her cheeks, her face now slightly hot and red. She forced her lips to curl to a smile, and immediately she forced herself to lie that she was confident, completely confident that everything was going to go well.

She counted herself to three. One, two, three- there, and she moved down to the hallway, on her mission to investigate and solve this entire mystery with the others. She was still saddened that they weren't by her side, but she knew they trusted her, and she wanted nothing more than to meet, and possibly surpass, their expectations.

Kaniza was slightly peeved at how sterile the hallway was. She knew it was supposed to be clean, given the environment she was in, but she expected a little dust or so- yet, nothing. She didn't know why it peeved her, but it did, and she hated the echoing of her footsteps and breathing. It almost scared how loud her own heartbeat was.

To top it off, the brightness of the hallway was somehow grating to her. She knew the light would help her navigate, but the possibility of somebody finding her is just frightening. She knew light had its pros and cons, but darkness had some too- preferably, right now, darkness was what she wanted.

 _And arguably, having something to hold onto and hug would be really helpful right now._ Maybe somebody like Sagiso? Sagiso was usually up close and liked to get personal with people, though it was more of her own trait than anything- nonetheless, Sagiso did care about Kaniza, and it was obvious Sagiso treated Kaniza as nothing more than her close friend.

Maybe she wanted Nezumi back- _but the dead can't live._ A stupid and generic thought, but it was true. She shouldn't wish for Nezumi to come back to comfort her, to soothe her nerves, but she did, and she hated it.

She always relied on Nezumi, yet it was now that she knew he relied on her. The duo both relied on each other in order to hopefully make it through the killing game without fail, yet Kaniza just now realized how much she meant to Nezumi. He wanted nothing more than to protect her, and yet she was completely oblivious to it.

* * *

" _H-hey, Kani?"_

 _Kaniza looked over to Nezumi. The thief was eyeing her worriedly, hiding behind that hood of his. She couldn't help but purse her lips, but kept up a happy facade and asked, "Something the matter, Nezzy?"_

 _Nezumi hesitated. His eyes were averted to the side, but after a moment he forced himself to look back at her. "I-it's nothing that special… I was just wondering what it would be like after we, uh, get out of here."_

" _Oh." Kaniza's eyes widened. She recalled back to what her parents said when she was a young toddler- about love and caring. She recalled her father who was more than happy to tell a young Kaniza to bring home a boyfriend if she ever got one in the future, and now she was here, with Nezumi. A sad smile escaped her, but she quickly hid it in exchange for throwing her arms around him, leaning against him. "We're going to meet each other's families, of course."_

" _Huh? R-right, I guess that's what couples do." Nezumi's face was immediately red. "I never really talked about my parents, huh?"_

" _We have talked about lots of things. It's not like we can keep track of what we do and do not talk about," Kaniza mused, laughing. "Don't worry about it. We can talk about as much as we want in the stargazing room later, remember?"_

" _Right." The thief's lips curled to a shy smile. "... I-I really do want to introduce you to my parents. They're really sweet."_

" _Mine as well!" Kaniza grinned widely. "Once we get out of here, I'm going to introduce you to my parents… all of them."_

 _Kaniza's smile saddened once more. Not only her real parents, but the ones who adopted her as well._

 _Nezumi had no idea of this, but that hesitation on his face made it clear he was worried about something. However, noticing how his own girlfriend was comforting him, he quickly smiled in return._

" _Yeah… that honestly sounds nice."_

* * *

A sigh escaped her lips. Well, she couldn't change time. That was impossible. Nonetheless, she had no choice but to allow her thoughts to be filled with such silliness, but, well, at least she could walk down a straight hallway.

Kaniza slowly made her way down the hallway, finding her first destination in plain sight. It was a door- a metal-plated one without a window to look through. It peeved her that she couldn't see what was inside, but she forced the urge to leave. She slowly brought a hand to the handle, and creaked it open.

She peeked her head inside. It was slightly darker inside of the room than in the hallway, but that was to be expected. She noticed the light switch to the side, and brought her slightly pale hand over to flicker it on.

A few, quick short seconds passed before the lights flickered on (albeit a few lights being dead, but at least most of them were working). Now, the woman could see what was inside. Slowly, she made her way in and closed the door behind her.

What was inside of the room was nothing more than a spacious, blank space. There was a table to be seen, sure, and there were a couple of papers that were scattered and disorganized, but overall it was a completely empty, useless room.

Kaniza released a soft sigh, deciding that there was nothing else to do but investigate. She made her way over to the table, searching through the couple of papers on sight. There were a few sheets of paper that were blank, but there were a few which actually had some writing on them- that doesn't mean they were anything special. The papers that had writing in them simply talked about the obvious and unnecessary- the weather, the time of a certain day listed, hobbies of a particular person, etc.

 _Well… the papers are trashed in here for a reason._ Kaniza had to lightly chuckle at herself, wanting to comfort herself against this disappointment. She sighed as she looked around the room, hoping to find something the slightest bit useful.

Yet, reality was cruel. There was nothing there.

Kaniza pursed her lips, cursing under her shaky breath. Knowing that nothing of use was here now, the astrophotographers made her way to the door. Her hand reached for the handle and she was about to open it when- she saw it.

A worker was walking, moving slowly down from where he was. He was walking down the hallway where Minori and Kamui's direction led to, moving to the left. Kaniza's eyes widened as she took notice of the worker through the window, fear immediately capturing her as she froze, unable to do anything at the exact moment. She held her breath, stomach churning and heart throbbing. It was only a second, but that exact second felt like an hour to Kaniza.

A sudden realization came through her head. _I need to turn off the lights._ She would then hold her breath, having flipped the switch off. It was dark, and her hand was pushed against the door, fearful of the worst. She had hidden herself to the side, only having her own two eyes to peek out the window from. A few seconds passed before she immediately felt relief, but she kept still for a couple of seconds. Who knows what could happen if she went out so suddenly?

One. Two. Three. Four. She counted to herself, and slowly her heartbeat began to slow down to its normal (she would assume so) pace. Kaniza breathed out deeply. _I think he should be gone now… At least far enough for him to not spot me._

She poked her head out, eyes spying for anything suspicious. It was completely empty now, and no one else was in sight.

 _Dammit._ Kaniza rubbed her hands roughly. She knew what was happening to her. _I need to calm down. Thinking about the possibility of there being more people down my direction… I shouldn't think about that._

She forced herself to breathe in, breathe out. She stilled her worrisome mind, and forced her heartbeat to its normal pace once more.

Calming. Calming. Calming.

There, she was calm now.

Kaniza nodded to herself, took another look outside the window. No one was in sight, and she turned the handle. The door creaked open, and Kaniza slowly made her way outside.

No one was in sight, and the astrophotographer continued down the hallway. She made her way down, looking around the area before seeing the nearest door in sight. Uneasiness immediately filled her head, but she continued and walked over to that door nonetheless.

The door in front of her was another metal-plated door, all with a window in the front. She took a glance around her before peeking into the window, using her height to her advantage. The room was much more brighter than the last room she was in, though that was mainly a cause of the lights which were strangely flickered on. Inside of the room seemed to be nothing more than a spacious area, only a white armchair to be seen. There was nothing else inside of the room- it was more peculiar to the woman, though she decided not to think about it.

She opened the door and walked inside. Wanting to make sure she wasn't missing any information or details, she made her way into the room and looked around. Completely empty, only an armchair to be seen. She did take notice that the armchair was clean, as if it hasn't even been used. Strange.

Kaniza pursed her lips, and slowly made her way back outside. _I'm finding nothing so far,_ she grumbled inside of her head, groaning. She continued down the hallway nonetheless, footsteps and breathing echoing throughout the and over the walls.

The next door was somehow farther than the other rooms she had been in. It may have been because of her lack of direction in terms of time, but it took a few minutes for her to even reach the next door. It was a miracle no one had seen her during this time.

 _Though… it's worrying._ Kaniza bit into her lips, almost causing it to peel and bleed. She slowly made her way over to the door which was… well, which was different. It wasn't even the door that was strange, but the fact that she was already at an end. The wall was near her, and there was no access to the hallway any longer. It was just this door- this strange door.

It was a wooden door, one you would see in those stereotypical horror or thriller movies. It was a slightly beaten up and dirty, ashy door, and the handle was rusty, ruining its usual metallic flair. It was quite a peculiar-looking door, causing Kaniza's heart to jump as she wondered- _what was inside this door?_

She had no choice. She could go back to meet Minori and Kamui, or she can open the door and be of use for once. The wall was blocking access to the hallway, and she can only assume there was nothing else left for her to discover except for this one and only door. Definitely, she definitely had no choice.

Her shaky hand reached for the rusty handle, and she turned it. The door creaked open.

Darkness. It was complete darkness alone for a few flickering lights that were barely, just barely working from above. It was an empty hallway, nothing to be seen. Was it sterile? Was it clean? Kaniza wasn't sure, but from the sounds of her own coughing- that wasn't the case. Dust, spider webs, creaky floorboards… yes, this hallway was definitely not cleaned and kept well.

 _Was this place abandoned?_ Kaniza slowly closed the door behind her and took a step forward. Creak. Her own footsteps, no matter how soft and gentle they were, cause the floor beneath her to moan. … _Why is there a place like this? Did the people here just abandon this place or forgot about it?_

Horror. It was like she was in a horror film. She couldn't help but breathe in deeply, and breathe out just as deeply. She forced herself to relax, for she knew- _I've been through worse._

* * *

" _Kaniza, my lovely daughter! How are you? Done with your homework already?"_

 _Kaniza smiled widely, looking up at her father. He seemed to be tired, noted by the eyebags underneath his eyes- most likely he had been cataloguing the stars' alignments overnight again. However, judging by the happiness in his tone, she knew all too well that he was more concerned over her well-being. "I'm done with everything! Can I help you out tonight?"_

 _And her father would laugh, ruffling her hair. "You always help me out whether I say yes or no. You're already so invested in astronomy."_

 _Kaniza glanced at the camera she had hanging over her neck. She giggled and threw her arms around her dad. "I just like helping you out. I know Mom is watching over us too, so I like to wait out the night to see her."_

" _Yeah." He tightly embraced her in return. A few moments passed before he released the embrace, throwing his daughter a warm smile. "I'll head back to work soon, so feel free to spend time around here, alright? Who knows, maybe you can take a few more pictures of the moon to help me catalogue its phases."_

" _Of course!" Kaniza clapped her hands together. "Whatever you want, Dad!"_

 _And the man would throw her a smile. It was a warm smile like always, yet it was that smile that was stuck in Kaniza's mind._

 _That smile of pure genuinity, love, and respect… It was a smile Kaniza loved all too well, and a smile that she rarely saw others throwing at her._

 _She was weird. She was a stupid fanatic. She was a star-crossed lover wannabe._

 _She was whatever to the people who judged her. She couldn't care less. All she could care about was her father-_

 _-her father which died the night her ears rung, explosions all too vivid and harsh for her poor hazel eyes to witness._

* * *

 _All for the sake of satisfying their jealousy because of my father's success._ Kaniza bit harshly into her lips, now splitting it and causing it to bleed red. If she were alone at the very start, she would've most likely continued to blame herself for her father's death. She would've continued to hate herself and put herself down, just like all those bullies and jealous peers of hers did. Now, having known and been around people like Nezumi and Sagiso, she knew better than to think that- people actually cared about her, and they knew she was a lovely person. She had her faults, yes, but they knew she was truly a wonderful person and deserved nothing but love and respect.

Besides, she was still alive. She knew she had a reason for being alive. She had to live on for the others- for her boyfriend, for everyone who died in order to escape the killing game and fight against Monokuma, and especially for her family and loved ones.

 _Mom and Dad are watching over me._ Kaniza grinned. It wasn't a grin out of happiness, but a grin out of pure determination and confidence. _Mom and Dad are watching over me with Nezzy and the others… and my other parents back home are definitely waiting for me. I must do this for them. I need to survive._

Kaniza held her chin high and walked down the flickering hallway. The dust, the webs, the dirt and grime… Fuck that, she couldn't care less if it dirtied her shirt and shorts. She had to help Minori and the others, and that was the objective she prioritized most out of everything, equal to that of survival.

The hallway ran deep, almost endless. The darkness did not help, and the lights that were on were dim and lacking in strength.

Kaniza held her breath and continued down, unsure of when to stop. Her footsteps echoed throughout the hallway as she made her way. Minutes passed by before she noticed a metal-plated, windowless door at the very end of the hallway.

She frowned. The metal door had scratched all over it. The handle was clean though, somehow.

Her heart pounded. It was a sign that something was wrong. Someone had definitely been here, especially if the door contrasted the hallway's own surrounding. While there were scratches, sure, there stood the metallic shine of the door. It was suspicious, and even Kaniza knew that.

She grabbed the handle and creaked it open. She would've expected herself for the worse, yet her heart hadn't prepared her for what she saw at all.

What was inside of the room was nothing more than pure horror. The walls were soundproof, noted by the red and black patterned partition panels. It didn't help that the walls themselves looked dirty and stained, almost as if they were colored with dried blood… and recent blood.

But that wasn't all. Inside of the room held all sorts of devices that made Kaniza more than queasy. There were all sort of devices that were definitely meant to harm others, to cause pain- torture devices. There were syringes, wrenches, drugs… all sorts of things that Kaniza couldn't even name. The obvious ones of the Iron Maiden and the electric chair were there, but there were so much more that Kaniza couldn't fathom existing.

She gulped, eyes fixated on the dried up blood and recent blood all over the spacious, wide room. She slowly stepped inside, trembling in excruciating fear.

All the blood. All the torture. Just knowing what could've been done inside this room… why it was hidden in such a place… Everything just sent shivers down Kaniza's spine, yet she knew she had no choice but to look around, especially if she saw a bloodied up door in the distance. She had to keep on moving, even investigate this hellspawn of a place.

She first made her way over to a nearby table. It was a white folding table, slightly beaten up and dusty. However, what she saw were the types of bottles and drugs that were on display. She bit into her lips, and slowly took a look at each one.

 _Drugs for heartburns, colds…_ Kaniza read each bottle and label carefully. She noted how each one seemed to contain something very specific in the list of objectives- that each bottle was meant to condition their patient. _Conditioning… Minori mentioned this once before in a trial._

Kaniza gulped. She recalled back to what the pseudologist said- that conditioning was meant to train a certain person to behave or react in a specific, certain manner. To condition someone meant to enslave them to your own will.

The bottles, all filled with drugs… The packets… The pills…

They were all staring at her, leering at her. The bottles' caps were labeled in red, yellow, and green. The pills were white, though some were black and others were a dark blood red color. It was unnerving, Kaniza's body freezing when she saw one of the synopsis of the red-capped bottle's uses: 'Only use to those who are unwilling to comply. Using this will cause them to be completely dependent and fixated on you, the one who gave them this drug'.

 _Why use things like this? It's such a horrible thing…_ Yet the silly astrophotographer didn't know of its uses. Nonetheless, she was unaware of the pros, so she set the bottles and drugs to the side, deciding to investigate the other mechanics and devices inside of the room.

The devices were exactly what they were- torture devices. There was no purpose to them other than to serve pain, and that was obvious given the amount of dried up blood and scratches were on each device. Kaniza didn't dare to reach or touch any of the devices, only taking quick glances at each one.

She did take notice of, however, the walls around the room. It wasn't the fact they were all dirtied up, scratched, etc. It was the fact that those scratches ran in deep, etching out a list of words… words that were wearing down, but words that definitely caught Kaniza's interest. She slowly made her way over to one of the sides of the wall, observing the words etched on them.

Eyes widened immediately. She couldn't help but gasp, face paling up within milliseconds. _They're… they're names._

And they were. There were names that she could read such as Ariake Kuroba, Raigorou Ishikawa, Seaki Tsuki, Zuimu Kuroba, and many others. There were names that seemed to be readable, yet they weren't considering the amount of scratches and how worn out the names looked. She did notice some seemed to spell out Theia, although Kaniza wasn't completely sure if she was right. Finally, there were names that weren't readable at all, nothing but random etches to be seen- if she would dare call it.

Kaniza bit into her lips, reading through each name. All of them seemed to have been crossed out, as if their lives had been ended. She took a look at the bottom, and there her face paled even more than it already was.

Hiro Kosoku.

 _That's… that's Seiga's brother._ The memory of the beloved stunt double's tears and desperation filled her head. She couldn't help but ache seeing his brother's, his own twin brother's, name on the wall- she knew all too well what it meant for him.

Kaniza shook her head and averted her gaze away. Her heart was beginning to ache, and she knew better than to let it be. She quickly diverted her thought away from Seiga's brother in exchange for her investigation.

There was nothing else inside of the room that took notice. Other than the drugs and names on display, only the door down the room seemed to hold of interest. She rubbed her hands together, took a deep breath, and walked. However, the moment she stepped on one of the floorboards, it dug below, and she almost tripped.

"W-what the-?!" Kaniza stumbled, squealing from the sudden loss in height. She quickly looked back down at the floorboard. "A-a secret button? Boobytrap…?"

She wasn't sure, but it was too late. A rumbling echoed inside of the room, and Kaniza's forehead was covered in cold sweat. It was a rumbling sound that shook the floor underneath her, and before the woman could say anything, one of the walls in front of her opened itself up, and revealed a strange, strange door.

It was an entirely clean, clean door. It was a door that was decorated in what seemed to be an angel's wing carved into it, then painted with black ink. The wing was quite beautiful, almost mesmerizing to say the least. Kaniza glanced down at the handle, then frowning upon noticing a lock- it seemed like you have to type in a password, given by the keypad and an enter key around the metallic handle.

 _There's nothing here that can point to a password though. Darn it…_ Kaniza pursed her lips, bothered. _Hm… I wonder what's inside this room anyways._

It was a tragedy she couldn't open it. She hoped she could return here (yes, despite all the cons of this… torture facility) with the others to decode it, but even then she wasn't sure they'd have an answer for the password. Now, all she could do for this interesting door was ponder and worry over it.

Kaniza sighed, shaking her head. She focused her attention back to her supposed last destination, that disgustingly dirty door in front of her. She eyed the door for a moment, noting its dried blood splattered on the door and the scratches and the rust. It was definitely dirty, and it made her stomach churn and moan in worry.

Her fingers reached for the handle. They gripped around it. It felt so dusty and so rusty. Disgusting. Disgusting, disgusting. She bit into her lips and turned the handle. It creaked, and she slowly made her way in, taking a step.

A foul smell overwhelmed her nostrils. She groaned, squeezing her nose shut. Coughs escaped her lips. Her golden eyes were slightly teary. Somehow, some way, the urge to gag and vomit was present in her throat. She didn't know why, well, until fingers flipped that small, dusty light switch on.

Flicker, flicker.

The lights flickered on, and suddenly Kaniza can see what was inside of the room. More particularly, what was causing that wretched smell.

Flesh. Bones. Blood.

In front of her very eyes were bodies, the remains of the dead. They were bodies that were still rotting out, being nothing more than fodder for the mice and termites that ate away at their carcasses. Who exactly were these bodies were unknown to her, for most of them were bones and had their flesh being eaten, torn away from them.

The smell of rotten eggs, iron, and so many more odors caused Kaniza to hurl. That wretched sight of bodies only caused her to turn green, causing her to immediately throw up in front of her.

Eyes were teary, and her face was now sickly. It took a few moments for her to calm herself, and for her to even stand back up. She couldn't fathom seeing so many corpses around her, and immediately she wanted Kamui or Saori to be here to calm her down. Maybe even Sagiso and Minori would've reacted more unemotionally than she was acting right now, but just the sight of these remains caused nothing but misery to this lonely woman.

She slowly took a step inside, fingers still squeezing her nose. The sounds of mice scattering were heard, but she couldn't care less about those pesky little critters. Kaniza slowly, shakily made her way to the remains, knowing what she had to do.

She inspected the bodies. Although the identities of these bodies were definitely unknown, the skulls told her the amount of corpses that were here… at least, she would hope so. There were about ten skulls that she could see, however given how some of the remains looked burnt, she was completely unsure of that fact.

Kaniza bit into her lips, eyeing the remains. Yes, she definitely couldn't tell who these remains belonged to. If Saori or Kamui were here they might've been able to make an autopsy report or educated guess, but Kaniza knew they weren't here. She wasn't someone who worked with dead bodies, only focused on astrology and photography.

The woman quickly backed away from the remains. Some of the mice and other insects began to rummage around their new homes, almost hissing at her. She looked around the room now, noting the lights above the dirty ceiling and scratches over the walls. She did notice there was a trash can near the corner of the left side, the woman pursing her lips as she walked over and checked its contents.

Eyes widened. Honestly, the silly woman shouldn't even be surprised she found something. It was a pair of hands which was almost completely gone. The bones were still there to be seen, however the flesh of the hands itself were burnt and almost completely torn off. Dead tissue and dried up blood made up the trash can's bottom. The bin, which she assumed to be silvery, was now a stale, dried up color.

 _But why are the hands here? Shouldn't they be with the other bodies?_ Kaniza couldn't help but ponder to herself. _Did someone have a personal vendetta, or…?_

She wasn't sure, and only smelled her bad breath as a result. She gagged at her own breath, but kept her golden eyes forward. The mice and other critters continued to gnaw at the remains, yet the hands in the trash were rotting away by nothing more than time.

Though rather than hearing the scurrying of the critters, there was an echo of footsteps instead.

Her heartbeat skyrocketed, and adrenaline immediately kicked in. Kaniza quickly darted her head back and forth- there was no place to hide and those footsteps were becoming louder. Her breathing began to quicken and become hitched, footsteps coming closer and closer. She quickly glanced around the room until she jumped straight into the remains.

Mice and insects ran away and scattered. Kaniza could feel critters moving inside of her, all over her skin. She forced back the urge to scream and vomit. The smell was overwhelming her, yet she grabbed some of the flesh and hid underneath.

Footsteps stopped, yet she heard nothing but heavy breathing.

 _Dammit._ Kaniza clamped her hands over her mouth. Her entire body was trembling, and she forced herself to shut her eyes. _Just remember why you're here. You're going to be alive, and you have a reason to be…_

* * *

" _Yeah, her parents died when she was little. Her mother died when she was five, and her father… Inudoshi… you've seen the news that day, right?"_

" _Yeah, I've seen it." An elderly man smiled. "Don't worry. My wife and I will take care of her."_

 _His friend looked at him worriedly, but before he can open his mouth, there was running down the stairs._

" _Satoshi?" Kaniza was downstairs, eyeing the man confusingly. "You're still awake?"_

 _Satoshi eyed Kaniza for a moment, then looked over to his friend. His friend threw a small smile before leaving, the door closing behind him. Satoshi sighed, scratching his head. The old man took a look at Kaniza and chuckled. "You're still hesitant on calling me Dad."_

" _It's just weird to say it so suddenly," the girl confessed, awkwardly laughing. "Uh, Hinako's asleep right now?"_

" _Yeah." Satoshi nodded his head. He then eyed Kaniza, noting the eyebags underneath her eyes. A sigh escaped his lips as he urged Kaniza over, throwing a warm arm around her shoulders. "I see you're still hard at work, huh? They're still investigating on the case."_

" _Yeah, but they know Dad had a lot of enemies who were jealous." Kaniza frowned. "I just want to figure out who killed him and make them pay. The police aren't helping much…"_

" _Gotcha." Satoshi ruffled the raven's hair. "It's obvious you love your dad so much, but please promise me you won't stoop so low as to murdering your dad's killer."_

 _Kaniza's eyes widened, and she glanced over to the elderly man. "I wouldn't think of such a thing! I was just thinking of bringing him to court!"_

 _The man laughed, amused at the girl's frightened expression. "Well, now I know you're not lying to me. You looked at me as if you've seen a ghost."_

" _You were worried about that?" Kaniza couldn't help but smile. "You know I won't dare of such a thing. As long as we figure out who killed Dad, then I'm happy and fulfilled my role here."_

" _Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can say 'now I can finally die'." Satoshi noticed the hesitation on the girl's face, and he sighed. He brought Kaniza into a warm hug. "I know you told us that you're living now just to avenge your father, but you still have a long life ahead of you. After you avenge your father, then what? If you just die, then you're not exactly living your parents' dreams, are you?"_

 _Kaniza averted her gaze. "I…"_

" _Look, I haven't met them, but I know how families function. Parents want nothing more than for their children to live on and lead happy lives, and I can safely say your parents wouldn't want to see you just die off." Satoshi released his embrace on the girl, now focusing his attention on her. "Promise me you'll stay with us after you find your father's killer, alright?"_

 _There was complete and utter hesitation on the girl's face, but she eventually reached a small smile and nodded. "Yeah."_

* * *

She reminded herself of her adopted parents, and she knew she still had to live on. Not only to avenge her father, but to live on for Satoshi and Hinako… her other parents.

Footsteps were heard. Kaniza immediately prayed to herself, speaking mantras inside of her head. The rotten flesh was in her nostrils and she hated how she felt so many bugs crawl over her body. She wanted nothing more than for the person inside of the room to leave, yet that person only seemed to be investigating right now.

She could hear that person's breathing, their movements. They were so close to her that it made her squeamish, hearing that person's footsteps roaming around the room.

Footsteps seemed to stop right in front of her, and she immediately began to panic. Adrenaline was running through her veins and she felt bugs all crawling over her. That wretched smell was choking her and she felt like she was suffocating under the rotten flesh covering her.

Deep, heavy breathing. There were no footsteps to be heard, yet within seconds Kaniza found herself crying out in pain.

Hands grabbed into her hair and forced her up. Kaniza let out a cry as bugs fell from her body. She tearfully looked at the worker who lifted her off the ground, uncaring about her disgusting state or the bugs that crawled around.

The astrophotographer immediately began to struggle. She began to scratch at the worker and kick her legs up, causing the worker to grunt and slammed her into the floor.

Kaniza rolled to her stomach and clutched onto it, groaning in pain. She tearfully looked at the worker who had a gun pointed to her, and before she could say anything-

 _Bang!_

Kaniza's eyes widened as there was a gunshot. It rang throughout the room and it caused her ears to ring. The echoing scared her as the worker stumbled, looking ahead. Kaniza looked ahead to find Minori and Kamui, the duo immediately charging in.

Kaniza was baffled, speechless as Kamui immediately slammed into the worker. Minori quickly ran towards her and grabbed onto her shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" Kaniza worriedly eyed the pseudologist, recognizing his pale complexion. "Why're you two here…?"

"Don't worry, we finished our investigation and wanted to check on you." Minori instantly glanced over to Kamui who was overpowering the worker, though their guns seemed to have been mishandled and fell to the ground.

The pseudologist quickly ran over to the shuffle, but was kept back as the worker immediately kneed Kamui in the stomach and swung at Minori's chin. The white-haired man was thrown back from the recoil, gun having fell at the worker's face, and Kaniza was shocked. She immediately ran over to Minori.

However, Minori and Kaniza could say anything to each other, they heard a groan. They quickly looked ahead to find the worker overpowering Kamui, keeping him on the ground.

"Let him go!"

The worker simply smirked at the duo, then roughly grabbed one of Kamui's legs. The mortician cried out in pain as the worker began to bend it. It only took seconds before the sound of bones breaking was heard, and Kamui's scream drowning out every single tiny noise in the room.

Minori and Kaniza was unable to say anything, pale as Kamui was barely conscious and the worker grabbed one of the guns and pointed it at them. "You can't run now," the worker said, cold. "Your friend can't move."

Minori immediately stepped forward, in front of Kaniza. He threw his arms up in surrender and whispered to the woman, "When I say go, you run."

Kaniza's face fell. "What? No!"

"Just trust me." The pseudologist threw the astrophotographer a soft, gentle smile, then immediately pushed her back and charged straight at the worker. "Go!"

The woman stumbled back and scurried out. She forced herself to run as fast as she could, even when she heard a gunshot and saw Minori clutching onto a bloody arm, down on his legs. She heard the worker yelling at her, and she immediately forced her legs to move.

She ran and ran, and she knew she had nowhere to hide.

 _I have to find Sagiso and Saori!_ She couldn't care less if her breathing was hitched or shallow. She couldn't even give a damn if her legs were screaming for her to stop, or even if there were still bugs crawling around her nor the tears that were falling from her eyes. No, she couldn't give a damn and had only one purpose now.

To find Sagiso and Saori.

* * *

... And that's the end of this chapter. Rather short than usual, but a chapter's a chapter! I don't have much to say as usual (other than doing college preparation stuff and wondering what to do in summer), so, like always, I'll see you all in the next chapter~

Anyways, as usual, here are the promotions:

 **Danganronpa: Blood Sport** (tobi-is-an-artist-too)

 **Danganronpa: Last Hurrah!** (mandipokemon)

 **Danganronpa: Execution Order** (Heroi Oscura)

 **Danganronpa: Remnants Of My Heart** (Prince PokePersona)

 **Danganronpa: Tall Tales and Other Murders** (ChaoticMercy)

 **Danganronpa: The Pitiful Plague Called Ignorance** (RioA)

 **For Whom the Rabbits Mourn** (SanityRequiem)

 **Our Ghosts Return** (TheRoseShadow21)


	53. Chapter 6 - Part 1, Saori and Sagiso

Hello, and I am finally here with another update! I really did a while to update this story, huh? I'm so sorry about that! I am hoping I will be able to get out the next chapter soon! I don't have much to say, as always, so let us move and head straight into the chapter!

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Kaniza is an amazing girl who deserves nothing but love and respect. Haha, thanks so much!"

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Aww, thanks so much! You're too nice, hehe. Pfft, sleep is very important though, of course. Yay, glad I portrayed Kaniza well to your liking! She's an amazing girl and deserves all the love in the world. She's such a little sweetheart, we need to protect her and keep her safe from harm. Save Kaniza from that disgusting situation, ewww corpses. I would smack that worker with you, lemme join. Torture rooms are always scary, ew. Seigaaaaa. Haha, welp, we'll have to see. Thanks so much!"

 **Ziggymia123:** "Save the children, please. They should just have Minori teleport his notebook to them, oof. Drugs are evil, don't take them! Yes, our lovely narrator is the best person here, mhm."

* * *

Inside of the elevator was nothing more than an empty space, filled slightly by two women. It had been silent the way into the elevator, and the way up. Blame it on anxiety, fear, or straight out pure paranoia- the two women knew how fast their hearts were beating, and how their stomachs would churn at the slightest noise.

Although they weren't counting down the time (nor could they), it had been a few minutes or so since they've seen Kaniza, Minori, and Kamui. Saori had no reason to distrust the trio- in fact, she trusted all of them to do their work diligently and with care. Although she was a worried individual and wanted nothing more than for them to be safe, she had to trust them. She couldn't protect them by forcing them under her watch, after all.

She hoped those three had more success in their investigation, as so far she and Sagiso found nothing. Yes, she can blame it on the ratio of floors and rooms to her and Sagiso, and, yes, she can excuse their findings to how much the other three had to search, but so far they had found nothing and she was slightly annoyed at this.

"We're only in this floor at least," Sagiso would say, trying to comfort the body broker. "We still have more places to go to and look at."

And Saori would simply nod her head and follow Sagiso. The body broker would be reminded of the situation, of reality. No matter how many times Sagiso would acknowledge her worries with a small smile, Saori couldn't help but be reminded of reality… her reality, to say the least.

The duo still had trouble lurking about, but that was to be expected, considering the gravity of their situation. Saori almost found herself stumbling when they found some workers passing by, talking. It seemed like the workers' break had ended, fortunately, considering their laughter and footsteps leading from what looked like a cafeteria into their offices. It was worrying that there were so many people inside, but Saori knew better than to falter.

Saori and Sagiso were now hiding behind the wall, having turned the corner at the end of the hallway. There were a few workers who were laughing and gossiping about, drinks and food in their hands. Saori peeked out from a nearby potted plant, eyeing the tasers and guns around their belts, and the ID cards on their lanyards. She bit into her lips and looked over to Sagiso.

"What should we do?" Saori asked, softly whispering to her companion. "If we move around freely, we might get caught, and considering that the workers have their own offices and go in so many different rooms…"

"Punch them." Sagiso then chuckled. "Joking, of course. Hm, how about we lure some to us and knock them out, then steal their clothing."

Saori pursed her lips. She could still hear a few workers walking by and laughing. "But how would we do that though?"

The psychogeographer bit into her lips. A moment passed before she moved Saori gently to the side, then forcibly jabbed out a twig from the potted plant. She grinned as Saori realized what she was going to do, then waited for a few workers to pass by before she spotted one by their lonesome. She breathed in deeply before throwing the twig down the hallway.

Saori held her breath. She heard the footsteps of the worker stopped once the twig fell. It made a small noise in the drop of a fly, and those footsteps slowly turned and began to echo, louder slightly and slightly as the worker's shadow told Saori everything- that the worker was heading their way.

Sagiso cracked her knuckles, then turned and eyed Saori. The body broker wasn't sure whether or not she'd be able to help, but kept her fists balled and closed. She was apprehensive and worried, but she knew she had no time to hesitate.

The worker's footsteps became louder and louder, Saori held her breath. Sagiso pressed her foot forward, and within milliseconds of the worker's eyes meeting theirs Sagiso lunged forward.

It was in an instant. Saori was more than shocked to find Sagiso uppercutting the worker, instantly knocking them out. The body broker went silent for a moment, then sighed deeply and smiled at Sagiso who awkwardly scratched her head. She quickly dragged the worker into their corner and inspected them, Saori quickly joining in.

"Hm, we need one more so we can both wear these clothes," Sagiso murmured, slightly peeved as she looked down at the worker. She eyed the worker's lanyard, then taking their gun and taser. She eyed them for a moment, then removing the lanyard and the worker's coat. She eyed the coat for a moment, only thinking of it as a lab coat, then smiled and handed it to Saori. "Here, you can wear it. Oh, and the lanyard and other things as well."

Saori nodded her head slowly, grabbing the lab coat and putting it around her. It was slightly big for her, but it was comfortable to wear. She grabbed the belt that Sagiso stole from the worker and put it around her waist, then hooking the gun to its holster and the taser secured around it. She adjusted the sleeves on her coat before noticing the psychogeographer who was untying her hair.

"Are you alright?" Saori asked. She inspected Sagiso who had her flowy hair now down, and the psychogeographer sighed as she ran her fingers down. The body broker glanced down to Sagiso's hands, eyeing the hair ties. A small smile crept to the woman's face. "I'm assuming you want to give me those?"

Sagiso threw her a playful wink. "Yeah. I mean, it might not work, but maybe they won't recognize us so easily this way."

"It's smart." Saori grabbed the hair ties, then bringing her hair up. She quickly put her hair into pigtails, uncaring if it was messy or not- as long as it was decent, that's all she could care about. "Is this alright?"

"I think that should be fine." Sagiso grinned at the woman, combing down her hair. "We should search around then. There should be some workers moving about that we can lure."

Saori nodded her head slowly. "Hopefully. I'm just worried they'll recognize us through the disguise."

"If anything, you should be worried they'll find me." Sagiso chuckled softly to herself. "Let's get going then and find another worker nearby to knock out. We still have a lot to look at."

Saori nodded, following Sagiso slowly down the hallways. The woman was worried about Sagiso, she had to admit- Sagiso was not in a disguise and although Saori knew Sagiso could land a punch or two, the woman was still… well, she was still a young woman. It was already heartbreaking that she and the others had to suffer through excruciating pain such as death and horror, especially at their age. Even though Saori was more mature mentally in comparison to some of the people she knew here, she was still scarred by plenty of things in that horrendous killing game, and she knew it cost everybody their sanity and purity.

Horrible, it was just horrible.

Even what happened during her own life couldn't be compared to how horrible her own peers were treated. Monokuma was a monster, and even when she suffered through so many things in her life Monokuma had a way of one-upping it.

Even Monokuma had a way to one-up the revelation of her parents' background. And, god, having been forced to endure her parents' treatment right after they knew of their true background was a nightmare. It was what led her to becoming a body broker, and even then she felt complete and utter disgust for leading to such a path.

Being an Ultimate was not glory to her, and she knew it.

* * *

 _The man looked down upon her fragile body, observing her every movement carefully and analytically. Her dirty, stinky clothes had matched the dirt and paleness on her sickly face. He couldn't even bother to note the corpse that she was definitely carrying in her scrawny arms, not even its decaying flesh that somehow didn't hinder her nose from being scrunched up. And somehow, despite all of that, she was still pretty despite the chaos that emitted from the dirt and decay. Sure, she might be a bit tired and sick, definitely explaining why she was looking the way she did right now, but that didn't matter. All the man could think right now was on how intriguing she was for someone at her age._

" _Do you need something?" he began to ask, a curious look almost escaping his professional-looking face. "I'm assuming you know me, given that you have a corpse on your hands and directly confronted me."_

 _The girl eyed him for a moment, then, as if having recited it, spoke: "I was wondering if you would be willing to help me bury my sibling's body."_

 _And the well-groomed man found himself more intrigued than before. A smirk crept up his lips, but he kept that hidden well. Instead, he simply stared at the girl in her sharp eyes and asked, "By burying, are you assuming I'd dig a grave for your sibling there?"_

 _The young girl's face wrinkled at this, but she shook her head and kept her sister's corpse close in her arms. "Erasing any traces of her body, I mean. You sell body parts, correct?"_

 _Well, the man was more than amused now. He couldn't even hide the smirk on his face this time. "That's correct, but why would you want your sister to be sold in the black market? You're clearly attached to her."_

 _The girl looked down at her hands. They were shaking slightly, yet strangely she lacked the tears in her face. Sure, pain was clear as day, yet the usual thought of crying and grieving so blatantly never escaped her mind. She blinked, then frowned. "If I have to reply," she began, slowly, "then it's because she's not with us. This body is just a vessel."_

" _Quite a vast amount of vocabulary you have." Which was quite ironic, given the girl only knew what to say because of the corpse in her hands. The man observed the body- it was quite a pretty body, nonetheless fresh and new. Sure, there were blood and injuries splattered over the young girl, but it was obvious money would be spent well. He looked back to the girl. "I won't ask how you know about me, but I have some simple things to ask- who are you, and why do you want me to get rid of her?"_

" _... My name is Saori." The girl, Saori, looked kindly upon the man. "I want to get rid of my sister's body because it is not of use anymore other than to be sold. I think selling her body parts would earn me some money."_

" _Ah, so you're just a homeless girl." The man crossed his arms. "So, this is nothing more than a business for me, and survival for you. I'm assuming you want money from your sister's sold parts."_

 _Saori nodded her head slowly. "I'm sure her body is of use to you. Please take it into consideration, Sir…?"_

" _Shoutarou Umeda." The man chuckled. He stopped, taking a look at Saori's dead sister. Definitely, he figured, this corpse was of use. It would definitely sell well in the black market, maybe earn him more than usual. It was a luxury to have, in his head, and he was about to make his mind up when his eyes fell on Saori._

 _Once again, he found himself entranced by her. She was attractive in herself, despite the blemishes. Of course, that can always be fixed- anything could be fixed concerning a body, after all. A thought ran through his head, and although a part of him told him it was wrong, he reached a hand out._

" _How about we make a deal then, Saori?"_

* * *

 _God, I wonder if Shoutarou is doing well? Maybe he's worried…_ However, before Saori could lose herself any further in her twisted care for this man, she felt herself bumping into Sagiso. The psychogeographer had abruptly stopped, and Saori frowned before looking forward, peeking from behind.

Another worker was walking nearby, and Sagiso and Saori had stopped in a corner. The pair of women looked at one another, then nodded. The duo waited eagerly for the worker to move forward, the worker letting out a soft yawn as their footsteps were meek and quiet.

A few seconds were passing by. Sagiso and Saori breathed in, and out. Deeply, gently. Time passed by and counted down. Three, two, and one.

The moment a foot was seen, they jumped. The worker was thrown back in shock, but it was all too late when Sagiso swung her fist into the worker's chin and sent them flying back. Saori would wince slightly at the impact of the fall, but was honestly relieved they weren't hurt.

"You do have a taser," Sagiso mused, pointing over to Saori's belt. The woman grinned at the body broker who rolled her eyes playfully, then waited for the psychogeographer to finish disguising herself and uncle thing the poor worker. "Hm, I'm not too worried about the workers here and from before, but we can't necessarily hide them or restrain them."

"If there was a closet or storage room nearby." Saori glanced around the area. Of course, it was nothing more than a spacious hallway which led to different pathways that sectioned off at the end. "... We just have to move quickly then."

Sagiso nodded, keeping the lanyard hanging around her neck as she pulled her locks out. "That seems to be our only option. Good thing we have guns and tasers with us, huh."

"Mhm." Saori sighed. She had to tell herself to use her taser later. She had forgotten about it until Sagiso had reminded her. It would've been of great use to stop and immobilize the worker, after all.

"It's fine." Sagiso already knew what Saori was thinking. "Don't worry about it."

Saori rolled her eyes, trying to lighten up the mood (mainly hers, in all honesty) with a little, "Alright, Mom."

And Sagiso would roll her eyes back in return, and the duo would continue going forward, now slightly more confident with their disguises in play. They made their way around the hallway, turning left and right at each diverging pathway. They had to make caution of the workers who were passing by, but they kept up their acting of self-confidence and impression when they couldn't run away.

Right now, the duo found a room which they figured might not be busy or in service. The room was quite far away in comparison to the other rooms, and given the dim light in the hallway and the lack of people around, Saori and Sagiso gave each other a nod before heading inside.

Fortunately, the door was unlocked. Sagiso easily turned the handle and followed Saori inside.

Inside was a dusty and slightly dirty storage room. Saori couldn't help but cough a bit, waving her hand around to get rid of the dust near her face. She almost wanted to choke over how dense the air was, but forced herself inside as Sagiso went over to the shelves and began to rummage about the webbed books and crumpled files.

 _This must be a pain to go over._ Saori walked over to one of the shelves, now focusing her attention on looking through the files and books. She honestly wasn't bothered by the cobwebs and dirt that touched her hands- if anything, she was used to handling corpses, after all. Still, she hated how her throat itched and made her cough, and just eyeing what seemed to be the culprit annoyed her. Still, she was calm, and she investigated.

She noted only a few things in her head that were of interest, or were intriguing. The first thing she did note was the file which spoke about Ultimates. Of course, Saori knew that Ultimates were an 'ultimate' in one specific skill or talent. Ultimates were prodigies, if one desired to explain these such people. These people were the future of the world, after all.

Saori knew the file wasn't of much interest, however what she did noted was the many different academies listed in the papers. There were schools that handled Ultimates in the western side of Japan, the eastern side, and even around the world. Saori did know that there were plenty of different academies that existed outside of Japan, but, still, learning about it was of interest to her.

The next file that interested her seemed to be a theses that didn't go anywhere. She skimmed through the file with interest, learning from the theses about parallel universes and different worlds out there with living beings. She only thought of it as far-fetched though, and the idea of adding human meat in animal meat disgusted her. Then again, cannibalism was a thing, and she shouldn't really be so disgusted.

 _Uh… I think?_ Quickly trying to forget that fact, she quickly focused her attention on the final file that interested her.

The final file that interested her was on how Theia was supported by the government. Apparently, since Libertas was an independent company which easily skyrocketed into fame, Theia was made as a response to keep Libertas in check and keep the government system in control of its people. Of course, copycats would emerge as well, but given Libertas and Theia's rivalry and fame, it seemed like the duo were constantly at heads. Saori even noted how Japan's economic system was falling downer and downer out of overpopulation, lack of resources, etc.

 _Then again, everyone's experiencing an economic downfall worldwide._ Saori slowly put the files back in their original spots, then turned her head around to eye Sagiso. "Did you find anything useful?"

Sagiso turned around to Saori, then nervously shook her head. "A few weird files about animatronics and ideas for machines to make clothing more easily, if that counts?"

"That's weird." Saori raised a brow, slightly amused. "I'm going to assume the workers here wrote those files?"

"Hmm, probably. I can't judge or stereotype these people though." Sagiso awkwardly laughed, sighing. "Nonetheless, I can see why these are here. I doubt anyone would take these things seriously, or at least care enough about them."

"True." Saori nodded her head. She looked around the area, then pointed to the door. "Should we check the other places then? There's nothing here."

The psychogeographer gave the body broker a thumbs up, nodding her head in the meanwhile. "Yeah, let's get going then."

Saori and Sagiso headed outside, back to danger.

They peeked their heads outside, fortunate enough to see nobody in sight. They nodded their heads at one another, and continued their search. They made their way down the hallway and continued through, looking through each window on each door to see if it screamed danger or something similar. Unsurprisingly, most of the doors were either occupied by workers or locked, and the two women only continued to let time passed as they reached for the elevator.

They went into the elevator, and made their way to the next floor. It was a quiet and tense short ride, and Saori couldn't help but worry about Shoutarou again. She couldn't help but wonder if he was looking for her, or if he was even thinking about her. Some part of her brain wanted to deny that he was, yet another part of her longed for him to come and sweep her off her feet.

She knew he wanted to protect her, after all.

Nonetheless, the elevator doors opened, and Saori and Sagiso were met with a few workers who were waiting. Saori quickly put her head down and walked out, Sagiso following her lead as the workers happily gossiped and went into the elevator. The door closed, and soon the duo were left back alone again.

Saori turned to Sagiso. The psychogeographer noticed the slightly paler complexion in her face, and grinned. Saori grinned back in response, and the duo quickly continued down the hallways to search around.

It wasn't a surprise that a lot of the rooms were occupied and locked. It was similar to the last floor they've been in, and Saori pursed her lips in annoyance. She knew this was expected, but she wanted to be of help and knew her friends wouldn't allow such a thing to slip by. She knew she and Sagiso were doing their best, but she just couldn't help but worry.

And that worry continued to linger for a few minutes before Sagiso opened one of the doors. She concluded the room was safe, and she looked to Saori who anxiously nodded her head. The duo slowly made their way inside, and closed the door behind them. There, the lights opened.

What Saori saw was nothing more than a simple dorm room, more similar to a quad dorm room with two sets of bunk beds to the left and right at the back, all with a closet and a desk and some chairs and other necessities.

"Hmm, seems like people live here," Sagiso murmured, walking into the room. She ignored the closet which was opened, showing some lab coats and other clothing, making her way into the room to eye the area. "Interesting, haha."

"Yeah, reminds me of those dorm room pictures I see online." Saori awkwardly scratched her head, making her way to look around. She noticed how tidy some of the beds were, then noticed the dynamic between what would be the roommates- some were tidy, and the rest were slightly messy and disorganized. Saori couldn't help but wonder how these workers lived anyways, but nonetheless kept her focus on looking around and moving through each cabinet and desk.

Most of the cabinets and desks didn't have anything to offer. There were a few makeup supplies and books, and then a few wallets and purses. Saori didn't want to do anything with these things, so she continued before noticing an interesting badge at the bottom drawer.

The badge was shaped to an angel's wing, given its white color and how it looked. It was quite pretty, especially given the silvery outline around the badge. Saori couldn't help but be fascinated by it, slowly eyeing it before showing it to Sagiso who noticed her curiosity. Saori turned to her and handed her the badge. "It's pretty."

"Mhm. It is." Sagiso inspected the badge herself, interested as her fingers pressed against it. "Hmm, is it a badge that dictates your position?"

"I think so," Saori replied, answering with a slow nod. "I feel like the silver lining around the badge dictates you're not in a position higher than a golden one, maybe even platinum? I would think so, or else I wouldn't know why there's a badge here."

"It could just be jewelry." The woman frowned. "Besides, when we knocked out those workers earlier, they didn't have any badges on them."

"True." The body broker pursed her lips. "Well, I'm not sure. Maybe-"

There was a knock on the door. Sagiso and Saori's eyes widened, and they quickly looked at one another. Without warning, the duo quickly hid, Saori quickly hiding herself underneath the messy bunch of blankets. She quickly reached out for her taser, keeping it close to her now.

 _I don't even now where Sagiso went now. Darn it._ Saori quietly cussed to herself, knowing that Sagiso probably hid somewhere as well. She could only hope so, for the door easily opened by itself.

Footsteps were heard. A few moments passed as footsteps were heard, dangerously close for Saori's liking. Her heart was racing, blood racing. Her stomach was churning and she knew her fingers were sweating, especially around the taser in her hands.

 _Just don't think about this situation,_ Saori thought to herself as best as she could, assuring herself. _Just think about something else…_

* * *

 _Saori bit into her food, finding herself lonely without anyone by her side. She looked outside the window to find the night sky. It was another beautiful night sky with the stars above and bright moon shining down, yet Saori knew it wasn't anything special._

 _What was special was when Shoutarou came into the room, managing to finish a deal quickly enough for once. A rare sight, and Saori looked up at him with a sort of happy, childlike blank expression._

" _Yeah, what a shocker." Shoutarou released a soft, husky laugh. He then eyed the food Saori was eating- she seemed to have left half of the food for him. Shoutarou sighed, walking over to take a seat down next to her. "Do you know what deal I was making today?"_

 _Saori shook her head. "No, you didn't tell me anything yesterday. I was assuming it had something to do with an important figure's body?"_

" _Thing is, no one important died, so you're wrong there." Shoutarou smirked. His smirk then disappeared from his face, and he cleared his throat to begin with a soft, "Saori, you said that you've been wanting to travel, right? To get away from this part of town?"_

 _Saori's eyes widened. "Oh, are we moving?" There was a hint of happiness and excitement in her eyes. "Where are we going?"_

" _Ah, about that…" Shoutarou sighed. "Are you okay with me being away from you?"_

" _W-what?" The girl's face went pale. "Wait, Shoutarou, did I do something wrong? If I did, then I'm-"_

" _No, no, it's nothing like that, I promise." Shoutarou awkwardly laughed, scratching his head. "It's just… well, the authorities."_

" _Oh." Saori instantly understood what the man was saying. Her stomach, however, felt as though it was going to turn and explode. She honestly didn't know why her heart was beginning to ache, why her head was hurting. She only looked up at Shoutarou who nervously eyed her, then averted her gaze. "... I'm fine with it."_

" _I don't want you to get in trouble," Shoutarou admitted, feeling uncomfortable. "I want to separate the work between us. I'll handle the illegitimate part of the body brokering business, and you can handle the legitimate parts. I just don't want our connection to be found, so I want to send you to a different part of Japan so you can work without the authorities breathing down on you."_

 _Silence._

" _Sorry." Shoutarou heaved a deep breath of air. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."_

" _It's fine." Saori forced herself to look up, to smile at the man despite everything crashing down on her. "You just wanted to make sure I was safe."_

" _Yeah." Shoutarou then forced a grin out of his lips. "At least you get to go out and explore a new horizon, right?"_

 _Saori chuckled softly. "True. I guess you have a point. Where am I going?"_

" _Okinawa." Shoutarou crossed his arms. "You've heard of the place, right?"_

 _Saori's eyes widened. "Oh, wow." That shockness of hers then turned into happiness. "Sounds like fun."_

 _A twisted, messed up relationship, yet only Saori never recognized this._

* * *

It took only a few seconds before the worker left, the door being heard closed behind her, yet to Saori it felt like hours had passed. Saori breathed in deeply, then exhaled softly to herself. She didn't know why, but somehow thinking about Shoutarou always calmed her down. She didn't know why it did, but he always made her feel comforted- maybe that was the reason itself?

Nonetheless, she seemed to be safe, so she slowly peeked out from her blankets. She peeked around. Nobody was in sight. A sigh escaped from her lips, and she quickly got out from the bed. She glanced over to where the badge would've been- as she speculated, it was gone.

Saori bit into her lips, then noticed shuffling from the other messy bed. She saw Sagiso peeking out, a sigh escaping her lips as she spoke in a curt, "Close call."

Saori couldn't help but agree. She watched Sagiso moving out of her spot, Saori nodding her to her for reassurance. No one was here except for them, and seeing how the door was closed, Saori figured they'd be alright in the meanwhile. _Besides, I had the taser and gun near me for a reason._ She lightly tapped at her belt.

"We were discussing about the badge, right?" Sagiso awkwardly smiled. "Well, it's gone now. I guess it's really important."

"It might just be something significant to that person though," Saori mused, frowning. "It depends if there are other people who have it."

The psychogeographer sighed, scratching her head. She supposed she couldn't argue. "Important or not, it was certainly important to that person."

"Mhm." Saori shook her head. "Let's get going."

Sagiso did not have any qualms with that. The duo made their way out, looking above and beyond for any sign of trouble. Nothing, much to their delight. They nodded to one another, and there they quickly began to move.

They looked around the area for a bit while walking, moving about. They noticed a few workers bustling about and moving, and the duo weren't able to search many places. Most continued to be locked or fully occupied. The only ones that weren't unlocked, as of right now, would have to be the restrooms, the elevator, and a few more than useless or dirty rooms. Nothing special, and only burdensome.

And, like many other floors, there was nothing that can be found or seen. Saori and Sagiso gave each other the go, and quickly made their way back and entered into the elevator.

Luckily, however, this time nobody seemed to be around. Nobody was inside of the elevator to get out, nobody was around to go inside with them, and nobody was around when the two women walked out. There were safe, this time.

However, there attention had been caught by the television that was broadcasting a live event. Near the elevator was the waiting area, and so there was a television that was playing something quite of interest to them.

The broadcast showcased a reporter. The woman was speaking on a microphone, talking behind what seemed to be a city. There were tons of pedestrians moving about and running, almost desperate and dire in their expressions and movement. Saori and Sagiso glanced at one another before reading the headlines on the newsfeed: 'Over thousands worldwide have been reported missing since days, a worldwide high since XXXX.'

It didn't help that the reporter was speaking about such worrying matters as well. "... everyone has fallen into mass panic over hundreds were reported missing these past 24 hours. People are currently reaching out to numerous organizations for help, those including Libertas and Theia as well as…"

"Really?" Saori can hear Sagiso whispering underneath her lip, her face paling with scrunched eyebrows. "That's bullshit."

She had to agree. She couldn't believe what she was hearing herself- reports of missing people? Globally? Help? Libertas? Theia? Saori was unsure of what to think about anymore. Still, she couldn't just sit around and ponder. Saori instinctively grabbed at the woman's sleeve. "Let's get going. Someone might see."

"I…" Sagiso was hesitant, but followed Saori's words and moved.

They continued moving around the hallway, making sure nobody was in sight. Honestly, it was the same pattern as before. There was nobody around and everything was locked and useless. It was a horrendous cycle that Saori honestly wanted to get rid of.

 _We haven't even found much and we're just aimlessly moving around, doing nothing. For all we know Kaniza and the other guys are already done with their own investigation._ Saori then frowned, pursing her lips. _I hope those three are alright._

She wouldn't know, of course, and continued to sneak around with her friend. Nothing was inside of this floor, and the duo quickly made their way to the next one.

The next floor looked the same as, well, every previous floor. They saw some workers moving about and gossiping, and some who were moving to their offices or to the restroom. Saori and Sagiso moved, and continued to sneak around to investigate each area.

One. Two. Three. Four… A few minutes or so passed before Sagiso moved the knob, and a door creaked open. The woman urged Saori to move, seeing that there was nothing suspicious inside, and so the duo quickly and efficiently stepped in.

It was a library, or what seemed to be one. It was more of a storage room that was decorated luxuriously, red velvet carpet as the ground with a pretty beige color painting the walls. It was a spacious area too, and it was obvious to the women that this area had been kept clean and dusted off.

Saori began to do her work, Sagiso moving to the other side of the room. The woman quickly began to investigate, scanning for anything suspicious in display.

Of course, that would take more than a few minutes. Saori had to be efficient in her work, and, like a body broker, kept her eyes open and fixated on anything that was remotely off. There were a few encyclopedias, then a few documents in what seemed to be German or French. There were plentiful of books investigating on mythologies and parallel worlds, then some books which were nothing more than for the workers (mainly for those living in the building) to pass the time. Saori would've been more than happy to read some of the books inside, but she knew she could do such at a better place in another time.

Besides, those minutes of work weren't for nothing as she did find something of value. She moved her fingers into the shelf to reach out for a file, something that quite interested her with the word 'Spy' on it. The woman motioned for Sagiso to come over, and within seconds Saori whipped out the file and the duo quickly skimmed through it.

["One of Theia's spies, Fumio Fujiyoshi, made a deal with our virtual AI Monokuma. Changes must be made to keep everything balanced in the system; we suggest the use of changing the participants' behaviors to throw Fumio off."]

A quick, but shocking file. Saori turned to eye Sagiso who pursed her lips, the woman more than bemused as she breathed heavily. Well, Fumio was right- Libertas were an enemy to them. What Saori was bothered by was the fact Fumio's actions caused the workers to change their personalities and behaviors. And even if Saori knew that Fumio didn't expect such a thing to happen, having your own body be manipulated and abused was nothing more than disgusting.

"At least it means Fumio wasn't lying," Sagiso playfully murmured, though it was more to get rid of her own disgust than anything else.

Saori heaved a long breath and slowly moved the file back to its original spot. "This is making me more and more uncomfortable."

The other woman groaned. "Same."

Still, the duo went back to their investigation. They continued to search the area around and about, and minutes would pass (maybe even an hour) before the duo found nothing else suspicious to their eye.

"Seems like we're done here," Sagiso said, looking over at Saori. "Right?"

Saori nodded her head, and so the duo continued to look around the floors, passing through the elevator habitually at this point.

And with there being nothing to find as of yet now, Saori knew she had to do something in order to satisfy herself. She needed to think about something to get rid of the stress in her face. Even if she had Sagiso assuring her they're fine, Saori needed to think as they continued. She wanted to do nothing but relax, and so, she slowly allowed herself to be eaten away by a short memory for the time being.

* * *

 _Saori sighed, eyeing the letter in her hands. She honestly wouldn't expect herself to become a body broker, that was far from what she ever thought she could've ever been. She hated to dwindle on the past though, and her lips only curled to a frown as she looked back down at the letter._

 _It was a letter of acceptance. It was a letter that seemed to have been welcoming her, but to her it seemed to be a push for her to move on with life and escape her own little bubble._

 _It was an acceptance letter into one of those academies made for Ultimates. Saori honestly never thought much about Ultimates. Sure, they were amazing. Sure, they were extraordinary in what they do- but Saori honestly never thought much of them. She was too busy running her business, and at times, busy worrying about Shoutarou._

 _Yes, it's been a few years since they had last met. Saori was grateful that he did everything he could to shelter her and take care of her, and although she did enjoy the view from where she did her legal business, the thought about stargazing and working alongside him did strain her heart a little. She missed him, but she would never admit it._

 _Then again, she rarely had friends and no one to discuss business with anyways._

 _Maybe the shrine in the back of her little room on that island can accompany her? Saori was not much of a preacher or religious person. Maybe talking outside to Shoutarou's spirit can help? She was not much of a romantic type._

 _That tiny letter in her hands somehow made her feel thousands of emotions, all piled into one. It was disgusting her, and she honestly didn't want anything to do with it._

" _But being an Ultimate is amazing! You should accept it and move out! You get to explore the world some more this way, haha."_

 _Saori frowned. She remembered what that one girl told her- that one girl whom she could consider, well, a friend? Saori didn't even want to do anything with her, but that girl was cheerful and friendly- she was the complete opposite of Saori._

" _Maybe you'll actually attend school more if you accept. This place's probably boring, huh? Then again, high school's boring with all the homework and studying and stuff, haha. Do you want to hang out later tonight, or maybe next week? I'll introduce you to some of my friends!"_

 _Yes, Saori knew that this girl, Kotori Yamazawa or something (she didn't bother much to remember, or rather refused to remember despite Kotori's kindness in dragging her elsewhere to converse and have fun socializing), had a hunch that Saori was doing some funny business. Saori already knew that she didn't attend school, and Kotori knew that. Of course, that girl had no ill will against Saori, and Saori said the same thing about Kotori in return._

 _Saori sighed, waving the letter to and fro. It might be easier to do her work as a body broker this way, but at the same time she was already fine being a body broker with slapping on the title of 'Ultimate'. If anything, Saori would rather turn in the letter back to whichever academy this was and recommend Kotori to her (that girl always loved fashion, maybe she can be an Ultimate Fashion Designer or Model or something), but Kotori always fought against the idea and kept pushing Saori._

 _It happened again today. Saori groaned slightly as she saw the text from that cheerful girl._

" _She's never going to stop bothering me, huh?" Honestly, Saori couldn't tell if she was amused or annoyed. She merely read the text and ignored it, then stood up from her seat. The letter was now lying on the table, and Saori walked out, either to do work or look up at the stars above, not even she would know._

* * *

"Looks like this will be the last floor."

Saori looked over to Sagiso, the woman eyeing her with an awkward smile. They truly found nothing of use, and Sagiso herself looked displeased in these turn of events. The body broker shook her head. She didn't want to look bothered by this. At least, she can report their findings to Kaniza and the others.

 _This nothing will still be something._ And for a moment there, Saori confused herself in her own thoughts. Maybe she was sleepy. Maybe she was tired or stressed out herself. She bit into her lips as the elevator door was heard dinging.

One or two seconds passed, and the door slowly opened. The two women eyed one another, then stepped outside.

This floor was much more different than the other floors. This floor was much more luxurious, for one. The ground was covered in smooth, soft red velvet carpet. The walls were beige-colored, and the ceiling was high, fancy lights hanging above in chandeliers. The duo could even see some paintings and whatnot covering the hallways.

 _Like some receptionist area or lobby. Trying to fancy up the place as much to hide the demons within._ Saori scoffed and followed Sagiso down the area. The duo made their way down- it was empty. Nobody was in sight.

A few minutes passed before Saori then frowned, a sudden thought running through her head. _Wait, are we nearing the entrance? Can we actually go outside?_

Somehow, some way, butterflies began flying inside of her stomach. Saori felt thousands of different kinds of emotion overwhelming her, wanting to scream at her and make her cry. The body broker tightened her grip around herself, and eagerly followed Sagiso who was beginning to pale up as well.

The walk down felt way longer than it should've been. Those footsteps were quick as usual, but somehow Saori began to believe they were slower than usual. Her breathing was hitched, and she knew better than to allow her desires to escape her, but she couldn't help but grit and grind down into her teeth and breath shallow gasps. She hated how her movement was slightly jittery and she hated so much to how her lips were pursed, how her eyes seemed to be dilating and eyebrows arched. She hated how sweat was trickling down from her forehead, each second feeling like an entire hour as she and Sagiso moved down.

Down and down and down and down and down… and it felt like it was never going to end, and yet it felt like Saori could see the entrance beckoning for them to move.

A light was seen, or maybe it was Saori's imagination.

One, two, and three seconds passed before a flash.

There it was. It was the entrance. There was that goddamn tall, large, wide entrance. That goddamn entrance which was towering over everyone, reigning its superiority and almost mocking those below it.

Because, goddamn, that door was a fucking tease.

Metallic and barricaded with bars, Saori's hopes died out the instant her eyes came across such a sight. It was horrendous and Saori felt pale, shivers running down her spine. This door was locked, keeping everyone from going out, or from even going in. It was a tall, barricaded door with thousands of locks and chains over it. No one will be able to escape, no one will be able to enter…

… no one can do anything about it, and Saori felt her entire body giving up on her.

"Fuck!" Not even Sagiso can keep herself from punching the nearest wall to her, knuckles burning and turning red. "I should've expected this, but… ugh!"

Saori felt the entire world falling down. If not that fucking incest, the death of her dear younger sibling, that stupid work as a body broker… everything was falling on her, and Saori just wanted an escape from everything.

Yet, no, that can never be given. Reality was harsh, and the desperate echoes of footsteps and hasty breathing grounded the poor woman straight into Hell.

"Finally! T-there you guys are!"

Saori could faintly hear Kaniza's voice as the astrophotographer fell to her knees. Sagiso quickly bent down to grab her shoulders, worriedly asking her what's wrong, why she's even hear, where's the others, why in the hell she looks like shit… everything that a worried mother would cry to her baby birds or whatnot. Saori didn't even glance to the duo, only hearing Kaniza's words which caused nothing but white noise afterwards.

"M-Minori and Kamui! I- they're-! T-they're in trouble!"

* * *

... And that's the end of this chapter! Geez, I took a while to get this chapter out, huh. Very sorry about that! I'm hoping I will be able to get out the other chapters as soon as possible, of course! Anyways, like always, I don't have much to say here, so I will like to say have a good day and hope to see you all in the next chapter!

Promotions:

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 **Danganronpa: Last Hurrah!** (mandipokemon)

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 **Our Ghosts Return** (TheRoseShadow21)


	54. Chapter 6 - Part 1, Deal

Hello, and I am finally back with another chapter! This one took a while to get out, so I am happy I am able to post this chapter here before college orientation and other events that'll definitely make me busy. I have nothing much going on in life other than simple college problems, so there's that. Other than that, nothing else so let's get straight into the chapter!

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Saori content is the best content! Yes, the girls shall save the day! Girl power! I love Saori so much haha, and Sagiso and Kaniza as well! Precious little beans."

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Yay another chapter! Thanks so much, you're so nice! Fun times mean suffering of course :) The girlies are amazing, haha. Yes, so many questions to ask, so little time. Theia and Libertas are quite the interesting companies, destroy all of them! Or none, your choice. Fumio's still a bean no matter what though. Yes, Saori is amazing! Yes, Saori deserved better, so we must give her happiness! Ooh, interesting theories about the mastermind. I wonder if any of them are right? Yes, of course, until we dive into them wink wink. Yes, and then I cry because we still have to figure out who the mastermind is which means another trial. Woooo."

 **Ziggymia123:** "Yes, it definitely is. Req and I plan evil stuff together ;) Yes, keep us all locked in here, we deserve suffering! Oh my, interesting theory. Parallel universes are parallel universes, and yes Junko is the mastermind again. How did you know!?"

* * *

Kamui could feel tears in the corner of his eye. He was wincing, eyebrows scrunched and nose wrinkled. Sharp pain continued to run through his leg. He knew his leg was broken and can only hope his bone wasn't sticking out from his skin- that would definitely cause him to vomit and scream. If he wasn't already frothing at the mouth, then he was definitely getting close there.

 _Aaah, shit, damn it._ Kamui forced back the tears from his eyes. He glanced over to the back, finding his assailant easily dragging him by the foot. He knew his back was bruised and bloody, given how he was grinding against the floor as he was being dragged down the hallway. The mortician glanced up at Minori, though the pseudologist had been knocked unconscious from the strike the worker had swiped at his face. He could see the white-haired man's bruised face and bloody arm, and god he can only hope Minori wasn't going to bleed out. Impossible, he knew, but he worried nonetheless.

Kamui yelped. The worker opened an iron door, and threw the duo inside. The mortician felt the sharpness in his leg overwhelming him, and he felt a tear running down his eye as his bruised back hit the iron wall. He looked up at the worker and smirked dryly, finding himself saying, "... At least be nice to your hostages."

The worker only eyed him in return, then closed the door behind them. Kamui held his breath, watching the taller person loomed over him. The mortician glanced quickly to Minori. He was unconscious, and Kamui quickly scooted over Minori's body. He needed to protect him, and he knew he would kill himself if he couldn't even save somebody from Hell. Maybe Minori would be hurt if Kamui died, maybe not. Kamui didn't know, but he needed to protect him right now.

A few seconds passed, but Kamui knew it wasn't anything to hope for. The mortician was unable to do anything as the worker roughly pulled him away from his friend. A cry escaped his chapped lips, and Kamui was unable to struggle as he felt handcuffs snapping his hands to his back. The coldness of the metal made him wince, and Kamui helplessly looked over to the worker who easily cuffed Minori as well.

Kamui held his breath, watching the worker who finished their work on Minori. "What's your plan? If you wanted us dead, then you would've shot and killed us by now."

The worker said nothing, only typing something down on their phone. A few seconds passed before they turned to Kamui, a sneer written all over their face. "It's nothing important. I'm only following orders here."

"Orders for what? Capturing us?" Kamui frowned. He hated how he could hear the strain in his voice. "I know that if you wanted to capture us, you and the others would've been at the place we've woken up to at the start. Why waste all the trouble searching around?"

 _In fact, I was led to believe you guys didn't even care about us._ But Kamui knew better than to voice that thought aloud. He watched, analyzed the worker. He needed to watch their every movement, speculate and theorize on what's wrong.

The worker stopped in their movements, now looking over to the mortician. "You know, it's completely impossible to escape from here."

"What?" Kamui frowned, lips curling even deeper downwards. He refused to believe in such a lie. "Why do you say that?"

The worker only chuckled dryly in response. "Because it's a fact, and it's the primary reason why you guys can roam around. You guys will never be able to escape from here."

"I don't believe that." The mortician was blunt in his words, eyes glaring at the worker. "Then why capture us now and not beforehand? You guys obviously have an agenda that you're not telling us. We're escapees, and yet you haven't tried to capture us from the start. If you wanted us dead, you'd kill us. If you wanted us captured, you could've easily done that."

"Hm… well, not exactly." They shrugged mockingly. "We do whatever Boss wants us to do. Let you guys roam around, and then try to capture you if we can."

"That's not right." Kamui felt his hands aching. His small struggles were not helping him in the slightest. "This isn't a game. You guys are an organization, and you can't afford to make mistakes."

"... You're talking too much." The worker scowled. "I'm not here to answer anything."

"Then, what?" Kamui asked. "Why are we here, and why are you watching over us when you already have us captured?"

The worker was silent now, leaving the mortician glaring at them for an answer. They only turned to the side though and began typing into their phone. Kamui was left unable to pry any answers from them, knowing they'll ignore him.

 _Damn it. I can't get any answers unless I have a clue to catch them off guard._ Kamui wanted to look around the room to find any hints, but it was completely empty and unnecessary. His eyes did fall onto Minori, and he gulped, eyeing the bullet wound on the pseudologist's arm. He knew it wasn't fatal, but the wound definitely would have an impact on the poor man.

 _Then again, my injury's the worst._ Kamui would've chuckled at this, but he didn't have the time to play games. _I need to calm down first. Just think about something to calm down and forget this pain…_

* * *

" _Kamui, are you hiding in there?"_

 _A young boy was looking around the room, finding nothing but emptiness. He pouted to himself, then noticed some movement behind the curtains. A playful, sneaky grin escaped his lips, and he immediately charged forth and threw the curtains aside._

" _Boo! I got you!"_

" _Aww, Asahi, you got me!"_

 _A young version of Kamui popped out from the open, a wide smile on his face as he threw his arms around his younger brother, Asahi. The raven giggled as his younger brother grinned victoriously, laughing and having fun with him before he heard footsteps._

" _You two, dinner's ready!"_

" _Ooh, yes!" Asahi escaped from Kamui's hug and ran straight towards his mother, running down the halls. "Dinner!"_

 _A warm laugh escaped the woman's breath. She smiled softly upon her son. "Are you hungry?"_

 _Kamui nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there. I'm not going to run down like Asahi though."_

" _As expected. Your dad always liked to joke about Asahi's excitement over dinner everyday anyways." The woman chuckled, then urged her son to follow as she headed out._

 _Kamui simply smiled before walking out the door, heading down the hall before easily finding his way into the kitchen. There, he could see his younger brother, eagerly setting the plates. His father was placing the pot of miso soup and teriyaki chicken at the middle of his table, his mother coming in to peck her husband on the cheek before sitting down. The oldest son watched his family before smiling, seeing their welcoming grins before him. He quickly made his way into his seat, and began to eat._

" _We both have work tomorrow," the father spoke, calmly with a stern smile. "You two boys can handle being here alone, right?"_

 _Kamui and Asahi looked at one another, then grinned and nodded their heads._

" _Pfft, honey, you know they're big boys now." The mother winked over to her husband who rolled his eyes. "I'm sure they can handle themselves. We didn't raise irresponsible kids, just angels."_

" _Of course we can!" Asahi pumped his fist up. "We're adults like Mom and Dad!"_

 _Their mother laughed amusingly. "Yeah, yeah, sure."_

 _Kamui calmly smiled in return, having finished chewing on his piece of chicken. "We'll be fine. We'll take care of the house."_

" _Just what I needed to hear. You're always responsible for everything you do, just like expected." The man nodded, then gorged himself on his cooking. "Mm, honey, I think this is my best recipe yet."_

 _And his wife promptly nudged him with a small, "Yeah, nope. You're dreaming."_

 _And Kamui and Asahi would laugh, amused at their parents' little remarks. It was a happy and normal household, nothing too special or too off. Everyone loved each other equally and Kamui was brought up well by his parents. Kamui dearly loved Asahi as well, and Kamui knew his parents were kind and loving. They were the best parents he could ever afford to be with._

 _Well, that is, until a sudden car accident rocked the family apart from the living and dead._

" _Arata and Nadeshiko Setsushi… It's sad to see them pass away."_

" _Don't they have children though? Where would they go to?"_

" _Ah, don't worry about that. Their aunt and uncle are more than happy to take them in."_

" _Still… for their parents to die while they're still so young is heartbreaking. I wonder how they'll cope with all of this."_

* * *

 _Cope, huh? I can't focus on that though… I do miss Asahi though, and Aunt Hisae and Uncle Masato._ Kamui sighed inwardly to himself, frowning. _But, still, this situation can be remedied if I can find something crucial. I feel like I'm calmer now, so, let's see._

Kamui decided to take another look at the worker, observing them silently. They were still on their phone, but the mortician did take notice of the slight relaxation on the worker's face. _Maybe if I can pry information from them I can get somewhere. What do I say though?_

Kamui had to think. He knew he had to word himself carefully, to make sure he wasn't going to mess up. He knew time was ticking, and he just had to find the right words to even think of to say.

 _Well… concerning our situation and what Minori and I found…_ Kamui bit into his lips and cleared his throat slightly. The worker eyed him briefly, and the mortician spoke, "Your company, Libertas, is against Theia, correct?"

"Why are you asking?" the worker scoffed. "Everyone already knows you guys have heard that from that stupid rat."

 _They mean Fumio, right? Either way, I got some more information. It seems like this guy and whoever else works here have followed through what Monokuma said- that they're watching over us._ The mortician had to prolong this conversation as best as he could- to get all the details and find a way to understand this situation more clearly. "You two are rivals. You're both on the run to create a virtual reality, and that VR is what we were put into against our own will, right?"

A slight change of expression. Their expression was slightly changed, eyebrows furrowed and nose wrinkled. "You Ultimates are so fussy and nosy. This company is held at the same level as you guys anyways, if not more."

Kamui was stunned. "Really?" From what Kamui knew, Ultimates were always regarded as the best, the superior class. They were the future of humanity, yet to hear this worker talking down on Ultimates, the mortician couldn't help but wonder. "Is that why you guys kidnapped us? Because you think you're above us or something?"

"I'm surprised you think that." The worker laughed. Kamui only frowned in response- _so I'm wrong?_ "Ultimates are what sets Japan apart from the rest of the world, even if it's only because of the government branding you kids with titles."

 _Right…_ Kamui knew Japan was one who loved to uphold their honor and confidence. Japan was all about pride, and there was a reason why Japan was known for its conviction rate of 99.9%. There was a reason why the outsiders from Japan loved to stereotype them as perfectionists to an overwhelming degree. "Since we are Ultimates, why target us? Theia was created with the support of the government, and Ultimates are held as highly important individuals in Japanese society. Why risk that?"

"Hmm, memory wiping is quite amazing." The worker simply sneered. "There are plenty of issues that override the importance of you being an Ultimate, let's be real here."

 _Importance…? Do they mean…_ "Like overpopulation?" The mortician held his breath. "That's why you created the VR, right?"

"You're so nosy." The worker sighed, shaking their head. "Are you trying to replace what your friend over there does everytime in the trial? Aah, then again, you did that when he was out of it earlier."

"So you were watching us." Kamui frowned. He didn't know why, but he felt his entire body heating up. His heart was screaming at him. He was getting angry, and he knew it. "You were watching us and knew your goddamn AI Monokuma was treating us unfairly just because we weren't following your evil plans. You guys wanted to get rid of us!"

"Boss ordered it, not me, I'm just a mere observer." They didn't care at all. Kamui's emotion, that pure look of anger, it meant nothing to them. If Kamui had to describe this situation in a book, then the worker was looking down on him as if he was nothing but vermin, trash. "You could blame that rat, Fumio Fujiyoshi, for causing your suffering. If he didn't remember his job as a fucking spy, then you guys never would've been messed with. It would've been normal, like always."

And that anger slightly subsided in replacement for confusion. The mortician was flabbergasted, blinking repeatedly. "So we were already going out of schedule?" He couldn't help but smirk. "To me, that's karma for forcing us to partake in your game."

"Not exactly." A simple smirk appeared upon the worker's face. "If you guys were truly unable to be contained and manipulated, we would've gotten rid of you guys and replaced you long ago."

 _Replaced?_ Kamui went silent for a second, thinking to himself. He recalled back to his investigation with Minori, doing his hardest to remember what they were looking at. Those clues were all noted in Minori's notebook, yet the mortician did not find it near the pseudologist at this moment. He had to think. _If we were being replaced…_

His lips furthered deeper into its frown. "So, were we chosen out of the list of applicants? I know people wanted to test out this VR, and since the others and I were Ultimates…"

"Hmm, is that what you really think?" That smugness cannot be wiped away. It seemed plastered, almost unable to tear off. "Your brain likes to leap over a lot of things, huh? It's kinda sad, really."

 _Tsk. Of course they're mocking me._ Kamui had to think though- was the worker truly telling him the truth, or was it all a lie? The mortician was not good at reading through lies or anything of the like, and given that the simulation of that horrendous killing game was now gone, Kamui really could've cried out for Minori to successfully observe this worker's moves and actions. Yet, alas, reality was harsh, and Kamui knew he had to stay strong in order to pull through and figure out something.

"Wouldn't people wonder about us if we died?" Kamui asked suddenly, biting harshly into his lips. "We have families to get home to, and given you guys' importance in society, our lives would be recorded in the news if word got out that we were missing and dead."

"Reputation is always pivotal in the world." The worker merely shrugged the mortician off with a wave. "You should've known that already. We wouldn't have had you guys kill each other without a purpose either. Other than that, the world doesn't care if they lost a few people, right? Even if you guys were Ultimates, it wouldn't matter. Money speaks a lot in the world."

 _Okay, good point, but I rather not tell them that._ Kamui gritted his teeth. _But that doesn't answer much still… I should probably change the subject, but what?_

Kamui pursed his lips. His broken bone had not crossed his mind, but the pain was still there. He winced as he pondered to himself. _Let's see… what I talked about with Minori… ah, right._

The mortician cleared his throat. "But if we willingly participated to get into this VR, why did you erase our memories? We wouldn't have been able to escape if Monokuma came in and told us we were going to be in a killing game. There was no way to escape, and you could've only erased Fumio and Rin's memories instead. We wouldn't have known they were in Theia even if we didn't have our memories erased."

"Hmm, good argument. Gold star." A sneer. "But like I said, you're skipping over a lot of details. It's sad that you don't even know the current state of this world right now, or even what's happening."

"The overpopulation problem?" Kamui raised a brow. "I thought there was a plan to send people to Mars anyways. I believe it's been an idea ever since the 1990s."

A simple sigh. "There are plenty of reasons why that singular solution won't compensate the birth rates over the world." The worker pointed a finger up, almost as if signaling their want to entertain Kamui's poor brain. "For one, where would you get the resources on Mars? Two, are people that willing to build an entire society out of what can be considered 'scratch'? Three, only the richest of the rich can go, remember?"

The mortician felt his heart being stabbed at that last statement- he should've known that, and now he felt completely foolish for even mentioning the outworldly 'solution'. Still, that wouldn't stop him from trying to get more answers. "So, Libertas is like a godsend to solving this overpopulation issue?"

"Oh, of course, yes, most definitely." It was right there that the worker's expression changed from that of a dedicated and prideful one. The worker beamed, definitely sounding proud of their own workplace and conditions. "We have a huge following for a reason. We solve the world's issues and alleviate people from their conditions. Treating cancer, the rarest of diseases, producing artificial food, artificial intelligence… ah, yes, Libertas is truly the best of the best! We are free from our own wrongdoings because of this company! Aaah, it's just so amazing to be here!"

Kamui was stunned, shocked into silence. The worker had suddenly done a full rotation, an entire 180. Those eyes somehow sparkled in the dark abyss that was this room, and it was scary to hear how the worker's voice became so panty, so breathless. It scared the poor mortician who tried to scoot back, but he couldn't and only watched the worker in horror and fear, unsure of what to do because- god, how the fuck do you handle these crazy people?

"If anything, you and the others should be glad you were put in that VR!" The worker laughed suddenly, grinning. Their arms were spread out, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. "Out of thousands of people who could've worked here or even apply for those VRs, only we got here instead! Don't you understand? Libertas is what makes us live to this day! Making an enemy out of us is what will get you killed, young man! You ask for questions for what, to take Libertas down? You should quit it right now and tell your friends to quit it too! It's inevitable to take us down or even try."

Kamui was unable to say anything, even when the worker leaned in to his face. "The only reason why you guys aren't dead is because of Boss. After all, being the ones who was able to escape and having gone through so many things, seeing you guys struggle and move about is intriguing to Boss."

 _Boss? Now that I think about it, if I can get information out of them…_ Kamui gulped and slowly asked, "Who exactly is your boss anyways? Are they the CEO of this company?"

The worker chuckled amusingly, loving the overt worry in the pitiful mortician's face. "Of course not. Not even Boss can stand equal to our Lord and Savior. Boss merely fulfills the ground work our Lord wants us underlings to handle. The Lord trusts specific people to control us all equally and fairly, after all."

Kamui frowned. "... Does that include using that strange torture chamber? And those dead bodies?"

"Rats. Harm only comes to those rats." The mortician concluded the worker was referring to Theia and their spies- Rin and Fumio. "Those copycats are just jealous of our advancements. So many copycats who just want to be better than our Lord! It's disgusting!"

The mortician couldn't help but avert his gaze. "Then shouldn't you have them killed the moment you found them?" Even if he sounded harsh, he had to ask. He couldn't let this go.

The worker laughed, snorted. "They were sneaky enough to not be caught. It was already too late, they were already in the game."

 _Really? But wouldn't that mean…_ Kamui recalled back to Fumio and Rin. Although the two differed greatly from each other, their roles as spies are what inevitably led them to their doom. However, what Kamui was worried most was not about their roles as spies, rather, what happened inside of the killing game.

It just didn't make any sense, and the mortician was unsure this worker would be willing to entertain him with an answer.

Kamui could hear his handcuffs rattle. Everything was hurting. He looked up at the worker. "So, whoever goes against you gets tortured to death."

"Yeah, but no one talks about it. No one knows despite how many died already." The worker laughed. "Besides, the dead bodies can be used as fertilizer or food. Anything can work here to help nurture what would be left of society here."

Kamui raised a brow. "So, what? Your 'Lord' wants to fulfill the idea of Social Darwinism? Survival of the fittest?"

"It's how humanity can survive. You have to admit our Lord is quite something." The worker was breathing closely into Kamui's face. The mortician hated how warm and humid their breath was- disgusting, rotting smell of unknown chemicals. Artificial food? Is this what they smelled like? Kamui wouldn't know, but he couldn't escape as the worker continued with a chuckle, "You and your friends should just give up and apologize to our Lord. He'll be more than happy to accept you into our community and protect you."

"Why would I do that?" Kamui asked, growling. "Your 'Lord' is what brought us here in the first place! We had to kill each other just to survive!"

"Don't talk shit about our Lord!"

Pain.

Everything was hurting.

Everything was hurting so much.

The worker began to slap him, back and forth and back and forth. Kamui could feel his entire body screaming at him now, and all he wanted to do was run and escape from this nightmare.

Pain, relief.

Death.

To relieve that pain meant to die, yet Kamui knew he couldn't die just yet. He had to live on and fight, and he knew he just couldn't mope and cry about it like he always did before.

No, he was stronger now, and he can endure this.

* * *

 _Aunt Hisae and Uncle Masato were kind. They treated him and Asahi well, and although Kamui was glad to be around them (even considering them as surrogate parents as well), the fact that his mother and father were dead had broken him mentally._

 _Yes, it had broken him down. Why would it not break him? How can it not break him?_

 _The death of loved ones was scary. For family to die was scary._

 _Kamui bit into his lips. No, he knew he couldn't think about this. Thinking about the unfair death of his parents would break him further than he was already being broken into- he has to move forward. Look ahead, he would tell himself. Look ahead to the future and focus on the present._

 _Yes, focus. Focus, focus, focus._

 _The coffins were going to be buried soon, possibly within hours after the mourning. Kamui hated how stuffy the air was. He couldn't focus. Asahi was crying, and his aunt and uncle were wrapping their arms around him. Kamui's focus was entirely on the coffins. The mortician from the side was speaking to another worker, talking about how to robe the bodies._

 _Focus. Focus, focus, focus._

 _No, he couldn't focus. He couldn't focus on this at all. His parents always told him to raise his head and look forward. How can he do that? He could only focus on the future and present, yet was he just supposed to forget about his own mother and father? What should he do? What can he do?_

 _Everything was rolling inside of his head. Everything was hurting._

 _And then, the voices of his parents rang inside of his head. Out of all those aching memories, those questions, the voices of his own parents rang inside of his head:_

" _You're in charge of your responsibilities. Do what you believe you should and can be doing yourself."_

 _The one thing his parents have hammered into him and Asahi- the idea of responsibility. Whatever is done is always the responsibility of whoever was involved, and if you were to see something that you can solve- responsibility fell onto you as well._

 _Right. The mindset of his parents._

 _Of course! The mindset of his parents, how could he forget such an important thing? Kamui smiled softly to himself- he had something to cling onto, something that can remind him of his parents._

 _But, he knew- what use was it to hold such a mindset if you weren't going to follow through on it yourself?_

 _A surge of newfound confidence overflowed his body._

 _He can live on! He can live on in life now! He didn't have to force himself to look at the future, the present! He can live in the past, keeping his parents' moral grinded inside of his head. Marvelous, truly marvelous! He should've thought of this long ago._

 _So, finding a new purpose in life, Kamui took a step forward, and there he made his way over to that mortician. That one mortician who would help him grow and keep him busy- busy living life, busy with work, busy with everything._

" _Ah, you're the oldest son, correct? So sorry for your losses. Do you need anything at the moment, dear?"_

 _A nod. "My name is Kamui Setsushi, and I was hoping I can help garb my parents' bodies. Also, I would want to help bury the coffins."_

 _Silence. The mortician blinked. The worker who was at the side quickly left the two alone, suspecting the need for privacy. A cough, and the elderly mortician asked softly,_

" _Saying things and actually doing them are two different things. I'm sure you miss your parents, sweetie, but doing your parents' garbs and helping out here is… Well, it's not something a kid like yourself would do."_

 _Kamui looked up at the elderly woman. She had a point, but Kamui wanted to live on with his parents' value. He couldn't live on unless he had something to remember them by._

" _Please, I want to do my parents a favor. I can help pick out flowers for them too and the appropriate pictures to use. Please, I want to help out with my parents' funeral."_

 _The woman looked unsure. She was unsure of what to say, her furrowed brows and wrinkled nose telling the young boy everything. Her kind eyes stared down him for a moment, and, as if a sudden surge of sympathy ran through her body, she nodded her head and answered,_

" _I suppose you can help. I know you have a great deal of respect for your parents, and I'm sure they'll be happy that you're going to help out with the ceremony."_

 _Kamui smiled and nodded his head. "Thank you so much, Miss…?"_

" _Yori Kurosawa." A chuckle. It was kind, yet raspy. "Just call me Yori, no need for formalities."_

* * *

Did it stop? Did the beating stop? The abuse, the violence, the torture?

Kamui couldn't tell. Was he now numb to the pain? Was he dead? Definitely not, he was breathing right now. Although his vision was blurry, he could at least hear his own breathing… his own, the worker's, hell, even Minori's. He was just blind at the moment, but he figured that was alright. He would rather not see that psychotic face on that damn worker.

Ah, or maybe he was blind not because he blanked out, but because he was blind in one eye. He most likely blocked this from memory, but given the blood that was bleeding from the top down from his left eye, and the blood and peeled skin on the worker's nails- fuck, he had been stripped off of his perfect vision.

Can it heal? Was it temporary? Kamui didn't know, and he honestly wanted to scream at this moment and black out right now.

He especially wanted to black out when the worker began to move. They were raising their hand? A slap? A punch? Kamui didn't know, but somehow he felt himself tensing up. He was anticipating something, but-

A door opened? Kamui couldn't tell. His vision remained blurry. Nonetheless, there was a sudden brightness in the room, and he could even hear Minori groaning from the corner. At least the pseudologist was going to awaken- he hoped so, at least.

"Ah, Lord!"

The worker was turned away from the mortician. A bow, and Kamui cursed the lack of vision. He couldn't see that goddamn 'Lord' or whatever- that fucking CEO who was putting them through this mess. A tall man who definitely exuded a superior aura- that was definitely what Kamui could tell at least.

"I thought I told you not to hurt any of them too badly?"

"Ah, my apologies!" That voice was suddenly submissive and meek. "I have no excuses for that. Uh, are we still looking for the others?"

"Of course we are. I don't intend to get rid of them."

Which didn't make sense, Kamui knew. _If you wanted to capture us, then do it when we were gone from that goddamn simulation! … Or what? Was us escaping for false hope?_

He didn't know, and was severely confused.

"Ah, it's fine if they're injured though. I think we can work with what we got. Each person has their own use, after all."

"O-of course!" The worker then tilted their head. "Uh, should I go leave now and help look for the others, my Lord?"

"Yes, please, thank you."

And with that, the worker left, and the door closed behind them. The new resident of this room was silent now, simply analyzing what was inside. Kamui frowned, though some of his worries seemed to disappear when he saw Minori move. _Great, he's awake._

"Nn… where…?"

"Ah, seems like you're awake." The CEO seemed pleased with these turn of events. There was a slight smile on his relatively calm face. He was looking at both Kamui and Minori, then nodded his head. "Great, seems like we can talk without interruption."

"Huh? Who're you?" Minori winced slightly upon awakening. He had noticed the bullet wound, the bleed soaking through his clothes. His dark green eyes teared up, but those eyes immediately widened upon look at his friend. "K-Kamui?!"

"Sorry about that. I told everyone that they can injure you guys, but I should've made a limit." The CEO laughed. That husky laughter of his was all the more grinding. "Ah, enough of that, I should introduce myself- I'm the CEO of Libertas, Jiyuu Kaijin. If we're going with formalities, I prefer Mr. Kaijin. Nice to meet you two again, Mr. Setsushi and Mr. Watanabe."

"What…?" Kamui felt how sore his throat was. He couldn't speak that well. He felt a few bruises around his neck. "We've never met."

"Of course. We've erased your memories of us. It's a shame Mr. Fujiyoshi's memories weren't erased- Theia seemed to have countermeasures against our erasure." Jiyuu laughed, stroking back his strands of blood red hair. "Anyways, I'm not here to make a name to you guys, only to explain what will happen once your friends are gathered here."

Minori's face paled. "W-wait, but if you were trying to capture us-"

"Ah, that is a good question. I just wanted to give my workers some stimuli here, that's all. Most of them live here, so having fun and playing around is quite lackluster in size." A sigh from Jiyuu's plump lips. "Anyways, do not fret- we will not be putting you guys through another VR. I can assure you that."

The room was tense. "You guys should know that we have plenty of means to help society push through and solve its overpopulation issue, correct?"

Minori was baffled, though Kamui understood most of what this man was saying, choking out a soft, "... Your worker said you won't have us killed though."

"Lies exist in reality, after all." Jiyuu chuckled, causing the two younger males to pale. "I have set up plans and the like already, so I will be discussing with you two and your friends shortly on what's supposed to happen."

"So you're just going to throw us away?"

No, this wasn't right. This couldn't be it. This couldn't be the end of things.

"My use for you guys in the VR had already ended. I've been given plenty of data from how you guys performed, so I do have to thank you for that." Jiyuu smiled kindly, yet those dark pink eyes of his were dull and cold. "My plans for you guys are based on the data I've received and written. I believe you will perform best to my predictions."

Nothing made sense. Kamui knew nothing made sense. What was going to happen? What was going to happen to them? He didn't know, and he felt his head screaming at him again.

Maybe they should've played the killing game correctly. How did you play that sort of thing correctly anyways? Kamui was truly at a loss here, and he didn't know what to do.

"Mr. Kaijin."

Kamui turned to Minori. The pseudologist was staring intensely at the CEO. Jiyuu stared back down at him, then smiled softly and asked in a simple, yet honeyed tone of voice, "Yes, Mr. Watanabe?"

Minori bit into his lips. He was silent for a while, only staring at Jiyuu. A few seconds passed until finally, the pseudologist spoke. "I want to strike a deal."

Kamui was nonetheless shocked. "What?"

"A deal?" Jiyuu was curious now, his usual smile now turning to an amused grin. It seemed like his eyes were beginning to sparkle as well. "Is it similar to the motive you introduced to Monokuma? An attempt to find the mastermind?"

The mortician knew the shorter man would be bothered by that comment. He glanced worriedly over to Minori who pursed his lips.

"I…" Minori shook his head. "Please, I want to strike a deal. I still have a lot of questions I want to discuss with everyone."

Jiyuu nodded his head slowly, eyeing the man. "I see. You're always such a remarkable person no matter what, Mr. Watanabe." He chuckled. "What do you have in mind then?"

Minori held his breath. "Let us decide our fates."

A look of pure awe and wonderment. Jiyuu was staring down at the pseudologist in complete amazement. "Ooh, please elaborate on that, Mr. Watanabe."

"Of course." And the young man winced as he tried to adjust his seating. He took a few seconds to steady himself, then elaborated, "I still want us to discuss about what's happening around here. We already know there's a mastermind among us, and I know you wouldn't let any of us know who it is. I want us to discuss and decide what you guys will do to us, given that it's inevitable to escape from here."

"It is inevitable, yes." Jiyuu chuckled. "The door to the outside world is locked anyways."

Kamui's eyes (or eye?) widened at this. He took a look at Minori's face, but he couldn't read what was going through his mind right now.

Minori frowned in response. "I would've assumed such given we could've moved around this building quite freely. So, what I said is clear- let us discuss our fates and have the time to talk about what had been going on here. It would also serve as additional data for your research, correct? We are Ultimates, after all."

"True," the man began, speaking slowly, "As much as I did say I have ended my research on you guys, the idea of looking into your true personalities and potential since you are Ultimates is still an idea inside of my head. Do not get me wrong. Seeing you guys struggle with the harassment of your brains and memories was quite interesting to note down, but I do wonder how Ultimates function and cultivate naturally."

Kamui couldn't help but speak despite the raspiness and pain in his voice. "S-so your original plan wasn't to mess with us?"

"Should've made sense, correct?" Jiyuu laughed. "There was a reason why everything happened after Mr. Fujiyoshi's little talk with our AI."

Minori simply shook his head. "Are you alright with this deal? You guys already have us in your hands, so why not give yourselves some more research before setting us off at your own discretion?"

"Hmm, you do have a point, Mr. Watanabe. I truly haven't gotten to see everyone's full potential here, particularly when it comes to trials and cooperation." Jiyuu chuckled from where he stood, hands behind his back. That air of complete smugness and superiority was choking. "It's quite relieving to know that we have your memories erased. This would give us plenty of research when you do discuss topics with your friends then. It's quite interesting to see how people rise up over the idea of cooperation, and then fall when there are consequences."

"So, you're fine with the idea?" The pseudologist was staring intensely at the redhead.

"I don't see the point in not entertaining you guys for a while." Jiyuu smiled. "I am interested in seeing you guys at your fullest potential. It's quite interesting to ponder over how you guys will move forward knowing it is inevitable that you can't escape."

Minori only gritted his teeth. "You can't exactly say we're at our fullest potential if we're injured."

Obviously gesturing to his gun wound and Kamui's battered state, Minori waited for an answer. Jiyuu merely nodded his head in acknowledgement, musing with a soft, "Of course. I will call for someone to patch you guys up."

Minori smirked slightly, only known to Kamui who was staring intensely at him. "I do also want to mention that we're at a complete disadvantage here."

"Oh?" Jiyuu tilted his head. His shade of pink eyes were blinking. "What do you mean by that, if I may ask?"

"Evidence." Minori bit into his lips. He was moving slightly with his limited movement. "I don't have my notebook with me. I had all the information Kamui and I had gathered there. By any chance, did you obtain it, Mr. Kaijin?"

 _He sounds so polite, oh my god._ Kamui couldn't help but be in awe of how easily Minori was able to drag along the conversation. It was obvious Minori was getting what he wanted, and the mortician was unsure of how to help as of yet. He could only watch, sadly.

Yet, that politeness in tone was obviously doing its favor. Jiyuu seemed more than pleased with Minori, nodding his head and answering with a soft, "The worker from before had it with them. I can ask them to bring it back here."

"Thank you for that then." And Minori easily formed a soft smile. He even added in a small compliment, saying with a sweet tone, "I can see why people work under you."

"Thank you, but I only have them to credit for my success." Jiyuu chuckled, smiling in return. "Ah, it'll take a while before your friends get here. I'll go ahead and call up for a team to work on treating your wounds. I'll also give you time to talk things over with your friends about what is happening when they're here. Is that alright?"

Minori nodded and hummed a, "Yes, that's fine."

"In the meantime, I'll let you and Mr. Setsushi talk things over." Jiyuu began to walk over to the door, slowly opening it. "I know you two would want to talk things over."

And, without another second or thought left, the CEO of Libertas left to close the door on them. They were now left alone in this prison-like area, staring at each other.

Minori's sternness immediately fell into complete and utter worry as he looked over at Kamui. There were tears in the corner of his eyes as he tried to scoot forward. "What happened?" he asked, slightly shaken in voice. "W-why're you so beaten up?!"

"I'm fine, the worker who got us just beat me around a bit." Kamui forced a smile, but it was stale and he knew he was in overwhelming pain. He winced, but forced his aching voice to move, lips quivering as he spoke, "You do have a plan to get us out of here, right?"

"I…" The pseudologist averted his gaze. "I'm doing this to stall for time. I know what Jiyuu wants is to mess with us and he's going to not let us escape no matter what, but if I didn't set up a deal, he'd have our heads where he wanted them."

"It's fine." Kamui saw how distraught the man looked underneath him, and the mortician wanted nothing more than to comfort him. "I-I'm sure Saori and the other two can help us find a way out. We're going to spot the mastermind and figure this whole thing out, right?"

"... That's to stall for time too, but I am hoping we can use that information against Jiyuu somehow. I am hoping if we find the mastermind we can manipulate and use them against Libertas as well." Minori forced a confident stare, intense as he stared into Kamui's eyes. "I don't want to lose any of you guys, so I thought this would at least give us a chance. I'm not exactly sure the percentages of success are high, but…"

"Minori, it's fine." Kamui forced another smile, but it was slightly more genuine this time. "You're doing this to help us."

He shook his head. "I… I just had a bad feeling about what Jiyuu was saying. What sort of plans did he have in mind for us? Concerning the overpopulation…"

Kamui frowned. "Well, cannibalism, for one…" Scratch that, he knew he shouldn't worry the poor pseudologist further.

"I just hope Sagiso and the others are safe." Minori was shaking. "God, Kaniza, I swear if she's not fine I'm going to…"

"Minori, she'll be fine, I'm sure of it." The mortician was worried about her. He was worried about Kaniza and the others, yes, but he believed they were safe. Jiyuu didn't want them dead either, and ordered the others to not kill them, right? They should be safe.

He hoped so, at least.

"Uh…" Minori meekly glanced at Kamui. "Are you going to be fine? Your eye… and those wounds… Can they really treat those and make you active during our discussion?"

Kamui awkwardly laughed. His throat was burning. "Hopefully. I want us to get out of here as soon as possible."

Minori smiled softly in return. "Of course."

Besides, Kamui still wanted to make proper burials for the deceased. For Haruko, Asami, Fuwari… everyone, he wanted to make sure they were given the respect and burial they deserved.

* * *

" _Kamui, I want to pass leadership to you."_

" _Yori?" Kamui was shocked, looking at his boss. The elderly woman was smiling kindly upon him, her eyes looking down on him. "I'm glad you think of me as deserving to be the leader at our work, but I'm far too young for it!"_

" _Nonsense. After seeing how dedicated you were to your own parents' ceremony, and then seeing you continuing to help me despite my little warnings, you have exceeded my expectations in every way possible."_

" _Yori…" Kamui blushed. "Yeah, but those warnings still scared me a little. It's not everyday you get to see dead people rising from their coffins."_

" _Haha, true, chemicals work their wonders." The elderly woman laughed. "But seriously, I want to pass down leadership to you. You deserve it, Kamui. You're so dedicated to your work as a mortician. How can I not pass?"_

" _But that's because you're retiring…" Kamui awkwardly averted his gaze. "Do you truly want to pass down leadership to me?"_

" _Well, let me ask you this then- do you believe you can handle taking care of the funeral home?"_

" _Well, yeah, but…"_

" _That's more than enough for me, dear." Yori gently patted the mortician's shoulders. She was smiling kindly down upon him. "You have a great amount of respect for the dead, and you're only at the age of seventeen right now, ten when you went up to me for your parents. You're special, Kamui, and I want you to take on the funeral home as the leader."_

" _Y-Yori…"_

" _I'm passing down my leadership to you. I am entrusting the funeral home with you."_

" _Yori, I…" Kamui shook his head. He was happy- no, he was grateful and overwhelmingly happy with this. He nodded his head and smiled confidently. "Of course. It is an honor to be in charge of the funeral home and continue to take care of our deceased. I know I won't fail you."_

" _Aw, now that's the spirit." A raspy chuckle. "I know you'll do well. I'm retiring as a happy old hag, after all, and that's all your fault."_

" _Haha." Kamui rolled his eyes playfully. "You always say you were going to retire this month or the next. Took you long enough."_

" _That's because I have to take care of you." A groan, but the smile never faded from her lips. "I know you won't fail. You'll do well, Kamui."_

" _Thank you so much, Yori. I am glad to have been by your side."_

 _And with that settled, Yori had peacefully retired the next day. The funeral home was now under Kamui's watch, and his hard work and determination led to his success. He easily became an Ultimate and was overjoyed when his surrogate parents and Asahi cheered him on, and even when Yori congratulated him through a phone call._

 _Everything went by smoothly, and Kamui only had his parents to thank for this amazing life of his._

* * *

This amazing life.

This amazing life which may or may not be a lie.

Was it a lie? Was it the truth?

Ah, how they wish they knew the answer.

Life wasn't that easy, after all.

* * *

... And here is the end of this chapter! Finally this chapter was uploaded! It took a while for me to actually write this out, haha, so sorry about that! Anyways, a lot of interesting stuff happened here, and things are only going to go downhill. Is there going to be a happy ending? A sad ending? I don't know, I'm here to cause as much suffering as possible!

Promotions as of right now!

 **Danganronpa: Execution Order** (Heroi Oscura)

 **Danganronpa: Remnants Of My Heart** (Prince PokePersona)

 **Danganronpa: Tall Tales and Other Murders** (ChaoticMercy)

 **Danganronpa: The Pitiful Plague Called Ignorance** (RioA, or moi XD)

 **For Whom the Rabbits Mourn** (SanityRequiem)

 **Our Ghosts Return** (TheRoseShadow21)

Well, I have nothing much to say right now other than I was able to finish this before going to college orientation and the like, so hooray for me :D Other than that, see you all in the next chapter!


	55. Chapter 6 - Part 1, Beginning of the End

Hello, and I am actually here with yet another chapter! Haha, I know it might be fast, but do not worry, updates will become shorter soon, especially given that we're nearing the finale. I will be slightly (possibly) busy soon given college and other shenanigans, especially concerning drama and whatnot, but do not worry! I am definitely going to continue updating, haha, I can assure you that.

 **Ziggymia123:** "Oh my, so many references. Req must be happy, haha. Heck yeah, so many different things happening, but what is the truth? I don't know, totally. Jiyuu is a good boy, don't hurt our CEO baby. Aww, thanks! I had fun, at least I think I did."

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Hi! Nice to see you too! Heck yeah, development! Overpopulation is a major issue, and yes Theia and Libertas are still there against each other. Fumio and Rin are good children, please do not bully them. Yes, there is a new character! Jiyuu is a good boy, please do not hate him, maybe. He has a lot information and is unwilling to share, of course. Heck yeah, overarching plots are quite fun in my opinion. Jiyuu is still good boy. Kamui is Kamui, my tall boy. Oh my, nice theory. Haha, Minori is mastermind confirmed. Oof, poor Sagiso. Oh my, heck yeah. Aww, thanks so much! Of course I wanted to get something out for your birthday UwU, I love you."

* * *

Sagiso couldn't believe what she had heard. She thought it was one thing seeing Kaniza all stressed out, pale and teary. It was another thing to see that goddamn door locked up and blocked, unable to be opened. There were so many things that could've made her long to give up, to admit defeat, and yet… just learning that Kamui and Minori had been caught had broken her, tore her apart.

What should she do? What can she do to save them? Are they alive? What was going to happen to them? There were so many questions ringing and screaming inside of her head, yet the answers to them were neigh- nothing. She didn't know.

Ignore that smell of death Kaniza emitted. Even if she wanted to scrunch her nose up and question her profusely on her smell, her entire focus was now on Minori and Kamui. She told Kaniza to lead the way, and she quickly followed with Saori behind.

She pointed to the way of the elevator. Adrenaline was running through their veins, and Sagiso knew her friends were stressed. Still, she had to keep a clear head when it came to pathways, and she yelled at Kaniza and Saori the directions. They followed her suit and quickly dived over to the elevator.

Kaniza repeatedly smashed her finger into the button. Sagiso and Saori threw each other worrisome looks, pale in complexion.

 _Hurry up, oh god._ She was even more impatient than normally. It made sense though, and it took hours before there was a ding and the door opened. The women ran inside and Kaniza quickly pressed a button. Descending, they were descending back down.

"I-I don't even know where they are now!" Kaniza cried out, trembling. She was hugging her arms, teary. "I should've watched what happened before looking for you guys! I…"

"It's fine, it's fine." Sagiso quickly came to her friend's aid, forcing a smile. She knew she acted as the emotional shoulder for people to lean on, and she had to keep up that act of support of hers. "We can look around. I'm sure they'll be fine."

But that was a lie. She wasn't sure of that herself.

"If anything," Sagiso continued, using her nose to point over to the belt around her. "Saori and I have weapons. These workers have guns and tasers in their hands, after all."

Kaniza's expression softened, but Sagiso wasn't sure if that was fake or not.

"Uh, where exactly are we heading?" Saori asked, finally managing to say something after a few minutes of complete silence and distraught. She was now looking softly, yet keenly at the astrophotographer.

"Ah…" Kaniza forced herself to speak, answering with a small, "Where we got attacked, basically. It's… not exactly the prettiest place."

The astrophotographers awkwardly pointed to herself, typically the mess on her clothes and the grime on her head. "We were inside of a disposal room, I think. Uh… where there were dead bodies."

"What?" Saori's face instantly fell down. "Excuse me?"

Kaniza bit into her lips, stiffening up at this. "Y-yeah, like a morgue? No… It was definitely like a disposal room. There were just bodies and they were behind some… it was some torture room."

"That definitely does not sound good," Sagiso mused, though it was her attempt to try lightening up how tense the atmosphere was. It didn't work, and her expression only soured in return.

 _But that means Libertas is definitely the bad guy if they have a torture room… and a disposal room of bodies._ Sagiso worriedly threw another glance at Kaniza. _Damn, I should've been the one looking down there instead. She probably had a heart attack from just looking at the place._

Sagiso crossed her arms. It was a miracle that the workers were not in need of the elevator, but considering their work, she figured they were busy in their little offices or whatnot. If anything, it was a miracle they were not bustling about when she and Saori were looking around. It would've been a pain to play a game of simple stakeout.

 _Still, we didn't get that much information concerning Libertas, or anything in general. Maybe if the offices weren't packed…_

She couldn't wish for a miracle. It was already too late anyways. There was no time to investigate when her friends were held captive, after all. She needed to save them and help them escape, after all.

A few seconds passed before the elevator came to a halt. They were at the bottom floor now, and it opened with ease. Sagiso held her breath, hand close to her belt. Luckily for her and the other two women, nobody was there to stop them. They were presently alone in this seemingly dark, tense abyss.

Sagiso anxiously looked over to Kaniza. "Do you know where the torture room is?"

"Yeah, of course!" The astrophotographer nodded her head. Her expression was grim, complexion pale. She quickly waved to the duo as she ran off, leaving them to chase after her.

Their breaths were the only sounds that can be heard. If not, then their hasty footsteps and their erratically beating hearts. Sagiso was used to walking long distances. Yes, she was physically active, given her talent, but the adrenaline and stress running through her veins was putting her down. Her breaths were hasty and shallow, and she hated how numb her legs were. Even her body was freezing up, and she had no idea if her clothes were to be blamed for this.

Still, she had to move, to follow Kaniza. Yet following Kaniza only gave her anxiety. They were running straight to where Minori and Kamui were captured, so what were they expecting? Clues to find that'll lead them to the duo? Minori and Kamui themselves?

No, Sagiso did not expect any of those things. No, not at all. She didn't expect hope in this intense environment, but despair and darkness. Don't expect the best to come, and don't be optimistic. Reality was harsh, and Sagiso should've known that from the start. The killing game broke her and it killed those she once knew- even if that was a simulation in itself, reality forced them into that goddamn simulation and Sagiso despised the very thought of happiness at the moment.

Which, in reality, was quite hypocritical. She wouldn't have known this though, her mind only set on pessimism.

It was quite tragic when the trio of females ran in, making their way down the hallway. That dead end made Sagiso and Saori's eyebrows raise in concern, but when Kaniza opened the doorway, that dark pathway led straight to their aching hearts. Stress, stress, and even more stress.

They ran and ran and ran. Kaniza's face was scrunched up in utter disgust and vile upon her familiarity with the room. Saori and Sagiso were sadly new to this, so when seeing the amount of torture devices and dried up blood on display, it only made their bodies freeze in utter despair.

 _I should've expected this when Kaniza told us about it, but…_ Sagiso knew her face was turning green. If not green, then white in horror. She could feel her stomach grumbling, and she could taste the acidity in the back of her throat. _To see these devices in real life… and knowing people have been victims to them… oh my god._

A horrendous thought then ran through her head- what if Kamui and Minori were going to be subjected to these devices? The simple thought of it made her sick, and she wanted to throw up. Her breathing was beginning to quicken, to shallow. She looked over at Saori who was relatively able to contain herself, and Kaniza who forced herself to look away from the horror. Finding comfort in her friends was futile.

 _Ignore this, Sagiso, just ignore it._ And she immediately shook her head and clapped her hands together, forcing her friends to turn towards her. She stared keenly at them, eyes fierce and determined. "Let's move. I don't want to waste time."

Kaniza nodded (despite the little shake in her legs) and quickly headed forth- the disposal room was not that far away, sadly and fortunately. Sagiso made a nod to Saori, signaling her, and they quickly took out their tasers and guns and followed the woman inside.

Kaniza stopped in the middle of her tracks. Sweat trickled down her forehead. Sagiso patted her shoulder and took a step forward into the room, looking ahead to find a group of workers with mops and buckets in hand. _They're cleaning?_

Sagiso mouthed to Kaniza, "Get behind.", then looked over to Saori who came up to her. The duo walked inside, and immediately pointed their guns. Sagiso gritted her teeth as they instantly took notice of them, eyes widened. "Stay where you are!" she shouted, growling. "And tell us where the others are!"

The workers only looked at her, then frowned. The one closest to the group simply laughed, saying in a condescending tone, "If you mean Mr. Setsushi and Mr. Watanabe, then you don't need to point your guns at us. We were given orders to bring you to them if any of us found you."

Saori frowned, eyebrows furrowing. Her grip on the gun tightened. "What? … Where are they?"

"That's why you follow." The worker who spoke from before stepped forward. "Here, I can take you. They're most likely with our Lord right now."

Kaniza was shaking, hiding behind Sagiso. "W-who…?"

"Lord, of course." The worker smiled simply. "Isn't that obvious?"

"No, it's really not." Sagiso kept the worker held at gunpoint, gritting her teeth. She instinctively tightened her grip around it, the worker having moved forward. "You and whoever your 'Lord' is better not have hurt them."

The worker shrugged, mocking the poor psychogeographer. "If you follow me, I can show you guys where they are. You can see for yourselves or not." He pointed back to his group. "I can just help clean up the blood here if you want to continue spouting stuff."

Sagiso frowned. She looked over to Kaniza and Saori, reading their expressions. Of course she couldn't read them that well, but she knew she had no choice. There was no other way to find her friends, after all. "Sure, but just know we can attack you at any moment."

"Wow, scary." He simply smirked, causing Sagiso to glare at him. Nonetheless, he moved forward, passing by the women who stepped to the side. They watched as he waved over at them, gesturing them to follow. "I'll take you there, as long as you don't shoot me in the back of the head."

Sagiso scoffed. "I can't say for certain I won't."

Saori simply looked over to Kaniza and smiled slightly. "We should be fine," she murmured, eyeing the raven. "We have the upperhand here."

The astrophotographer gulped. She was shakily nodding her head. The poor Kaniza can only whisper, "I-I hope so," in response before following closely behind Saori and Sagiso, the worker now leading them away.

Sagiso gulped, only watching the worker who was leading them away. She held her breath. Her heart was beating erratically, body screaming at her to just shoot him- that he was bringing them to their demise. But, she knew, she had to hold it in. What if Minori and Kamui were actually safe? What if they were safe for some reason?

Fuck, that's stupid to think about. Why would they protect Minori and Kamui? It was so obvious they were bringing everyone to their demise. Why trust this man? Why trust anyone? Sagiso felt heat rising to her face, and it was just so easy to threaten the man with violence. That would be so easy-

 _No, you can't do that._ Sagiso held her breath. Her body was shaking. _They might actually be safe. I can't jump to conclusions. I should… I should think of something else._

To think about something else meant to ignore the dangers of society. Even if Sagiso remotely registered the pathway from the disposal room to where Minori and Kamui would be, thinking about that was useless. Thinking about this was useless, and Sagiso needed to relax herself by thinking about something else.

She couldn't afford to think for a second about pulling the trigger, or to grab Kaniza and Saori's hands and run. No, she had to be calm. She had to strike at the perfect moment, and that moment would come soon- soon when Minori and Kamui are safe and together with them.

So, she had to think, relieve herself. She just needed to think about something that relaxed her… her purpose in life, her reason for living, everything. She inwardly closed her mind off, and relaxed.

* * *

 _A cough escaped from the room, but rather than that cough being the one that caught the little girl's attention, it was that warm and kind smile that slipped on her mother's face. "Sagiso, let's go out again today! The temperature is just right today. Not too cold, not too perfect."_

 _And the little girl would smile widely, nodding her head. "Of course! Let's go out!" She then glanced around the room. Eyebrows furrowed. "U-uh… is Dad working again today?"_

 _The woman would only nod her head sadly, smile still on her lips. "He is. He said he's free tomorrow, so hopefully we can hang outside together." She ruffled Sagiso's hair, making the little girl giggle. "We can have fun in the meantime."_

" _Mhm." Sagiso quickly reached for her mother's hand, wrapping her tiny fingers around hers. "Let's go! I want to see the park again."_

" _Of course, that's where I wanted to go anyways." The woman grinned, suddenly waving an empty canvas in one hand. "I want to try painting the scenery again. The last one I did ended up looking slightly too pigmented."_

 _Sagiso's eyes widened. "What? But I thought it was pretty!"_

" _It wasn't, I can assure you that." And the woman huffed, feigning a look of annoyance. She had her posture stiffened up, hands now to her hips. Suddenly, she cleared her throat, and with an exaggerated deep tone of voice, added, "Alright! Let's go, Captain Sagiso, to the park!"_

 _Sagiso's eyes sparkled immediately, and she quickly saluted her mom with a loud, "Yes, of course, ma'am!"_

 _And Sagiso was going to stay happy and perky, but her mom instantly fell into a series of coughs and wheezes. She was coughing and her face was pale, like always, and the little girl quickly ran over to her side and grabbed at her dress. "M-Mom? A-are you having any pain right now…? Do you need medicine?"_

 _Another short, abrupt coughs. They were hoarse and faint. "I'm fine." Quickly, the woman released a wide smile, showing her pearly teeth out. "Just another coughing fit. Nothing bad."_

 _And that was obviously not true. Sagiso's eyes began to tear up, but she forced them back down. Her kind and generous mother was sick, and Sagiso hated it. Her mother was a sweet and gentle soul, one who loved to take walks and just paint. She was amazing, and to see how much her mother was in pain was breaking her heart._

 _But, of course, the sweet child that she was, she promised to keep her mother safe. Her dad was doing everything to provide the family, and she wanted to help too._

 _A single child with a sickly mother and a hardworking father. A tight and close-knitted family, and Sagiso knew all the responsibilities were shared between them. The mother who kept her daughter happy, the father who worked hard to make ends meet, and the daughter who wanted to make sure everyone was safe and happy._

 _But how can she make her mother the happiest she can be? She knew that despite her mother's carefree nature, she was still sick. Who wouldn't be sad over the idea of living a sickly life? Who wouldn't think about what it would be like without harnessing such a draining life of coughs and sickness?_

 _Sagiso didn't know, but an idea had struck her one day. It was another normal day, like always. Her father was at work and her mother was at home. Sagiso was cooking for herself and her mother, and when she heard a cough she looked back. Her mother was eyeing her with a smile, and Sagiso could only frown in response._

" _Please go back to bed," she pleaded, worry stuck in her face. "I'll have breakfast ready soon, so just wait a bit, Mom."_

" _Thanks, honey." A cough. Her mother was still looking at her, smiling._

 _Sagiso only eyed her in return, asking in a nervous, "Do you need anything, Mom? I can fetch you a glass of water if you need it."_

" _No, I don't need anything. I was just wondering about something."_

" _Yes?"_

 _An awkward smile. "Well… we always walk around town, right?" Sagiso nodded. "Well, I was thinking we should check out another town and walk around there." A fist was pumped up. Her mother's eyes were sparkling. "Y'know, for more stimuli!"_

 _Sagiso's eyes immediately lit up at this. It wasn't that the idea of stimuli, no, it was the fact that she had a chance to go outside and hang around with her mother again- to hang around her mother who would definitely be smiling over the freedom of the outside world's luxuries. "Oh, sure! Which town? And are you sure you're healthy enough to walk around then?"_

 _Only a chuckle escaped from her lips._

" _Well… I wasn't sure which town we should explore, and I really want to make sure you wouldn't be bored when we walk around town."_

 _And, instantly, right then and there, Sagiso had an idea to make her mother happy._

" _Don't worry." Sagiso grinned. "I'll find the perfect place for us to walk around in."_

 _And, right now, the little girl quickly ran out and began to work._

* * *

"Sagiso." Kaniza was tugging at her sleeve. She was pointing over to the worker who was smiling at them- suspicious. There was a door to the back of the worker, intricate details to the door frames and the door itself made out of polished redwood.

The psychogeographer immediately frowned. Her grip around the gun had loosened, but she kept it close to her for comfort. "Are they in there?"

The towering man merely laughed. "Of course they are. Our Lord is in there as well. He's most likely just talking to them and getting them fixed up right now by our medical staff here."

"What, why?" Kaniza gasped, eyes widening upon a horrendous fact. "Oh god, it's because they got shot…"

That fact was glossed over, and just remembering it made Sagiso's face turn red. She glared instantly at the man, only having Saori back to stop her from acting out of place. "Open the door already."

"Of course, of course, don't be so impatient." The man laughed to himself, then turned around. He reached for the golden doorknob and easily turned it, creaking the door open. There, he peeked into the room before making a motion for the women to walk inside, keeping the door open for them.

Sagiso threw the man another glare, but took a step forward and headed inside. She walked inside first, making sure Saori and Kaniza were going to be safe behind her. If there were any dangers lurking inside, she would rather be the one responding to them than have Saori and Kaniza suffer- they were her friends, after all.

Inside, Sagiso was greeted with an unfamiliar face. Red hair and pink eyes- someone who was towering over her and her friends, and the woman held her breath. She could hear the door closing behind everyone, and that worker from before was now gone. She pursed her lips, forcing herself to glare at the redhead. "And who exactly are you?"

"You already know I'm referred to as Lord. I'm sure my workers have told you such already." The man chuckled, quite amused with himself. He was not at all intimidated by Sagiso's glare. He extended a hand out. "More seriously though, my name is Jiyuu Kaijin. Please refer to me as Mr. Kaijin if you want."

 _Why would I shake your hand, you freak?_ Sagiso simply rolled her eyes, taking on the initiative to ask, "Where's Minori and Kamui?"

"Ah, they're in medical care in the back."

Jiyuu made a motion that caused the women to look around the room- it seemed like this was an office room of some sort, a discussion room? They weren't exactly sure, only noting the powered off projector, screen, and the rolling chairs which were circled around a round table. But, upon further notice, there was a small room to the back which can be seen through a glass paneled window- Kamui and Minori were inside, sitting down on some desks as some lab coated workers worked their way around the duo.

And Sagiso would've been relieved, yet the state of her friends… Her heart had shattered once more. Even from afar, behind a glass panel, it was so obvious to see that her friends had been in pain. She noticed the bandages that were present on Minori's left cheek- someone had punched him, and what was worse were the bandages wrapped around an arm- that was definitely the place where Minori got shot.

And Kamui… Kamui was in a worse state. If it wasn't apparent from how bruised up and bandaged Kamui's face was, then it was definitely from the fact that his left eye had been covered up, bandaged over and gauzed. What happened? Why was he like this? So many questions rang inside Sagiso's head, and her body was beginning to grow more and more red at the second because it meant one thing- that eye had shut down, and he had been potentially blind.

Blind, blind, blind.

Just thinking about it made her boil. She immediately pointed her gun at the man and growled, "What did you do to him? He's obviously been tortured!"

"Sagiso!" Kaniza quickly grabbed at her friend and forced her arms down. She worriedly threw a look at Sagiso, then to Jiyuu. Her entire body was shaking. "D-did you torture them? Minori and… Kamui…?"

Jiyuu looked down at the trio, then smiled. "Of course not," he answered, sweet in tone. "I have made it clear to everyone that I want you all retrieved as safe and healthy as you guys can be. I do not want you guys dead."

"Well, torture does not necessarily mean death." Saori couldn't help but glare darkly at Jiyuu. Her face was pale, yet her tone was growly and sharper than ever before, speaking in a quiet, "Do not mock us. Tell us what you want, and why Kamui is in that state."

"Ah, of course." Jiyuu bowed his head down. "Excuse me, but I believe one of my workers had brutally beaten Kamui because he spoke ill of me. My workers are quite loyal, after all. I do have a large following."

Sagiso grinned dryly. She was still being held down by Kaniza (it was a miracle that the astrophotographer was taller). "What, like a cult?"

"Of course not." The redhead's expression seemed to change at that. His eyes became slightly dull, yet that smile was still plastered perfectly on his face. "They merely respect me for being able to advance society to what it is today. Of course we would have a following given our reputation as saviors to Mother Nature herself. We are the first and original ones who has successfully planned out how to protect this world from future harm, so we would naturally have a huge following. We do not appeal to such cultish behaviors, Ms. Hazuki. We are purely an organization made to benefit Earth."

"... You sound exactly like a cult leader." Saori grimaced. "So, what is your goal? Did you think that a killing game would benefit us in any way?"

"Of course." Jiyuu was blunt, quick with his words. "We're solving the overpopulation here, and something has to be done about the overwhelming number of people here in society."

Sagiso pursed her lips. She thought back to what she saw with Saori- there was chaos and havoc breaking out through the television. "You can't be serious with us right now. Why were we forced into the killing game in the first place? It's not going to help you solve anything!"

The CEO looked down at Sagiso. His hands were rubbing against each other, fingers twiddling about. "Ah, I would love to answer your question Ms. Hazuki, but I have unfortunately made a deal with Mr. Watanabe. It was quite an interesting deal too."

"What?" Kaniza leaned forward. Immense worry and anxiety were written all over on her face. "Deal? W-what did he do?"

The tall redhead simply chuckled in response, amused and slightly condescending in his expression. "You will learn soon enough." He then stepped back, turning around to where Minori and Kamui were. "Here, we can head over to where your friends are. They can explain everything to you."

Sagiso threw Saori and Kaniza a look, but, having little to no choice, followed Jiyuu over to the door. It was a simple white door with a silver handle, and the man turned the handle and easily opened the door. There, the trio of women headed inside, greeted to the smell of medicinal chemicals and eyes from both workers and friends alike. And, upon staring into those eyes of strangers and similarly clothed workers, those eyes of theirs changed into pure delight upon the entrance of Jiyuu Kaijin himself.

 _Disgusting._ Sagiso would've glared at the workers and told them to admire somewhere else, but she shook her head. Her focus was on Minori and Kamui, and she quickly walked over to them, throwing an arm each around their shoulders (of course, as gently as possible too). She hugged them for a while, softly adding in, "I miss you guys."

And Kaniza would quickly jump in, hugging the duo with tears attempting to escape from her eyes. Even Saori's expression softened upon seeing Minori and Kamui in person, and she patted their backs gently with a nod.

"Guys…" Minori averted his gaze to the floor, but eventually threw an arm around the group too. "I'm sorry. We weren't being careful and…"

"It's my fault." Kaniza quickly shut the pseudologist down. Her face was that of pure horror upon examining the two men, especially at Kamui. "Oh god, I'm so sorry."

"What? Kaniza, no, it's not your fault at all." Kamui's voice was raspy, but he managed a small smile from his dried up lips. "I just can't see with my left eye, but I should be fine… they bandaged me up pretty well, after all."

The astrophotographer only shook her head sadly, guilt written across her face. Nonetheless, she slowly turned to the group of medical workers and clapped her hands together, muttering a soft, "Thank you for patching them up… I…" Yet it was so obvious that Kaniza wasn't truly genuine in her words, only forcing herself to put on her best smile and friendly traits to others.

A chuckle. Jiyuu smiled over at the group, motioning to his workers. They all nodded their heads, almost in sync as they filed out. Now, the redhead was left alone with the young adults. "I'm glad you guys are all here. I do enjoy your performances in the simulation. It was quite intriguing."

"Are you mocking us?" Sagiso slowly released her grip around Kamui and Minori. "You didn't even get your little pawns to capture us the moment we were out."

"Ah, yes, of course, but Mr. Setsushi and Mr. Watanabe can explain." Jiyuu threw a look over to the younger men, and the duo merely hardened up at his superficial smile at them.

Saori gulped. She slowly turned over to the pseudologist and mortician, asking softly yet worriedly (of course), "What is going on?"

Minori bit into his lips. He was rubbing his arm gently, silently. "I made a deal with Mr. Kaijin," he began, explaining slowly, "He told us he wasn't planning on killing us, but he had other plans for us and I did not want to allow him the freedom to mess with our lives."

"W-what?" Kaniza was baffled, eyebrows raised. "What was he planning to do to us?"

"He wasn't clear on that," the pseudologist answered, glaring at Jiyuu from afar. "However, given our situation, it cannot be for anything good."

Sagiso was silent, pondering to herself, hand cupped to her chin. It took only a few seconds before the woman remembered what the man said- overpopulation. She frowned, then referred back to what she and Saori discovered. _Okay… This is definitely not going to end well._

"What's the deal then?" The body broker looked over at Minori, staring him down. "I don't see how we can escape given our current situation right now."

Sagiso frowned. "I'm sure we can escape. We just need to…" She threw a look at Jiyuu who was standing far away, right at the door. "... outsmart them."

"Yeah." Minori bit into his lips. "We're going to discuss with Mr. Kaijin watching over us. We're going to decide our own fates."

 _Stalling time then._ Sagiso gulped. _He definitely thought of this on the spot. I can't find any way we could get out of here._ Or that might've been because of the door she had seen- blocked, unable to be opened. Right then, she knew- freedom was far from reach. _And how are we even going to discuss our own fates? It won't take long before Mr. Kaijin grows bored of us and just end us… Right?_

"It's not going to be just us discussing about our fates, right?" Sagiso crossed her arms. Worry was apparent on her face. "You must have a plan."

Minori went silent. He threw a small look at Jiyuu, then back to Sagiso. "I think we deserve the right to know who the mastermind of that damn simulation was and what is going on here. If we do that, I'm sure we can figure out a plan from there."

"What?" Kaniza's heart jumped. "So we don't have a concrete plan?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't want us to just… disappear." The pseudologist gulped, averting his gaze. "Besides, our disadvantage is in knowledge, right? Everyone here doesn't understand what is happening, and if we have a clear picture of things… I think we can figure out something."

Sagiso frowned- 'figure out something'.

Yes, she knew they could figure out something. She knew she could rely on everyone, even herself for that matter. Even if that small tinge of doubt was trying to repeatedly poke at her beating heart, she had to believe. She had to believe that they can figure something out, to come up with a plan that will throw everything under the bus.

Freedom should be near, and Sagiso had to be confident. She was reliable. She was helpful. She became everything that was needed to help her mother out.

It was what made her who she was today, after all.

* * *

" _Umm, excuse me! Can you please answer a question for me? I'm conducting a survey."_

 _The little Sagiso was smiling over to a stranger. It wasn't a particular stranger or anything, just a normal passerby. The young man looked down at the slightly shy girl, and he nodded his head._

" _Yeah, sure." He was wondering if she was lost, but he was solely mistaken- Sagiso was out on a mission, after all. "What kind of survey?"_

 _Sagiso's face lit up. Seemed like she was happy someone was willing to help out. Her grip around her pen and notebook was tight. "Oh! I was wondering: do you know which places here are best to tour and look around? I'm doing a survey to see which places are most attractive to tourists!"_

" _Oh, that's fine." The stranger would then smile. She was probably doing research for her school- that was what most people thought, of course. "Well, in this place… hm, I usually like to go to the Macaron Cafe which is down two blocks to the left from here. There's also an arcade that might of interest, and me and my friends like to hang out at the ice cream parlor over down the road."_

 _And Sagiso would nod her head, quickly jotting things down. She would quickly point out arrows and follow what the stranger said, jotting down the name of the street and her own location. She would then thank the stranger, and move on to the next, smiling and asking the same thing._

" _Oh, is it for school?" A couple looked down at Sagiso who timidly smiled in response. They smiled kindly at her and answered, "Well, if you want to know a good sushi restaurant, there's one that's five minutes away from here. My husband and I love their salmon roe especially."_

 _And Sagiso would continue to jot down into her notebook, then smiled and move over to the next person and the next and the next. Her research took about a few days, and she went to the next town to survey around._

" _Hey!" And Sagiso would repeat the same process, smiling over at someone and asking them for their help._

 _Those willing answered. Usually, these strangers would offer places such as restaurants or gaming centers, especially malls and outlets. Some other strangers offered places such as cafes or libraries, and the park was a fairly popular tourist spot for lovers of Mother Nature. However, some people would recommend interesting spots, and the girl would eagerly note them down._

 _A few towns were being researched into and surveyed, and Sagiso quickly made her way into the last nearby town. Even if she was tired and was moving from top to bottom, left to right, she continued and pushed forward. She was determined, after all._

 _And days later, a compilation of information and maps were drawn out. She smiled widely. Sure, her legs were beginning to give up on her and she spent countless nights jotting down notes against the slightly messed up maps she printed out, but it was worth it. She was doing this for one specific person, and that exact person was her mother._

" _Sagi, you're still hard at work I see."_

 _Her father had come home late, and upon noticing her determination he couldn't help but smile. Sagiso nodded back at him, saluting. He rolled his eyes playfully, walked over to kiss her on the forehead, then ruffled her hair._

" _I'm sure your mom would love it. I believe in you."_

 _And that made Sagiso all the more confident. She thanked her dad who threw her a thumbs up, and once he left she quickly spent another hour finishing her own artwork. She had to perfect it, and even if it took days she wanted to make sure it was the best as can be. Listing out all possible routes and attractive areas, finally, she knew she was ready._

 _Morning had come and Sagiso quickly ran over to her mom, map in hand and a wide smile on her face._

" _Let's go out! I listed out the places we should go to!"_

 _And her mother would be all the more excited, pumping up her fists and declaring that she'll follow 'Captain Hazuki' down. Her mother, despite the coughs and dry throat, quickly changed into a lovely white dress, and Sagiso quickly put on a casual attire. Nothing too warm, and nothing too cold. She also made sure she had enough money in her wallet- she was not giving her mother the luxury of her submit, after all._

 _So, a few minutes had passed by, and they were ready to move out. Sagiso grabbed her mother's hand, and led the way._

 _And, aligning with her hopes and dreams, her mother was excited and overly joyful during the entire walk._

 _That face of pure happiness and relaxation made Sagiso happy. Seeing her mother enjoying the beautiful paintings inside of an art museum, seeing her look excited eyeing the canvases spewed on down the sidewalks as a little attraction, watching her him along to the birds who tweeted at the greenest park and garden… Her mother was so happy, and Sagiso just melted when she felt her mother's arms wrap around her._

" _Thank you so much, honey. That was an amazing walk."_

 _And she wanted to do it again. She wanted to make her sickly mother happy, and she wanted to feel the breeze against her as she walked._

 _She was enjoying this. Her love for surveying began to increase as she began to spread out her research. Her love for making her mother happy began to spread further and further, branching out to people._

 _Psychogeography- her father introduced her to the term._

 _Could this help her pay for her mother's medical bills? Could this help her father? Sagiso was excited, and she was determined, passionate to find out._

* * *

"But how do we even get to decide our own fates?" Saori asked, worriedly eyeing Minori. "We don't know what would happen to us."

"Even so, if we figure out who the mastermind is and get a better understanding of what's happening, then we can get somewhere." Minori pursed his lips, expression serious and stern. "Mr. Kaijin is purposefully being vague in what he wants for us and the only reason why he accepted the deal was to get data on us."

"... Because we're not controlled by machinery." Kaniza held her breath. Her hands were continuing to cup, rub against one another. "But what if we don't have enough evidence to figure out who the mastermind is?"

"This is a gamble no matter what." The body broker frowned. "I… I still have no idea how we're going to survive through all of this."

Kamui laughed bitterly, choking on his own spit and saliva in the process. "... I heard the entrance was blocked off too."

"H-he told you, huh." Saori looked taken aback by this, eyebrows raised. She couldn't help but bite into her lips now, averting her gaze. "... Yeah, but I honestly should've expected it. We just wanted that sliver of a chance."

Sagiso frowned. She hated how pessimistic this was, and despite how much she was agreeing with everyone, she had to hammer in some confidence into their heads. "Look, if we were able to survive Monokuma and whatever everyone wanted with us, then I'm sure we could survive through this." She clenched into her fists. "Everyone would've tried to run off and escape if they were in our shoes."

"Y-yeah." Kaniza quickly nodded her head. "I'm sure we can figure out something." She forced a smile, then eyeing the group. "Did any of us figure something out?"

"Well, I do have my own theories," Minori began, frowning, "but I'm curious about the room we were in, Kaniza."

"O-oh, that one." An awkward laugh. "It's scary. A torture room and a disposal room for dead bodies… I hate even thinking or mentioning it, but I have no choice, huh? Well, it's exactly like you would expect from such a place. There was a secret room that could've been discovered if you stepped on one of the floorboards, but it was locked."

"Really? Darn." The pseudologist sighed. "I'm assuming you needed a key or passcode or something then?"

"Mhm." The raven was toying with her locks of hair now. "The door was designed pretty well though. It had the shape of an angel's wing."

"Angel's wing?" Sagiso immediately turned to eye Saori. "Wasn't that what we saw on the badge?"

Saori's eyes widened. "Right. So the wing is important…"

"It would make sense though," Kamui began, looking over at the group with only an eye left. "Libertas does indicate freedom, and this organization is based around 'liberating' society from overpopulation at the moment."

"True." Minori's expression dropped. He thought for a moment, then looked over to Jiyuu. "Excuse me, Mr. Kaijin, but do you have a badge?"

Jiyuu glanced over to Minori. He eyed him for a few seconds, then smiled. "I have all sorts of badges, Mr. Watanabe."

Minori frowned, but kept his expression steady and neat. "Is it alright if we take a look at them all, Mr. Kaijin? I'm sorry for bothering you. You must be quite tired."

Sagiso observed the pseudologist silently. Even though his tone was polite and sweet, that glint in his eyes told her everything. She gulped, but looked over to Jiyuu. That unmoving, almost chaotic face of his was unnerving. She frowned, hand close to her belt (closer to her gun than anything else) if needed.

"I do not mind." Jiyuu reached into an inner pocket. His hand out, he revealed a small leather card with a plentiful of badges attached to them. Shiny, golden, silver… all sorts of badges. The amount of badges was quite suspicious, but they were interesting- Sagiso had to admit. Maybe he liked to collect them or remind himself of people's positions, or maybe they were fake? Too many questions, too few answers. Nonetheless, Jiyuu easily walked over to Minori and handed him the card gently, adding in with a small nod before moving back to his usual spot.

Everyone instantly crowded around Minori, and began to take a look at the badges in display.

The first badge was the one mentioned beforehand- the winged one. It looked the same as Sagiso and Saori last saw it, but upon further notice something did look off about the winged badge. _It's not particularly designed like a wing? It looks more… circular._ But, if Sagiso continued to think about it, badges were quite hard and intricate in detail, and to make a realistic badge of an angel's wing would be quite hard. Then again, she wasn't knowledgeable in this field, sadly.

It was a stupid idea anyways.

The next few badges were quite different. There was a silver badge that displayed a woman's head, and another silver badge that displayed what seemed to be a stem with a single leaf. There were another few silvery badges which were quite interesting to note, but nothing of concern.

The golden and what may be platinum badges definitely did symbolize more importance. There was the winged one, for example, and then there were a few other ones that were shaped into a crescent or a mythical creature. The platinum badge, unexpectedly, held the face of Jiyuu with a halo on it- Sagiso honestly would've found this funny, but given this entire situation it only irked her instead. Besides, that perfectly creepy smile was painted on that damn badge.

Minori eyed it for another few seconds, then motioned to Jiyuu. The CEO walked over to the group and took the card off from the pseudologist's hands. He eyed them with that usual smile, asking sweetly, "Was it of interest to you?"

"Yeah." The pseudologist pursed his lips. "Thank you."

And Jiyuu would only nod his head back in return, and move over to the side. Everyone watched the redhead for a while, then turned back to each other and spoke quietly.

"They could be faked," Kamui suggested, frowning. "I don't know if we should trust him that easily."

"You have a point." Saori crossed her arms. She was holding her breath. "I don't see why he would lie to us so suddenly though."

"... He's not lying, I can assure you." Minori's eyebrows were furrowed, dark green eyes expression nothing more than concentration. "There's no point in lying about the badges, especially when we have no idea what they even mean in the first place. I can't necessarily read him that well, but he's not lying despite everything."

Kaniza quickly shook her head. "It's alright. Like Sagi and Minnie said, I'm sure we can figure this out." She forced a smile. "Even if it was to stall time, we at least have a chance to do something instead of just failing now."

"Y-yeah." Sagiso nodded her head. _Right, we need to be optimistic._ She sighed. "We need to make sure we can advance things in the discussion though. Jiyuu… Mr. Kaijin might notice if we're unable to forward the conversation in any way."

"It's alright. I'm sure we can do it." Minori smiled softly. "Let's just settle down and be calm. We're not here to point fingers… well, we are, but only towards the mastermind and at Libertas altogether. We just need to cooperate. We don't have anything hindering us from speaking out our feelings or being true to ourselves. We're not in a VR this time."

"I seriously hope we're not," Saori sighed. "I'm getting tired of this. I just want to go back home and live normally."

Kaniza's expression saddened. "Same." She then bit into her lips. "I am not going to let them get away with this. For Nezzy and the others… we need to get out of here."

"Of course." Sagiso suddenly found herself heating up, running on adrenaline. "Fumio and Rin risked their lives trying to save us, and even if I don't understand what exactly is going on…" She reminded herself of her mother, her father… her home. "I'm not letting Libertas get away with this."

Minori snapped his fingers. "Exactly. We just need to be confident." He then frowned, slowly looking back down at his feet. "... I'm really sorry. I should've told you guys beforehand, and I just dragged you down in this entire deal."

"No, I said it's fine." Sagiso frowned, looking at the man. "You wanted to spare us. If you didn't do that, we might as well have been dead."

"True." The pseudologist sighed. "I just feel bad for dragging you guys in."

"It's fine." Saori smiled slightly at the man. "We can figure things out from here. I'll… I'll be optimistic in this situation."

'Ah, are you guys done? Has the situation been explained?"

Everyone frowned. They looked over to find Jiyuu, the redhead staring them down with his usual dark pink eyes. His lips were still curled, posture relaxed yet straight.

"Do you want us to start now?" Minori asked, eyeing him worriedly. "Mr. Kaijin, you would allow us to talk as much as we want during the entire discussion, correct?"

Jiyuu simply smiled. He took a step back to the door, now turning the handle. The door creaked open. "Of course. As long as you are not off track, then I will not interrupt you. As long as you are of interest and use to my data."

"I see." Minori turned to his friends. "Are you guys ready?"

Kamui glanced over to his group, then nodded his head. "Even if my throat hurts," he began, sounding raspy, "I can definitely contribute. I'm not going to let my injuries deter me."

"You really look beaten up though," Sagiso commented, awkwardly scratching her head. "But, I agree. I'm ready for this."

"I should have enough information to help out." Kaniza pursed her lips. "I'm going to help out as much as I can."

Saori thought to herself for a moment, then raised a hand. "Alright, then I'm going to leave the discussion to you, Minori. You're in charge of bringing up the first topic."

"Ah… right." Minori awkwardly laughed. "I should've expected that." However, that awkwardness turned into confidence, pumping up a fist and saying, "I'm fine with it. Let's do it then."

The pseudologist motioned to Jiyuu, and the redhead nodded. "Alright then, if you would please head out to the next room and seat yourselves. From there, you guys can begin your discussion. I'll be watching over you guys." He then frowned. "Ah, and Mr. Watanabe, your notebook is out there as well. I had my workers retrieve it."

"Oh." Minori blinked. "Thank you."

And without another word, Jiyuu left to go out. He left the group in this tiny room, left to worry and stress.

A sigh. The pseudologist scratched his head, then looked over at everyone. They were silent. He frowned, forcing himself to his feet. A small smile slowly crept to his face. He was trying to comfort them with a simple, "It's alright. I know we can do it. I'll lead the way."

"Yeah, I know. If anything, we just need to depend on each other." Sagiso smiled back over at the pseudologist. "Let's end this already."

Determination was struck on everyone's faces. Of course they were nervous. Of course they were worried. So many things could go wrong, and the answer was far from reach.

Still, they had to continue fighting. It was what would lead to their survival, their happiness.

Everyone had a reason for living, after all, and Sagiso had hers.

* * *

" _Tooyuki dearie."_

 _Tooyuki looked over to his wife. Shion Hazuki was smiling over at him from the bed, and he couldn't help but chuckle as he looked over to the other side of the room, finding their daughter inside with a wide smile._

" _Yo." Tooyuki waved. "How's your book doing?"_

 _Sagiso immediately beamed at her father. She was happily showing her book out in front of the man- like always, it was a book about routes to take at nearby towns. Relaxing. "I got a lot of money! I can use it to pay for Mom's medications now."_

 _And her mother would grin happily, laughing from her sickly state. "That's really sweet of you, Sagi. You really do like to write books and publish them, huh?"_

" _Hehe. It's only about taking routes around town though." She was blushing. "Besides, I really want to earn money to help Dad take care of your medical bills."_

" _You really are a sweet girl." Tooyuki laughed, eyeing Shion who laughed as well. He ruffled his daughter's hair. "The medical bills are high like they always are, so seeing you help me is a huge relief. Thanks honey."_

 _Sagiso grinned. Of course. She wanted to help her mother out, to make sure she was alright and that nothing bad can happen to her._

 _She needed to make her mother feel safe, after all. Earth was a safe haven for humanity, after all, and she wanted to make sure everyone was happy._

" _I want to write some more books and publish them." Sagiso was smiling over at her parents who smiled back. "I'll definitely help you out, Dad."_

" _Yeah, thanks." He nodded. "I really mean it, Sagi, thanks."_

 _And he would ruffle her hair again, and she would continue to smile._

* * *

... And that is the end of this chapter! I do not have much to say, like always, so I'll just say have a good day! I'll see you all next time in the upcoming chapter, of course, so please do look forward to that. We will be attempting to figure out who the mastermind is and what exactly is happening in this entire story, nonetheless possibly give these children the ending they deserve. Or not, depends on me actually!

Yeah, I lied. I'll be posting out information that was compiled by everyone here in the next chapter. I don't want anyone to get lost (at least, without me trying), so I'll be posting out whatever Minori and the others found throughout Chapter 6. So, look forward to the 'truth bullets' coming soon!

Promotions:

 **Danganronpa: Execution Order** (Heroi Oscura)

 **Danganronpa: Remnants Of My Heart** (Prince PokePersona)

 **Danganronpa: Tall Tales and Other Murders** (ChaoticMercy)

 **Danganronpa: The Pitiful Plague Called Ignorance** (RioA, or moi XD)

 **For Whom the Rabbits Mourn** (SanityRequiem)

 **Our Ghosts Return** (TheRoseShadow21)


	56. Chapter 6 - Part EX, Truth Bullets

Hello, sorry it took a while to get the truth bullets out! I had almost forgotten about these truth bullets since I was busy writing the trial, but here it is! It's a short little thing that's probably needed, so I will reply to your reviews when the trial actually begins!

* * *

 **From Minori's Notebook**

\- (1) We split up the group into three teams: I'm with Kamui to the left side of the hallway from where we last were, Kaniza is to the right, and Sagiso and Saori are searching up using the elevator.

\- (2) We all woke up in a high-tech room. We were kept in pods, though we're the only ones inside. I counted 16 pods, and next to each pod was some machine of the sort.

\- (3) No more experiments? No one noted anything about their head hurting. I feel normal so far, if that even means anything.

\- (4) There's a scar on my palm? Recent? It looks like it came weeks ago? Maybe days since there's some dried blood around it.

\- (5) The newspaper article is about Libertas and Theia's virtual reality

(PROMPT: "'A Virtual World for All to Hope For.' - Highly anticipated by people worldwide, the rivaling companies Theia and Libertas have finally introduced their new solution to solve the issue of overpopulation and other economic issues: a virtual reality. It's been widely known that this idea will be a massive hit with people worldwide, and many are on the waiting list to beta test their new concept, higher in Libertas, but nonetheless highly anticipated no matter the company…'")

\- (6) Theory 1: We're subjects for the beta test of the VR.

\- (7) Theory 2: We have no memories about what happened before the killing game, so we might've wanted to participate in the VR like everyone else did. No idea if anyone in the world has a negative view of these companies so far.

\- (8) Libertas and Theia are rival companies, like Fumio said before. They copy, so it might be possible Theia's guilty? I hope not.

\- (9) In a security room (?) there is a screen with the words 'Location: ULTIMATES' on it, though the rest was static. Everything else is static or black, off.

\- (10) After messing around a bit in the security room (?), we got a screen with red flashing words that said, 'ERROR, VIRUS?'. Its purpose is unknown.

\- (11) We got attacked at the security room (?). Maybe more are coming, sadly can't warn the others. They do seem to want us dead despite the lack of appearance in where we woke up from?

\- (12) The worker's lanyard tells us we're in Libertas.

\- (13) There's a storage room with a lot of boxes and papers.

\- (14) In the storage room, I found a diary sheet that said the following: 'I know you may not want to do this, but you know you have no choice. Haven't you seen what's been happening? Everyone's on edge now, and you're already trapped. Just accept it.'

\- (15) I'm not sure what the purpose of the letter was. Something to do with the mastermind?

\- (16) A lot of the rooms down the hallway we're in might be locked. One of them's locked, but there looks like there's no way to open it?

\- (17) We found videotapes titled 'Death #98', 'Death #1', 'Death #128', and 'Death #89'. They're protected by a password.

\- (18) File #354 talks about erasing memories of the 'participants'. Did we really decided to willingly participate in this though? Then again, considering Libertas' reputation and its false hope of solving overpopulation…

\- (19) The file confirms the idea our memories had been erased, if that wasn't obvious enough.

\- (20) ["01100010011101010110111001101110011110010000110100001010"]

* * *

 **From Sagiso and Saori**

 _Badge_ \- There was a badge that looks like the one of an angel's wings.

 _Update #298_ \- "One of the spies, Fumio Fujiyoshi, made a deal with our virtual AI Monokuma. Changes must be made to keep everything balanced in the system; we suggest the use of changing the participants' behaviors to throw Fumio off."

 _Television Broadcast_ \- Numerous reports indicate that over hundreds of people around the globe are reported as missing or killed. The world had fallen in mass panic which stirred plenty of other events.

 _Barricaded Door_ \- The entrance to the outside world is barricaded.

* * *

 **From Kaniza**

 _Locked Door_ \- There is a door that is locked in comparison to the other doors, especially given the door's design of an angel's wing and an alphabetical password needing to unlock it.

 _Hands_ \- Inside of what seemed to be a trash/dumpster area is a pair of hands which are slowly decaying. The hands are small.

 _Torture Chamber_ \- There is a torture chamber near the end of the left hallway from the bottom of the passageway. There are a list of victims to the wall, as if there were a schedule. The list of victims are mainly scratched out or unknown.

 _Drugs_ \- There are plenty of drugs that emphasize on the importance of conditioning. There is a note near the drugs that says, "Do not use unless needed."

 _Burnt Remains_ \- In another room, there are disposed and burnt, beaten up corpses. There are about ten corpses inside.

* * *

... And I have nothing else to add! Feel free to eye the truth bullets as much as you want! I'll hop back here when I post the next chapter, which should hopefully be sooner than later, haha.

Goodbye for now!


	57. Chapter 6 - Part 2, Showtime

Hello, I am finally here with the trial chapter for this story! I do not really have much to say, like I always do. All I could really say right now about life updates and whatnot is that the weather is killing me and a lot of other drama. Nothing too special, haha.

Alright, with that settled, let us get straight into the story.

 **TheRoseShadow21:** "Haha, I know right? Cults are awesome, I love cults. They're so interesting to look into and learn about. Sagiso is a very sweet child! She's a lovely girl and deserves love. Thanks so much~"

* * *

It was a normal-looking room. It was a room that would've been seen in a workplace. It was a normal room used for discussion and seminars.

Even if it was slightly more fancy, spacious… No, despite any sort of ambiance that could've been present in any given room, this room was stuffy and hard to breathe in. Despite the lack of dust in this sterile room, it was stuffy. Despite the lack of hotness in temperature, it was stuffy and hot. Everything was so uncomfortable, and it choked him.

Jiyuu Kaijin was sitting down already. He was sitting down at the bottom, middle from the door. He was seated rather comfortably, his smile shown over to the group. Hands were scoffed, dark pink eyes were staring.

Discomfort. Worry. Anxiety.

Minori and the others had taken their seats. It was an empty room given the amount of people inside. The only comfort that could be seen were strength in numbers- them versus Jiyuu. Minori could also find safety in the guns and tasers that a few of his friends had, but strangely the pseudologist knew that Jiyuu wasn't fazed. He would always have the upperhand, and Minori knew he believed in that.

The pseudologist inwardly sighed to himself- he had to relax. He looked around the area. He was sitting right at the other side where Jiyuu was, the pseudologist next to Kamui from the left and Sagiso to the right. The order wasn't particularly important, rather for comfort than anything- from Minori, Sagiso, Kaniza, Jiyuu, Saori, and then Kamui. There were plenty of seats, yet the group had to diverse to at least every other chair per Jiyuu's request- possibly for organization? Minori didn't know, but he knew Kaniza and Saori would be uncomfortable being the closest to Jiyuu- he was their enemy, after all.

Minori looked down at his notebook. Everything was still there, and Jiyuu was kind (though that was debatable) enough to compile some copies for the others. The pseudologist frowned. He hoped his information was of use, and he was hoping they had their own information that can be used in this seemingly inevitable situation.

 _No, I know they're all reliable._ Minori heaved a deep breath of air. He breathed once, and then twice. His dark green eyes settled on Jiyuu. He had to start, and so, he slowly raised a hand, speaking loudly, "Promise me again that you won't manipulate this discussion in any way or abruptly cut us off at your discretion."

Jiyuu watched Minori for a second, almost analyzing him. Well, it was obvious he most likely was, given the clipboard and pen near him. He chuckled, then answering, "Of course. I'll be as fair as I can, Mr. Watanabe."

"Mhm. Keep your word on it then." Minori threw a harsh glare at Jiyuu, but then settled down as he turned to everyone. He had to be in charge of this discussion- he was the one who dragged them into this mess, after all. He observed everyone for a moment, then felt his heartbeat. Slightly faster than normal. He frowned, and he began. "I would like to go over what we're here for, to get past the misunderstandings. Is that alright?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Sagiso crossed her arms, easily having seated herself on the rolling chair. "I would need another rundown of what's happening, just in case."

"Y-yeah, same." Kaniza pursed her lips. She was still reading through the notes handed to her. "We're… supposed to be deciding our fates, right?"

"Yeah, that's the plan." Saori frowned. "We're supposed to decide our fates while we talk about everything else."

"It's the same as the other trials you've been in, ah, but without the mystery of whodunnit." Jiyuu grinned as he looked at the younger people. They were all tense, eyeing him worriedly. "All you have to know is that escape is inevitable and that you are free to talk about anything at your discretion as long as it isn't off topic to anything at hand here."

Kaniza glanced at the redhead nervously. "N-not even if we figure out everything?"

"Inevitable." Jiyuu chuckled. "Escape will always be inevitable. As long as there isn't anything off topic, then it is fine to discuss."".

Minori frowned. He observed the man's expression- it was unreadable. The pseudologist didn't know why the man was acting so calm, but he simply concluded it because of one thing- their lack of knowledge. Their ignorance to the truth was going to play a huge role here, and Jiyuu was so confident he had the upper hand.

 _Yeah, right. Not like I won't try to knock that down._ The pseudologist inwardly rolled his eyes, but figuring that the silence was now going to loom in for a while, he knew it was time. He cleared his throat, and fixed his gaze to his comrades- his allies. He threw on that look of confidence and continued with, "We have a clear understanding then, right?"

Kamui coughed, answering with a hoarse, "Yeah. As long as we're not off topic, then we should be fine…"

"That's basically the gist of things." Sagiso frowned. Her arms were crossed. "We just need to forward the discussion in any given way possible."

"Mhm." Minori nodded his head slowly. "Alright, if we have a clear understanding of things, then I think we should focus our discussion around the bigger question here- Libertas' purpose."

"It was overpopulation though, right?" Kaniza nervously rubbed her hands together. "That's why they threw us into the VR."

Saori raised her hand. "I want to ask why it was even us in the first place. We mentioned it before, but there is no reason why we should be in here. We have no connection here other than one thing."

"That we're Ultimates?" Minori raised a brow. "True, it does strike me as odd. I do have a couple of theories here."

Sagiso's eyes widened. "Really? I might have one as well."

"Great." Jiyuu's dark pink eyes seemed to shimmer- it was nerve wracking. "Feel free to discuss and find the answer then. I shall take notes in the meantime."

Minori scoffed, throwing the older man a disgusted look. _He's mocking us. Fine though. We can do this, and I'm sure of it._

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Minori's Notebook (5) | Minori's Notebook (7) | Minori's Notebook (18) | Television Broadcast | Drugs**

 **Minori:** So, our topic at the moment is concerning around _**Libertas' purpose**_.

 **Sagiso:** It obviously has to do something with _**overpopulation**_. It's been said numerous times that overpopulation is a huge issue or whatnot.

 **Kamui:** Given Mr. Kaijin _**told us himself**_ , overpopulation is the issue, but why are we the victims of the simulation?

 **Kaniza:** I was going to say it was _**randomized**_ , but that sounds really unlikely.

 **Saori:** I mean, it could work given if it was in a pool of Ultimates that they were being chosen from. There's _**nothing similar about us**_ , after all, so that's a possibility.

 **Sagiso:** I was about to say that too. _**Random selection**_ , I think it's what it's called.

 **Minori:** That can be a possibility, but there is also something that points to us _**willingly joining**_ the VR.

 **Kamiza:** What? Really?

 **Minori:** Yeah, and I know _**what it exactly is.**_

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Minori's Notebook (5)-**

 **ADVANCE!**

 **Sagiso:** An… Article? Right, it's in your notebook…

 **Kamui:** Mhm. It does show that _**Libertas is popular**_ amongst the people, renowned as a savior of sorts.

 **Sagiso:** That's disgusting. But, in regards to the article, it seems like they even had a _**waiting list**_ for the simulation.

 **Kaniza:** But, what does that mean? That we've _**participated and wanted to be here**_?

 **Minori:** I'm assuming so. It would make sense, but they just _**chose us because we're Ultimates**_ who wanted to be in the simulation.

 **Saori:** But I would assume there'd be more Ultimates wanting to be in the simulation.

 **Kamui:** Ah… True. I'm assuming they then chose _**out of a lottery pick**_ for who'd be selected.

 **Minori:** There were plenty of people who wanted to be in the simulation, and they chose us because we were Ultimates, randomly picked or not.

 **Kaniza:** So in other words, _**we willingly chose**_ to be here?

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Minori's Notebook (18)-**

 **Sagiso:** Something's off the mark!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Sagiso crossed her arms, eyeing the group with a stern, confident glare. "Wait, but if we chose we be in the program, then why would our memories be forcibly erased? If we were given an option to sign an agreement that our memories would be erased, I would want to see it."

Everyone turned to Jiyuu. The redhead simply smirked, answering curtly, "No, Ms. Hazuki has a point. I do not have any contracts or agreements to sign regarding memory loss."

"I mean…" Kamui raised a brow. "I would think that they'd do it for research purposes."

"Oh, to live in the simulation?" The psychogeographer frowned. "I seriously do not see how killing us would help out the overpopulation issue and whatnot."

Minori thought for a moment, then biting into his lips. "Me neither, but our memories were erased because of the killing game."

"But were we really willing to join the VR?" Sagiso's eyebrows furrowed. "I… I see so many contradictions to the entire idea that we joined the simulation so willingly."

"Really?" Kaniza's eyes widened. She seemed hesitant, as if she had an answer as well. "W-why do you think so?"

Sagiso frowned. She remembered something. It was too clear in her head.

* * *

 **PRESENT THE EVIDENCE**

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Television Broadcast-**

 **Sagiso:** _Here it is!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"I saw a broadcast while Saori and I were searching around," the woman began, crossing her arms. "While I do believe that Libertas may be held in a high regard because of the article, I'm worried about something that's not about the overpopulation issue."

Saori raised her brow. "The broadcast?" She thought for a moment. Silence. It took a few seconds before her eyes widened. "Oh!"

Minori frowned. "What's wrong?"

The body broker crossed her arms, expression now hardened and uneasy. "The broadcast showed us numerous reports on how much of an increase there was in missing people. They have reported that there was mass panic worldwide. Some turned to Libertas and Theia and other companies for advice and help."

"Yeah, that's basically it." Sagiso gritted her teeth. "I understand that Libertas apparently wants to solve the overpopulation issue, but I find it quite suspicious that there's been a drastic increase in reports of missing people. I'm assuming that includes us as well."

"You… You have a point." Kamui slowly nodded his head. He was cupping his chin, deep in thought. "If that's what you saw, then I honestly would've expected the broadcast to be about overpopulation, not about missing people…"

"Yeah, and it was worldwide." Saori held her breath. She was staring keenly at everyone. "Besides, given Libertas' purpose, wouldn't they want their workers to be motivated through the media? The idea of overpopulation should overpower the idea of missing people given Libertas' cause."

"True. Shockingly enough, they're not focused on helping to find these people." Minori crossed his arms, annoyance and disgust in his face. "So, tying in the idea of missing people to our situation: we've been forced here against our will."

"Not exactly." Sagiso held her breath. "I feel like some, or even all of us have decided to join the program, but we weren't given the exact details of what was happening. Then again… Aside from Fumio and Rin, we might've been forced here."

"Our memories were erased for a reason." Kamui frowned. He moved his hand slowly to scratch the back of his head. "If we were kidnapped, it would make sense. Fumio and Rin are the exception."

Minori sighed. "True, though the idea that some of us might've joined in the program willingly without our knowledge is possible. Like Sagiso said, we might've just been ignorant to what Libertas is actually doing."

Kaniza thought for a moment, then raised a hand. "Wait, but is it truly only us who were being tested on?"

"Huh?" Sagiso raised a brow. "What do you mean by that, Kani?"

"I mean, if you put two and two together…" The astrophotographer scratched her head. She nervously laughed. "Well, excluding the idea of kidnappers and other things, the idea of Libertas kidnapping people is high too, right? And given what Saori and Sagi said, I think we're not the only ones who's been taken hostage by the organization."

"Ah, yeah." Minori cleared his throat, continuing, "Given the drastic increase in the reports of missing people, Libertas could be behind it."

"Hmm, but you're only assuming us." Jiyuu smiled over at the group. His hands were cupped together. "How about Theia? Or the other copycats?"

"... It just sounds like you're not denying it. You're the cause of that." Sagiso glared angrily at the redhead, staring into his eyes. "And why would we suspect Theia? Aren't they your enemy? And the copycats… Why would they copy the concept of 'forcing people to lose their memories and put them into VRs' anyway so? It's obviously immoral."

"Oh god." Kamui's eyes widened. Well, the only one that widened was his one undamaged eye. "If what Kaniza said is true, then that means…"

* * *

 **THINKING TIME**

 **Question: What do Kaniza's words reveal?**

 **A. Fake, her words mean nothing.**

 **B. Over numerous amounts of people are dead because of Libertas.**

 **[C. That there are other people stuck in VRs.]**

 **D. More Ultimates are trapped like everyone else here were.**

 **Kamui:** _This is it!_

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Kamui pointed at Jiyuu, staring straight into him, analyzing and observing him. "How many simulations are you holding at this very moment?"

"Me? Quite a few." The redhead chuckled. "Our beta tests revolve around quite a few groups of people. More than a dozen or so, maybe?"

"What?" Sagiso's expression went white, shocked. "Are those people even willingly participating in this? I doubt it, given that they're probably forced into killing games anyways. You murderer."

Jiyuu smirked. His facial expression was cold, yet smug. It was condescending and obnoxious, his superiority shining over the small group of young adults. "Research purposes. Besides, they're grateful no matter if they know or not. We are saving the issue of overpopulation, after all."

"Asshole." The woman clicked her tongue.

"Wait a second." Saori glanced at the group, worry over her anxious face. "If these people, no matter how many of them compared to the whole, have wanted to be in the experiment, then wouldn't awareness rise against Libertas?"

Kaniza gulped. "If Libertas manipulated everyone, then…"

"That's possible." Minori frowned. "Propaganda, given how Libertas is similar to a cult. Indoctrination is a possibility, and it's not that hard to drag people down when your reputation puts you at a pedestal. The medications, experiments, the results… It's so easy for Libertas to just drag people into their own beliefs."

"It technically is a cult." Sagiso grinned dryly, biting into her lower lip. "People do hold Libertas at a pedestal, and they're considered godly because of it."

"But it does hold merit." Saori glanced over at Jiyuu. "Given what they did, it's astounding to how much power and change they can do. However, like other large corporations, they fell straight into corruption."

"I don't even know how they rose to power." Kaniza crossed her arms. She was looking warily at everyone. "... I guess that's not important though. We wouldn't be able to figure out anyways."

"True." Kamui slowly nodded his head. "So, back to the topic at hand, people other than us have been forced into VRs? That would explain the increase in missing people."

"Yeah, I think so." Sagiso nodded. "There are a lot of socioeconomic factors that play into this, but out of everything, Libertas tampering with the issue would've caused the increase. It's not just overpopulation or any natural causes that would increase the likelihood of missing people, not by a margin. If Libertas did it, especially given their status and power, then it's a possibility they're the cause of the increase."

Jiyuu snickered. "But, Ms. Hazuki, remember: it's not only my company at fault here. With companies as big as us, there is one thing inevitable in the world- the idea of copycats."

"... Right." Minori bit into his lips. His heart was beating at an erratic pace. Still slow, but it was slightly faster than average. "I know Theia's also a huge organization given their connection to the government, but…"

 _The government can always be corrupt. No matter what, there is always a chance something shady is happening._ The pseudologist did not want to admit this, especially when Rin and Fumio were directly involved in Theia, but he knew he shouldn't dance around it. It was not going to contribute to anything, only hurt them.

He gritted his teeth, but forced himself to continue. "If what Mr. Kaijin says is accountable, then companies like Theia and other 'copycats' could've done the same thing Libertas is doing."

"But why?" Kaniza frowned. "It wouldn't make sense. Do companies really have such low and dirty morals?"

"Well…" The pseudologist scratched his head. "Competition, adrenaline… Plenty of things come into play. One thing is for certain though- the government would not want a separate company to overtake their own work and projects. It would only hinder people from depending on the government, making them believe the need for an anarchy is closer and closer than before."

"I guess." Saori adjusted herself on her seat. Her legs were crossed. "That would mean Fumio and Rin's purpose in joining the killing game was to watch it?"

"I think it was to stop it," Kaniza mused.

"But why would they?" The body broker frowned. "If they're doing it to prove to the world how horrible Libertas is, it might not work."

The astrophotographer was shocked. "Really? Why?"

"If they're hosting killing games in return, then they'll be exposed as well. If anything, they would rather keep things silent. Mass panic would arise, or maybe people would be in denial and call out the government for spreading lies." Saori was glaring straight at Jiyuu. "I'm not sure, but I really am doubting that Fumio and Rin's purpose was that."

Kaniza began to play with her locks of hair. She was fidgeting in place. "I thought Fumio told us he was trying to help us escape though? That's why he… last time…"

"Yeah." Sagiso crossed her arms, quickly interrupting Kaniza before she could remember her own wrongdoings. "I don't think Fumio and Rin had any bad intentions at all."

"Really?" Kamui bit into his lips. "I don't know… I don't believe that."

The psychogeographer's eyes widened. "Wait, really? You think they're bad? Our enemy is him right there, not Fumio or Rin."

The mortician flinched, taken aback by Sagiso. Her tone was harsh like always. "No, I- ugh, let me explain."

And so he will.

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Minori's Notebook (9) | Update #298 | Torture Chamber | Drugs**

 **Kamui:** I don't suspect that Fumio and Rin are bad people. I know _**they're good**_.

 **Kaniza:** Yeah, I agree. Fumio did want to _**find the mastermind**_ before he died… It just… It's just my fault.

 **Sagiso:** No, no it's not. Stop saying that.

 **Kaniza:** I… Right.

 **Minori:** I think I know what you're saying, Kamui. You think Fumio and Rin might've been manipulated, right?

 **Kamui:** Yeah, that's what I believe.

 **Sagiso:** I mean, I can see why you would think that, but I wouldn't think it would be that easy.

 **Kamui:** What do you mean?

 **Sagiso:** I would think that we'd _**see signs of their behavior**_ then. I mean, if we are basing this around manipulation and brainwashing, then there would obviously be signs, right?

 **Kaniza:** Is that even a possibility?

 **Minori:** True, but with **[memory loss** ], I would've thought that anything was possible.

 **Saori:** Hm, I would suspect _**drugs**_ could've come into play here to erase that sort of behavior.

 **Sagiso:** But wouldn't everything have _**side effects**_?

 **Kamui:** I do think what Saori said is a possibility. Everything tends to have side effects nowadays. That's what _**caused this dilemma**_ in the first place anyways.

 **Kaniza:** Well… Maybe they could _**fake it**_?

 **Saori:** I'm not sure. A lot of those things are a possibility.

 **Kamui:** You have a point. We can't really deduce what exactly happened to Fumio and Rin, after all.

 **Minori:** I'm sure we'll figure something out. We just need to think about it some more.

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: "... memory loss…"-**

 **Kaniza:** Wait, that's not aligned to what we're saying!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Kaniza shook her head, eyeing Sagiso with an awkward smile. Her hands were still rubbing against each other. Her eyebrows were still furrowed and lips pursed. "I… I don't believe that's right, Sagi."

"Oh, really?" Sagiso simply eyed her curiously. "Why is that?"

The astrophotographer bit into her lips. Her heart was beating quickly. "Our memories had been erased, right? So, I think that it's possible we didn't see anything from Fumio and Rin because of the erasure of our memories."

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Sagiso snapped her fingers together. "If our memories had been erased, then obviously Fumio and Rin's were as well. Yeah, especially when they're both working for Theia."

"Right." Minori nodded his head eagerly. Seemed like they had found an answer. "So, it's possible behaviors or side effects of any drugs or brainwashing has been eliminated. We wouldn't have seen Fumio or Rin act strangely in this case."

"No, that's wrong!"

Minori's eyes widened. Kamui was staring straight at the group. The pseudologist raised a brow. "What's wrong?"

The mortician crossed his arms. "While our memories had been erased, Fumio still had his memories retained. It wouldn't make sense."

"O-oh!" Kaniza gasped. She threw her hands over her mouth. "That's true! So… So this means that isn't possible then."

"Right…" Sagiso slowly cupped her chin, thinking to herself now. "Hmm, then what about the idea that our behaviors were being manipulated? We were under Libertas' control inside the simulation."

Minori bit into his lips. _That's right. Hm…_ He could hear his heartbeat. It's still as erratic and fast as it was earlier. _But what would the answer be?_ He frowned. _Hm, the answer… is unclear at the moment. Nothing's for certain concerning that. Besides, Fumio and Rin's case isn't that important. I'll set it aside for now._

"Either way, we already got confirmation that Fumio and Rin were under Theia and that Theia and Libertas were enemies. If that's the case, it would make sense those two wanted to take down Libertas, leading them to here."

"Yeah." Kamui nodded his head. "I think it's most probable that Theia themselves could've been corrupted. Nothing ever aligns in one particular shade, after all."

"Wow, what a philosopher," Sagiso playfully teased, grinning at the mortician who blushed slightly. Her grin turned upside down. "So, matter what, we're agreeing that Fumio and Rin were working under a corrupt organization?"

"It would make sense." Saori crossed her arms. "Their way of making themselves stand equally to Libertas might as well be to fall under their own morals."

Kaniza scratched her head, sighing. She looked disappointed. "It really is impossible for everyone to place nice and just work together, huh?"

"Don't fret, you'll be okay." Sagiso winked over at her friend. "I'm guessing if Fumio and Rin were brainwashed or not doesn't matter. Theia was considered a copycat to Mr. Kaijin, and assuming from the norms here, they have the potential to be corrupt and follow through on Libertas' plans. It would explain the increase of missing people, included with the other copycats."

Minori laughed nervously. He had seen such corruption everywhere. _Yeah, organizations do tend to hold a messiah-like mindset. They work as a collective, not as individuals. Their sense of morals and humanity are greatly diminished._

"Alright." Kamui cleared his throat, though he only let out a raspy cough instead. "We have gotten that out of the way- that the increase of disappearances can be accounted for Libertas and the copycats."

Minori nodded. "Yeah, that is the most likely possibility. With that out of the way, I want to discuss about something else."

"Hmm, but like what?" Kaniza asked, raising a brow. "There's so much that we can talk about. Too many topics."

The pseudologist thought for a moment, tapping onto his chin. His hand made a habitual reflex around his neck, but upon realizing he lost his scarf, he had nothing to hold onto. The man frowned slightly, though kept his mind cleared. "Let's discuss the obvious bad practices in Libertas."

"Bad practices?" Saori raised a brow. "What's so important about that? It's obvious Libertas is already deep into their bad practices." She gestured around the entire room for emphasis, namely, emphasizing the idea of the killing game.

The astrophotographer's face dropped. Lips curled to a wide frown. "Is it about the torture room?"

Those words immediately sent shivers down Sagiso's spine. Hairs were pricked off from the back of her neck, running down throughout her body. "Oh my god. I haven't even been in that hellhole for a while and it's giving me nightmares already."

"That and the disposal area." Kamui coughed. "They're not at the bottom floor without a reason…"

"Yeah, like you can totally expect them to put those rooms on the top floor," Sagiso then jabbed, though it was more dry than anything. "That would be a great way to introduce your visitors, yup. Totally won't scare them off."

Jiyuu chuckled, shaking his head. "Of course we won't do such a thing. We are not trying to scare away our visitors."

"Well, surely you're scaring someone with those rooms," the psychogeographer scoffed, murmuring under her breath.

Kamui nodded his head slowly. "I bet the people being tortured and killed inside of those rooms are the ones who went against Libertas."

Kaniza gulped. "Yeah, I think so."

 _Hm, I feel like there's something there we can talk about… Other than that, I'm glad everything's going smoothly so far. Mr. Kaijin doesn't look that worried about it either… it's… it's a bit suspicious._ Minori raised a hand up slowly. "Alright, let's talk about that then in detail. We might get somewhere with it."

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Minori's Notebook (14) | Hands | Drugs | Burnt Remains**

 **Saori:** The people who were tortured were the ones who _**went against**_ Libertas. That's what we're claiming, right?

 **Sagiso:** I think that's a fact. I don't see why they would torture _**their own kind**_. There's no reason to do such a thing.

 **Kaniza:** Yeah… They were hurting people from Theia mostly, I think. Them, _**and maybe people from**_ other copycat companies.

 **Minori:** … God, that means Fumio and Rin might've been…

 **Kamui:** Yeah, I was thinking that as well. They could've been tortured… At least, enough to _**not kill them**_.

 **Sagiso:** Honestly, I would argue that's _**worse than death**_ itself. Being tortured is not something to take kindly.

 **Minori:** Yeah, so think of Fumio and Rin being hurt must've _**affected them a lot.**_

 **Saori:** It hurts to think about it.

 **Kamui:** Since Fumio and Rin were spies and were part of the killing game, they were most likely captured and tortured then.

 **Minori:** I think that's most plausible.

 **Saori:** Hm… is that all there is to discuss? I think this isn't too hard to discuss and agree on.

 **Kamui:** Yeah, true.

 **Sagiso:** I'm guessing we can move on to the next topic then.

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Drugs-**

 **Kaniza:** No, you've got that wrong!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Kaniza crossed her arms, looking over at Minori. "I think it's possible they wouldn't be very affected while being… uh, tortured."

"Really?" The white-haired man frowned. "I wouldn't think so at all. Torture by any means would've affected anyone, no matter how thick of a skin they have. Sure, their memories might've been erased or not, but given Fumio… hm…"

"O-oh, no, it's not that." The astrophotographer shook her head. "When I was investigating the torture room, I, well, found something."

Jiyuu simply smiled as Kaniza's eyes fell upon him. Uncanny as always.

Kaniza quickly focused her attention back to the crowd. "While I was inside there, I found these drugs that forced someone into conditioning. From what I've learned before… apparently the drugs are meant to condition you into obeying or doing whatever someone wanted you to do."

Jiyuu chuckled. "Yes, what she saying is true." He grinned, though it was much more malicious than before. "I don't see any reason to doubt her considering how far we have advanced into society."

"Yeah, and that 'we made so many advancements' talk doesn't actually do wonders in reality," Sagiso spat. "Shut up." She glared at the redhead, then turned to Kaniza. "So, given what you said, there were actual drugs made to condition people into doing things. It's like… hypnotism, but without the person having to put the work into conditioning you."

Minori scratched his head. "That's worrying, to say the least. What sort of chemicals and work goes into making these sort of drugs anyways?"

The redhead smirked. "Do you really want to know?"

"... No." The pseudologist shuddered. "I was just asking for the sake of it. I don't think learning about the specifics of how to make that sort of drug is important." Or, at least, he hoped so. That smirk on Jiyuu's face sent chills down his spine. Creepy, and disgusting.

Kamui sighed. He scratched the back of his head. He winced. "It probably has something to do with hormones and how your body reacts to certain stimuli."

"Okay, yeah, but that's another topic." Saori deadpanned. "Continuing on from what we said, Kaniza believes that the use of these drugs hindered the affect of the torture against Fumio and Rin, that is, if they were tortured for information as spies."

"To an extent, the drugs can be used towards anyone in that torture room." Sagiso crossed her arms, frowning. "It would be effective in getting them to speak, given the idea they were under the influence of drugs which are supposed to 'condition' you. They would make you _**do anything in that case**_."

Minori raised a brow as he eyed her. Those words threw him off as nothing more than intriguing, and quite worrying.

* * *

 **STATEMENT LOCK!**

 **WHAT IS UP FOR DISCUSSION?**

 **A. Nothing, it was a joke.**

 **[B. Libertas' rise.]**

 **C. How Fumio and Rin entered into Libertas in the first place.**

 **D. The credibility of the idea of drugs being used.**

 **Minori:** _Let's talk about this!_

 **ADVANCE!**

 **DISCUSSION LOCK!**

* * *

"I see." Minori crossed his arms. He could feel his stomach churn and flutter in anxiety. He could hear his own heartbeat and that annoying sound of white noise ringing in his ears, but he knew he had to continue. "I want to make a claim."

Sagiso raised a brow, baffled. "Yeah, what's wrong?"

"It doesn't sound important," he began, frowning, "but I think we should go over Libertas' bad practices again. I think it relates to what we're talking about with the drugs and how they were able to become so popular with the mainstream media in the first place."

"Yeah, I don't see how that would relate to our situation." The psychogeographer's face hardened. "Why would it matter when it's already obvious how bad Libertas is?"

"Because it's not enough to just hear that everything came as a result of general 'bad practices' and advancements in technology." Minori bit into his lips. "I refuse to believe that we can talk about Libertas effectively without talking about the specifics. Mr. Kaijin either denies or complies with a theory we come up with, but he is never pushed to the brink or stressed out about revealing such information. He's confident we can't save ourselves and figure this entire mystery out."

Sagiso frowned, staring straight into Minori's eyes. "I still don't see why that would matter here. He's confident we won't be able to do anything because our destinies are already 'written out'. We're just here to apparently postpone time and entertain him."

… _True, but that doesn't mean he won't ever be thrown off._ The pseudologist shook his head. "What I'm trying to say is that those drugs are related to Libertas' rise, and not through simple torture."

Sagiso crossed her arms. "What does that mean?"

Minori pointed a finger up, speaking bluntly and confidently, "If the drugs could condition people into doing anything, then the chances of Mr. Kaijin brainwashing people into joining Libertas is up on the table."

Sagiso raised a brow at this. "But being able to create a drug like that would take a lot of work for one person. I would think that he had a team to follow his stupid agenda."

"Of course people can willingly follow him, I'm not saying that's out of the picture." The white-haired man's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm just saying that the creation of that drug would allow for an easier and faster rise of Libertas. And if Libertas is able to create such a drug, I wouldn't think that Theia couldn't make such a drug as well. Theia works under the government and is funded by them, so for them to copy Libertas would be easy. It would account for why those two companies rose above the others, especially if that drug was top secret and Theia was funded by the government."

"But it would be hard to recreate the drug in such a short amount of time." Sagiso crossed her arms. "We don't know exactly what created those drugs."

"They are pills, so machines can easily recreate them. All you need are money and the ingredients." Minori pursed his lips. "If Mr. Kaijin had a team of respectable and influential people, then creating the drug would take only a few years. We are advancing in a way where dying over a simulation is a thing, after all."

Sagiso bit into her lips. She cupped her chin for a moment, then slowly glanced down at her copy of evidence (or, what Monokuma would call them before, truth bullets). "So you're saying that Libertas was able to rise in fame through drugging people?"

"It's like indoctrination, but without the process." Minori nodded. "All you need is a respectable and influential team, money, and the drugs would be administered easily and control the victims."

The psychogeographer's face fell at that. She slowly glanced over at Kamui and the others, then over to Jiyuu who was watching the duo discuss the entire time. "... Would Mr. Kaijin even deny this?"

 **DISCUSSION UNLOCKED!**

 **END!**

* * *

"If you can prove it, I will." Jiyuu chuckled, nodding his head. "I would assure you guys, however, that you wouldn't want to be administered the drug. It can make you do anything, after all."

 _That's suspicious._ Minori frowned. "If that's what you say, then I'm going to assume it can even make you murder."

"... You're completely under the drug's influence. There's a reason why those drugs are kept in the torture chamber." Jiyuu blinked, obviously indifferent to what he was saying.

"That can also be part of the reason why Fumio and Rin were unable to call for help if they were captured or something." Kaniza awkwardly commented in, scratching her head. "Since they were in the killing game, they got captured and…"

The discussion was moving along smoothly, slowly. It was unnerving.

Saori thought to herself for a moment, then furrowed her brows. "The disposal room is where the dead are disposed of, right?"

Jiyuu smiled softly. "That is correct, Ms. Arai."

The look of unease escaped Kamui's face, though Saori's own expression was slightly hindered as well. "Then you disposed Fumio and the others in there, right? They were not in the simulation room we woke up in, after all."

"What?" Kaniza's eyes widened. Her face was slowly turning pale from the sudden words of the body broker. "S-Saori?"

Jiyuu chuckled. "Disposal rooms are used for a reason."

"... So they are dead." Saori gritted her teeth. "I should've known, but…"

"Well, shit." Minori cursed under his breath. He turned to look at Kaniza, her face turning greener and greener. He felt bad for her, but he knew he had to ask. "Hey, Kaniza, can you confirm what Mr. Kaijin said?"

"Confirm? That's a little…" Kaniza sighed loudly. Her shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I'll try." She slapped her cheeks, pumping her fists up a little. She counted herself to three seconds. One, two, and three. She huffed, and forced herself to look forward. "From what I remember, there were about… uh, ten. I couldn't tell if they were… our friends though. The bodies were already in decay and bones at this point. There was a pair of hands too in a trashcan, but I didn't know whose hands they belonged to."

 _A pair of hands? Ten?_ Minori mentally counted to himself. He then looked at the people inside the room. Something was off. Yes, something was off, and he knew what it was. "Kaniza, how did you count the bodies?"

"... By how many skulls were inside the room." Kaniza groaned slightly, feeling queasy. Sagiso quickly reached out to rub her back. "There were ten of them."

"That doesn't add up then." The pseudologist's words were sharp like a knife.

"What?"

Kamui flinched at this. That realization had just struck him. "R-right. If what Mr. Kaijin says is right and that our friends were…" A cough. "... in there, then there should be eleven skulls in there, not ten."

"What's the meaning of that?" Saori threw a look at Jiyuu. "Are you just trying to lie to us? They're not actually dead."

"I can't lie." Jiyuu threw a look over to Minori. "I can't be flexible with your behaviors any longer. We are in reality, so I cannot escape Mr. Watanabe's observations."

"... He's true, and he's not lying." Minori crossed his arms. "There is something off though, but I'm not sure what."

Sagiso blinked. She looked at the pseudologist for a moment, then frowned. "What if you're lying?"

Minori's eyes widened. "What?"

The psychogeographer's face hardened. "I'm going to go back to what we discussed earlier about _**the drugs**_."

* * *

 **DISCUSSION LOCK!**

"Why?" The pseudologist drummed his fingers along the tabletop. "How is that important to the fact that I might be lying?"

Sagiso gritted her teeth. "What if you were under the influence of the drugs? Mr. Kaijin can easily lie in that case and throw us off."

 _Oh fuck._ Minori's heart jumped. _That's a good argument, but…_ He shook his head. "What evidence is there to prove that I'm lying? You're implying that I'm the mastermind in this case then."

"I know." Sagiso's face looked pained, but she quickly forced it through. "You wrote down that you have an injury in your hand, right? A scar."

Minori frowned. He looked down at his hand, eyeing the scar. He nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, and what does that have to do with it?"

The woman crossed her arms. "Where did you get the scar from? You've never had that scar while we were in the killing game."

"That's…" Minori honestly did not know. He had no idea where he got this scar from. "I don't know where I got this scar from. I don't know why I didn't see this scar in the killing game either, unfortunately."

"There's a reason for that, I'm sure." Sagiso held her breath. "That scar must be important if it couldn't be shown in the killing game."

"What?" The pseudologist frowned. "No. I don't think it's that simple. I don't think a scar would be that important to the point of making me look like the mastermind. Where's your proof in that?"

"I'm just suspicious." Sagiso averted her gaze, suddenly uncomfortable. "... Why exactly did you plan this deal out? You were the one who decided on having the motive last time be about our memories, and just thinking about you being a pseudologist makes me feel suspicious, even if I know it's wrong."

"That's…" Minori furrowed his brows. "I get me being a pseudologist won't do me any advantage in gaining trust, and I understand that we're in the real world and have nothing holding us back from our talents, but if I was the mastermind I would've hurt you guys a long time ago. It would be easy concerning my talent, right?"

"But that's because of the drugs." Sagiso slammed her fists down. "If the drugs can condition people to do anything, then conditioning them to act like how you're acting is possible."

… _This is just making things harder._ Minori took a look at everyone else, biting into his lip. _I can't convince them like this. But… I can use what she's saying against her._

"But I can say the same about everyone else," the pseudologist blurted out, slamming his own fists down. "If we're making the argument that I could've been under the influence of drugs, then I can safely say that everyone else here could also be under the influence as well!"

Sagiso's eyes widened. "What? But that doesn't explain your scar at all! And why would the mastermind be under the influence of drugs?"

 _Okay, good._ Minori frowned. "You're assuming that I am the mastermind, so I would like to ask you that. Why would the mastermind be under drugs?"

Her heart jumped. "B-because of what you said earlier! You said that Libertas' rise could be explained through the drugs!"

"Yes, I said that, but it's not like everyone is under the control of those drugs!" Minori threw his hands out. "The mastermind could very well be one of the people who are close to Mr. Kaijin without the use of drugs!"

"Then what about the scar?" Sagiso's brow was raised. "There's no explanation for it! You don't know why you even have the scar apparently!"

Minori shook his head. "My scar doesn't matter! Why would it matter and confirm me as a mastermind or something? Why hide the scar in the first place?"

"I don't know." Sagiso wheezed. "There's no evidence to prove that you're not guilty! I can't trust Mr. Kaijin at all, and it's hard to think of stuff when you were the one who put us in this entire thing in the first place!"

"That's…"

 **DISCUSSION UNLOCKED!**

 **END!**

* * *

Sagiso gritted down into her teeth as she stared at the man, glaring. "It's hard to think about things here when Mr. Kaijin is obviously not afraid of anything here. We're stuck in the enemy's own home, and we're stuck with the guy who's in charge of the damn place, added with the constant threat of the mastermind behind our backs."

"S-Sagi…" Kaniza had her hands cupped, rubbed against one another. Her eyes were darting back and forth from Minori to Sagiso, all in the blink of an eye. "But for it to be Minnie…"

"As hard as it is, we're here to suspect amongst us." Saori instantly spoke out loud, trying to calm Kaniza's rising nerves. Her own eyebrows were furrowed, however. "If Minori is the mastermind, then we fell straight into his trap."

"I'm not the mastermind though." Minori pursed his lips. "The scar does not relate to anything. I wouldn't have made this deal if I was the mastermind and would've let Kamui die when we were caught."

"That's what he wants you to say." Sagiso was obviously referring to Jiyuu- the redhead was just smiling in the background, after all. "You… Out of all of us, your talent would be most useful to Libertas."

"Excuse me?" The pseudologist was hurt. "Just because I have the ability to lie and decipher them? You know fully well I was trying to help you guys out during the simulation."

"But... that's…" Saori went silent. She bit into her lips. She was obviously hesitant now, eyes averted to the floor. "... If someone had gotten the mastermind's background, would Libertas have fabricated the memory or not?"

Sagiso shook her head. "It's hard to ask questions when you're not sure if Mr. Kaijin is telling the truth or not anymore."

"Hey, guys." Kamui awkwardly cleared his throat. Everyone's eyes were suddenly on him. He eyed them worriedly. His one working eye looked over to Minori, then to everyone else. He frowned. "I… I think that instead of focusing on Minori and accusing him as the mastermind, we should focus on solving everything else."

"What? Why?" Sagiso frowned. "If we are able to figure out who the mastermind is, we should take that opportunity and destroy them now."

"Yeah, but that won't get us anywhere. What if Minori isn't the mastermind though?" The mortician coughed. His throat was still dry, but he forced himself to continue. "I know it can be argued that Minori could be the mastermind and might be under Mr. Kaijin's influence, but what if he isn't and we're tricking ourselves? If Minori isn't the mastermind, then we're just wasting time."

"Or stalling time." Jiyuu chuckled, crossing his arms. "Whatever you kids believe is needed to be discussed, then I will not end the discussion. If anything, hearing your input about Mr. Watanabe is interesting to me."

"Oh, shut it." The psychogeographer scowled at the redhead, then turned back to Kamui. "So, what, you want us to drop the idea that Minori could be lying?"

"I understand everyone's anxious because of… our situation," Kamui took a quick glance at Minori, "but I would want solid proof of Minori being the mastermind in order for me to believe it."

Kaniza crossed her arms, hugging herself nervously. "The only proof there is… that's the scar, right?"

"I think we'd be able to explain the scar if we just think rationally about it." Kamui held his breath. "We don't have any conclusive evidence on why Minori has the scar, and whether or not it makes him a mastermind of any sort."

"Still…" Sagiso frowned. "If we can pin down who the mastermind is, we can actually get somewhere with this." She threw a look at Jiyuu. Her gun and taser were still near her. "Besides, i… isn't it suspicious that Minori made a deal with Mr. Kaijin and he easily accepted it? That's just really suspicious in my opinion."

"He did us a favor." Kamui gulped. His throat was burning. "If not this, then we would've been goners already."

"I…" Kaniza looked away. "I honestly don't see any other way for us to have escaped this entire thing. I'm not sure, I just really hate accusing others here…"

"That's understandable." Saori crossed her arms. "But should we really drop the idea that Minori could be the mastermind?"

Kamui nodded his head. "If we just continue to accuse people without any evidence to back it up, then we won't get anywhere. It's better if we drop this idea for now and talk about something else."

"I…" Sagiso sighed. "I guess, but what else is there to talk about?"

Minori sighed softly to himself. _Thank god for Kamui._ He threw a small smile at the mortician before clearing his throat. "Alright, since that is done, I think we should talk about…" He thought for a moment. "Hmm, about how we were able to get here in the first place."

Kaniza released a soft sigh herself. Her worries had been slightly relieved, of course, only for the time being. "Yeah, I'm wondering about that too."

The pseudologist bit into his lips. They were chapped, but he couldn't care less about the blood oozing out. Even if it hurts, he couldn't care less. His focus was elsewhere. Dark green eyes took a careful look at Jiyuu, the one and only CEO of Libertas himself. There was something off. What was it? Minori wouldn't know. He didn't know.

Yet, even if he didn't know, it was obvious- something was wrong, and Minori knew it would corner Jiyuu.

He smirked inwardly to himself.

Perfect.

* * *

That's the end of this chapter. It took a while to get this chapter out, oof, sorry about that! I might update slower than normal since college is coming up, but that is alright. As long as I write, then all would be well! My motivation is sort of running dry, though that's mainly because I just want to get this story done with and the excruciating hot weather outside, aha.

Here are the stories which have long deadlines (promotions!):

 **Danganronpa: Remnants Of My Heart** (Prince PokePersona)

 **Danganronpa: The Pitiful Plague Called Ignorance** (RioA)

 **For Whom the Rabbits Mourn** (SanityRequiem)

And with that settled, I shall hopefully see you all in the next chapter!


	58. Chapter 6 - Part 2, Our World of Lies

Hello, I am actually here with another update! I'm sorry it took over a month to get tis chapter out, but college and stress was keeping me up from doing much. Other than that, mental health and whatnot, but I'm fine now! Anyways, I'm here with this part, and I hope I won't disappoint too badly! I don't really have much else to say otherwise, so let's get straight to the story!

 **Prince PokePersona:** "Yo, nice to see you here! Yes, a lot of copycats and whatnot! Haha, overpopulation, my favorite issue. Jiyuu is a slimy lil man, how creepy. He's also my babey, so I'll protect him. I love being related to my children, these are all my children and I feel an attachment to these children. Anyways, interesting theory! Ooh, Amyto, I miss her craziness. Minori is the mastermind meme is great, yes. Accusation! Oooh, nice. Aww, thanks!"

 **Ziggymia123:** "Yes, believe in your theory! Amazing theory! Aww, thanks! Haha, of course. You just need to read to find out, maybe~"

* * *

 **BIG THANKS TO MY BETA READER: Prince PokePersona!**

* * *

To corner Jiyuu had been Minori's plan all along, and it was obvious. The pseudologist was always observing Jiyuu, analyzing him, reading him. He wanted to break him down, to make certain that this damn man wouldn't be able to keep his damn advantage over them.

Did he know why they were able to escape the simulation? God, it didn't look like it, and he seemed much more engaged in the discussion than beforehand.

It only caused Minori to smirk to himself, and he knew he was going to get somewhere with not only this, but in throwing Jiyuu over the edge.

 _Good. I can't let this opportunity slip away._ Minori set his gaze over to the group, dark green eyes focused and shining with determination. They were staring at him, all with anticipation on their faces. He was going to lead, like always. "I'm very curious to how we got here in the first place. It wasn't planned."

"Yeah, I doubt it was planned." Saori crossed her arms, gaze hardened. "We were obviously supposed to die before that happened."

Kaniza was silent. She looked at the group for a moment, then slowly turning to the side. "... Maybe it would've changed if everyone just voted for me?"

"It wouldn't, stop talking like that." Sagiso frowned, eyeing her friend angrily. "If everyone just voted for you, you'd be dead right now and we might not even be here… I think it's good we voted for ourselves. We're all here, after all."

Kamui nodded his head. "The mastermind knew someone was going to die no matter what, and they wanted us all killed no matter the time or place. That's why they allowed this to happen… for us to vote for ourselves."

"It's just what happened after we voted for ourselves that's messing us up." Minori crossed his arms, staring at everybody. "... I wanted us to vote for ourselves because I have a feeling something is off, and that has to relate to Fumio. His behavior recently up to his death was suspicious even if it might've been because of the brainwashing."

"I doubt he had been manipulated to the extent that we had been though," Saori looked keenly at the group. "In regards to someone like Seiga, it's obvious a lot of us haven't been affected until recently. I have reason to believe Fumio wasn't part of that though until the very end."

Kaniza gulped. "Uh… Why do you say that?"

The body broker's face hardened. "Fumio already exposed to everyone that he was from Theia and while Monokuma edged him into admitting that, he had tried to shoot Fumio down. Of course, Seiga was fortunate enough to save him in time, but that was still something I think should be deemed suspicious."

Saori observed the Ultimates for a moment, then continued, "I think there's something really obvious that points it out for us too."

* * *

 **PRESENT THE EVIDENCE**

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: Update #298-**

 **Saori:** This is it!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Fumio wasn't supposed to even have his memories in the first place, I'm sure that was a mistake." The body broker crossed her arms. "Since Fumio still retained his memories and had made that deal with Monokuma before, we were changing as a response to throw him off. There is a file that told Sagiso and I specifically that Fumio's deal caused our behaviors to be changed- it was to throw him off."

Sagiso's eyes widened. "Right… right, that's exactly right." She turned to look at Jiyuu. He merely looked at her in response, and she only frowned and turned back. "So, just because Fumio still had his memories intact, Libertas tried to keep their control on us by changing our behaviors so he can't actually do anything."

Kamui frowned. "If that was the case, then Libertas didn't want to kill Fumio from the start. Not even Rin."

"They could've killed them the moment they knew those two were from Theia." Minori folded his arms, stiff in his posture. "It was obvious they didn't want to kill despite their affiliations, and Fumio's case made that clear."

"Exactly." Saori smiled slightly, relieved that the pseudologist understood her. She turned to the group and frowned again, though her eyes were shining brighter than ever out of pure confidence. "But they didn't, and used their affiliations to their advantage. It could've been a way to get rid of Theia's spies by throwing them in this simulation, providing both research and making sure Fumio won't do anything."

"I mean, that would've been obvious the moment those two were forced into the game." Sagiso pursed her lips. "If they were able to capture those two, Libertas would've known about their background. And, well, I would think that Theia would do something to get them back."

"Yeah…" Kaniza trailed off. Her eyes were glazed over, looking at everyone in the audience. Her face only paled in response. "Maybe… Then maybe Theia was the one who brought us back? I mean, it wouldn't explain why we were all alone when we got here, but… It'd make sense."

"Yeah, it'd make sense." Minori scratched his head, dark green eyes glancing at Jiyuu every once in a while. "But obviously something happened the moment Monokuma was about to kill us, and when we came to we were all alone. Monokuma obviously wanted to get rid of us because we were actually getting close to stopping him or outright annoyed him, which, in my opinion, makes this all the more suspicious."

"Why?" Sagiso raised a brow, confused. "Because Mr. Kaijin was the one who vouched for the killing game as something to research?"

"I don't think we're the only ones who could've been researched." Kamui crossed his arms and frowned. "Like we suspected before, we were pulled from either a list or held against our will. The amount of people disappearing is high in numbers, and many organizations have been copying what Libertas has done."

Kaniza's eyebrows furrowed. "Y-yeah… Other people may have been forced into killing games, so it doesn't matter if we're all…" She shuddered. "Disposed of."

"Yeah, especially since we're the 'troublemakers' here." Minori smirked slightly, eyeing Jiyuu who only stared at him keenly. "Monokuma got bored of us for a reason, and that was because we weren't going on your orders which, in my opinion, I find hypocritical. If you wanted us to comply to your research as much as possible, you shouldn't have toyed with our emotions and whatnot."

Jiyuu frowned. Distaste was on his face. "Mr. Watanabe, that was only because of the dangers you and your acquaintances have thrown at us. We had plenty of other people to research as well. As you said, disposing of you guys wasn't part of the original plan, but it was to be expected."

 _Oh. He seems to be breaking._ Minori instantly knew he had to press on. "Then what was the original plan? To just observe us for your research? You already knew of the danger you were getting into when you brought in Fumio and Rin… in all actuality, you should've known of all the dangers when Theia was involved."

"Theia is nothing more than a copycat, a sad replica of us." The redhead instantly scoffed, rolling his eyes upon impulse. "And, like I mentioned before, you guys are worth nothing if you cannot follow our agenda."

"It was already obvious you guys went off track the moment Fumio made a deal with Monokuma." Minori frowned, glaring at the older man. "You only wanted to keep us because we were still of use in your agenda. What caused you to want to get rid of us was because of Fumio."

Sagiso clapped her hands together. "Right! And it's also because of how much we were able to overtop you and overturn any decision that might've hurt us in the long run." She smirked over at the man. "You're afraid of us, huh?"

"Afraid? Ha! Why would I be afraid?" Jiyuu instantly smirked in return, mocking the poor woman. "I cannot be afraid of some teenagers' puny little brains. You guys cannot comprehend the meaning behind everything. You're focused on who's the mastermind and how to escape, but you've only gotten nowhere."

"Of course we've gotten somewhere." Saori's voice was calm, though her expression showed more than just indifference. "It's a slow process. Haven't you seen how well we did when we were forced to play your dirty game?"

Jiyuu shrugged mockingly. "Not necessarily. It's a constant battle between what is right, and what is wrong."

"... I would've expected the mastermind would want Fumio dead then." Kamui glanced over at everyone, still speaking with his dry and hoarse throat.

"That's true." Saori held her breath. "But if the mastermind did it with their own hands, then they would have to be the one to get executed."

Kaniza frowned, biting into her lip. "That is a good argument… would Libertas here just let them die though?"

"Of course not." Jiyuu's smile turned relatively calm again. "We want to make sure our workers are as happy and safe as can be."

"Which is a lie." Minori pointed at the man. "Those drugs that we saw in the torture chamber, and, well, that place in particular… you could've easily used them to brainwash the people here. If not harming people like Fumio and Rin, then they were definitely used in some other way."

"We're only big because of how successful we are." The redhead snickered. "I'm surprised you still believe in the idea that we would willingly brainwash our own followers."

"I mean, by the way you're speaking, you're legitimately some crazy cult leader." Sagiso continued to smirk dryly at the man. "Cults can rise for a reason. Indoctrination, brainwashing… so many things can happen."

 _The obvious reason why Jiyuu isn't that concerned is because we're inside of his headquarters. We're trapped in his eyes._ Minori observed the man for a long moment, staring into his eyes. That look of pure confidence and arrogance was disgusting. "Whatever you believe, it's obvious you have no idea why we were able to escape the simulation. We avoided mass execution."

That caused Jiyuu to grow silent. He was glaring into the pseudologist's eyes.

"Nice, you shut him up." Sagiso laughed, amused. She was eyeing Minori with a small smile. "So, concerning the idea that we've escaped the simulation, it happened before Monokuma could have us killed."

Saori thought for a second, then looked over at the white-haired man. "Excuse me, but I want to know your exact reasoning, Minori."

"For suggesting that we vote for ourselves?" Minori frowned. "I honestly based it on my intuition. I don't know… I felt like there was an itching voice calling out for us to not vote for Kaniza or Fumio or someone. I… I'm not sure. Like I said, I thought it had to do with Fumio."

The psychogeographer only bit into her lips in response. "I know I haven't said this before and that it's obvious, but you only make yourself sound even more suspicious, Minori."

"I know that." The man frowned, eyebrows furrowed. "But the question of how we were able to be saved is still out there."

"Yeah, that's right." Kaniza gulped. Her face was slightly pale. "So, it would have to relate to Fumio, right? Since we said he was mainly the cause for our change in behaviors and caused their plans to go haywire…"

Sagiso nodded her head. "I hate to talk about that incident again, but…" She sighed. "Kaniza, what do you remember while, uh, y'know? Sorry."

"It's fine." The astrophotographer pursed her lips, nose slightly wrinkled and movements fidgety. "Since Fumio wanted to lure out the mastermind, he wanted to make sure everyone was immobile and 'threatened'. I wanted to capture the mastermind too and save us all, but given what happened… I guess Fumio fell under the mastermind's hands as well if his behavior had been shifted."

Minori cupped his chin, frowning. "Hm… And he died through suffocation." He glanced over at Kamui. "Is it possible for people who died from suffocation to 'revive'?"

"... Without CPR, it would be hard for them to, in your eyes, 'revive'." Kamui stared intensely into the pseudologist. "The Case File stated that Fumio was dead."

Saori pursed her lips, eyes averted to the ground. "There's… there's something off with that." She held her breath. "I feel like something's wrong."

The mortician's eye instantly widened. "What is it?"

"I'm not exactly sure." She furrowed her brows. "I… I have a feeling I know, but I can't get it out of my head. It's close, but…"

"It's fine." Minori raised a hand up, calm in his expression. "Let's talk about it then."

* * *

 **NONSTOP DEBATE**

 **Truth Bullets: Badge | Barricaded Door | Torture Chamber | Burnt Remains**

 **Minori:** So, Saori, what were you trying to say?

 **Saori:** I'm not sure, I just… I believe the entire case revolving around Fumio and Sheina was off for some reason.

 **Kaniza:** Ah, I mean, well, I'm _**not the best**_ when it comes to murders.

 **Sagiso:** Uh, Kani, I doubt anyone _**wants to be good at murdering**_.

 **Kaniza:** True. Haha, just ignore me then.

 **Kamui:** If what I'm assuming is correct, then you're suspicious about Fumio's death in particular, right?

 **Saori:** That's correct.

 **Minori:** Saori has a point. I mean, Fumio was _**trying to find the mastermind**_ , after all. That obviously would've made Monokuma and the mastermind want him dead.

 **Kaniza:** I mean, Monokuma wanted us dead anyways because of how rebellious we were or something, right?

 **Sagiso:** Yup, so props to us for that! Ahem, anyways, I guess it's obvious the mastermind wanted Fumio to die, so was that why the mastermind made Fumio act crazy towards Kani? They manipulated Fumio's behaviors in the end even when they only wanted us to act crazy instead.

 **Kamui:** I'm… not sure about that. We did get _**out of hand**_ , so they just wanted all of us dead by the end of everything.

 **Saori:** I'm surprised they didn't just decide to murder us all straight out. The mastermind has the means to do so, after all.

 **Sagiso:** True, but I'm assuming this was still some sort of _**research to Libertas**_ anyways. How we'd react in moments of utter despair, after all.

 **Minori:** And then there's the problem of Fumio being part of Theia. Libertas obviously wanted to get rid of him the moment he tried to catch the mastermind, and, as we said, that was why he ended up being a victim of their brainwashing as well.

 **Saori:** I believe that there's something strange, _**something about his death**_ , but I'm not sure what.

 **Kaniza:** Really? But I'm sure I suffocated him… I mean…

 **Sagiso:** Hm, maybe it has some weird thing to do with the **[simulation itself]**?

 **Kamui:** The simulation? I mean, but _**everyone actually does die**_ there. The disposal room proves that.

 **Kaniza:** Then maybe… hm, maybe it has to do with not Fumio, but _**Sheina**_?

 **Saori:** I doubt that. I'm not sure.

 **-Truth Bullet Selected: "... simulation itself…"-**

 **Minori:** I agree with that!

 **BREAK!**

* * *

Minori looked over at Saori, crossing his arms. While he wasn't sure of this idea himself, it was better than nothing. "I think what Sagiso suggested is going on the right path. I believe that the simulation led us to believe that Fumio was dead."

"What?" Saori frowned. "But why would the simulation do that? Libertas wanted Fumio dead though, right?"

"They do." The pseudologist frowned in return, gaze hardened. "However, I think Fumio was the reason we were able to survive and escape from the simulation."

Minori cupped his chin, thinking for a few seconds. He continued, "There must be a reason why Fumio didn't get his memories erased, yet Rin did. It would be naive to think that Libertas is clumsy with how they handle their work."

"That is a good point." Sagiso nodded her head, pursing her lips. "It shouldn't be that easy for someone like Fumio, who is a spy, to not be targeted by Libertas. It's too convenient for Fumio and inconvenient for Libertas in this matter."

"True." Kaniza gulped, clutching her hands together. "But why then?"

The pseudologist frowned. "Well, how about this… what if Fumio implemented his own system, or hacked the entire simulation from top to bottom?"

"What?" The psychogeographer was shocked, eyebrows raised. "What do you mean by that?"

He pointed a finger up. "What if Fumio implemented a system into himself that would work against Libertas' control?"

Sagiso frowned. "Explain."

"Yeah, of course." Minori nodded his head. "What I'm trying to say is that Fumio may have implemented some sort of device or microchip inside of his head in order to prevent Libertas from messing with him. I'm assuming it had something to do with if he were to ever die, like some sort of shot into his brain if he had 'died'. And, assuming this from Fumio's talent, he would've obviously had ways to make sure he wouldn't die and instead focus on saving us even if it was 'impossible'."

Kaniza gulped, holding her hands together. "But what about Rin then?"

"It was most likely a thing only Fumio had. He might've conducted this thing by himself, or at least with his closest acquaintances." The pseudologist crossed his arms. He thought for a second, then continued. "He was most likely working on a way to hack into the system, and he was prepared for the consequences, so he implemented something into his brain which would allow him to come back from 'the dead'. This was how he was able to save us all. He wasn't actually dead, or, if he was, for a few minutes."

Saori pursed her lips. "... Then what became of it? He's not here. We don't know what happened to the simulation."

"Hmph." A smirk rose on Jiyuu's face. He was staring maliciously at the group, particularly at Minori. "Well, if that's the case, then I'm glad. Mr. Fujiyoshi would've died in this case."

"Because the simulation died?" Kaniza's face paled. "Oh god, no, Fumio…"

"I don't see why you're so happy about it." Sagiso threw a glare at Jiyuu. "If anything, all that happened was that Fumio one-upped you, and we're still alive to your misfortune."

"Not necessarily." Jiyuu frowned in return, eyebrow raised. "It's not like you children would've been able to escape from here anyways. Sure, you can hide, but escaping from this building into the outside world is impossible."

The pseudologist scoffed. "Even if we cornered you and the mastermind?"

"Oh, I'm sure." Jiyuu's lips immediately curled into a smirk.

Sagiso frowned. "You do know that Fumio could've tried to call for help this way? If he had implemented something himself, I would expect he was smart enough to connect himself to Theia."

"Of course I'm certain of that." Jiyuu chuckled, amused to Sagiso's distaste. "That's why we have measures against the outside world, after all."

Kamui raised a hand up, albeit meekly. "Why do you refer to the outside as the 'outside world'? It sounds… I don't know, rather specific."

A simple smile. "Simply because the outside world is a realm where sinners partake in. We are inside of a habitat which house those who are meant to save sinners, to free them from their sins. At the moment, however, the outside world is a realm full of hate and disgust. Criminals roam about, after all."

"I mean…" Kaniza awkwardly laughed, pulling back a lock of hair. "... you and the others are criminals for committing the horrible crimes you do."

"Oh, so Ms. Tsukitaiyo has a backbone now." Jiyuu smirked, noticing the slight shock and shudder on Kaniza's face. "I would give you credit for that, but the answer revolving around who the mastermind is hasn't been revealed. Do you truly not know who's in charge of your simulation?"

"You're egging us on now?" Sagiso threw the redhead a bewildered look. Her hand was slowly moving towards her weapon, if not ever so slightly. "Do you have a plan in mind or something?"

Amusement rolled on his face. "Do I?"

"Hmph. He's most likely doing that since he has an answer to what happened with Fumio." Saori averted her gaze, breath kept stalled. "I… I think he wants to end this discussion already for something."

"I don't see why he would though." Minori's heart jumped. Slightly offbeat, slightly. "He doesn't look like he's going to end this discussion soon anyways."

"But what if I do?" Jiyuu chuckled, his smile still intact. A calm smile, but a superficial one nonetheless. "What if I went on to say that Mr. Watanabe has been aligned with me since the start?"

Silence. Chill.

"What?" Minori blinked. "Excuse me, what?"

The redhead's smile only darkened at this. "While this little discussion has been fun, I think it is time for myself to make his divine revelation. Here, I'll explain through simple questions." He stood up and pointed a finger up. "One, who created this deal with me?"

Uncertainty. Confusion. Bewilderment.

"It's a simple question." A chuckle. "Isn't it such an easy question? The person who created the deal was none other than Mr. Watanabe himself. You saw it, right?" He pointed straight at Kamui. "Right?"

"Y-yeah…?" Kamui gulped, sweat trickling from his bandaged forehead. "What point are you trying to make…?"

"H-he's obviously trying to trick us!" Kaniza threw on a quick intervention, her lips forcibly curled into a smile- a hopeful smile. "I doubt that Minnie's… I highly doubt that he's with them!"

"Of course I'm not." Minori pursed his lips, expression pale. "I wouldn't do this if I was the mastermind."

Jiyuu clapped his hands together. "Then let's do this the elementary way." He pointed another finger up, eyes directed towards the group. "Who here knows much about Mr. Watanabe's past? Simple question, but a needed one."

Everyone looked around the room. Saori slowly raised a hand up, silent.

"Perfect." He chuckled. "Then we know that Mr. Watanabe killed his father and ended up aligning himself with me."

"What?" Minori blinked. "I don't even know what you're talking about. All I remember was being coerced by investigators to admit what I did. That's all I remembered."

"Of course, but that isn't the whole story." Jiyuu smirked. His face was entirely that of amusement. "You were a rebellious type throughout the entire thing. Stuff was needed to be done in order to even make you comply."

The pseudologist frowned, glaring at the redhead. "You're speaking nonsense. There's no evidence to support your reasoning at all."

"Hmm, are you sure about that?" The redhead hummed. "Then let's test it out. Remember, the amount needed to make someone fall under your control becomes less and less as you keep injecting them with the serum."

"What?"

Before Minori could even do anything, shots were heard around the world. Tranquilizers? Darts? The pseudologist didn't know, only registering the cries of shock that escaped throughout the room. Dark green eyes looked around, left and right, left and right. His friends… all of his friends fell down, limped.

All of them. All of them, except for Sagiso herself.

The steam that escaped the head of the gun came from where Sagiso stood. The tranquilizer gun in her hand was pointed upwards, almost menacingly. She was silent. Her eyes were staring into Minori's for a second, then turned to Jiyuu. A few seconds passed. Her lips slowly, slowly curled to a smile. "False hope, right?"

"W-what? W… why?" Minori found himself unable to say anything else. All he sputtered was nothing more than this stupid, stupid word of, "Why?"

Jiyuu's attention was turned to the psychogeographer. His hand was on the handle of his own gun. "Hmm, you're still as surprising as ever, Ms. Hazuki. I am quite pleased with what you have done, but it's not enough to appoint you as my next successor."

"I'm fine with where I am." The woman raised a brow, spinning the gun in her hand. "I have so much more to prove to you. I allowed your subjects to escape, after all."

"That is alright. It ended up doing well in the end." Jiyuu crossed his arms, nodding slowly. He glanced over at the pseudologist. A grin escaped his lips. "How was it? Did you enjoy it?"

"T-that's…" Minori's heart was beating. He felt like his entire body was burning up, ears ringing and breathing hitched. "What…?"

"Do you still not remember?" Jiyuu raised a brow, a mixture between bewildered and annoyed. He then smiled. "Ah, right, you most likely need the injection."

"Does he need it?" Sagiso slowly unloaded her gun, then inserted a few bullets inside. She clicked it, then aimed at the white-haired man. "Just give me the go, and I'll shoot it in."

"S-Sagiso." Minori threw his hands up, forcing himself to stare Sagiso in the eyes. He had to calm himself down, to make himself relax. He could hear the breathing of his friends- they're still alive, conscious? He wasn't sure. "You're working with Mr. Kaijin?"

Sagiso tilted her head. "Yeah? You're also working under him. We're in this together, Minori."

"I'm not." The pseudologist frowned. "I don't remember doing anything that can remotely throw me into Libertas' hands."

Sagiso glanced over to Jiyuu, and the redhead chuckled. He clapped his hands together, and the room suddenly turned dark. A light. The entire room, the walls- they were projectors. They were projecting something… something that Minori may or may not recognize.

* * *

 _The video was slightly dark, almost befitting of the same room Minori and the others had found themselves in upon awakening. The difference is, however, the amount of people inside the room. Around an estimated sixteen people, all familiar to Minori's eyes._

 _There seemed to be a scene happening. Noises were heard in the recording. While Minori and Sagiso were talking to a few people, someone was screaming at the nearby distance. Someone familiar. Someone very familiar._

 _It was Asami. The knight herself was near the corner of the room, glaring angrily at an unknown stranger, a man, a worker._

" _Don't tell me what to do!" The knight cried, slapping the worker's hand away from her. "Everything about this screams suspicious! I did not consent to this."_

" _Asami?" Seiga popped out from where he stood, making a step over to Asami. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"_

 _The knight looked at the worker for a second, then glanced over at Seiga. "I know that everyone's been following Libertas because of the amount of stuff they did to help the world and I know I'm part of that group, but… isn't it suspicious? This whole room looks suspicious! This room is so dark and creepy!"_

 _Amyto yawned. "I mean, I think it's just you. I think it's fine. I mean, we're going to some virtual world anyways, so it doesn't matter."_

" _Of course it does!" The knight scoffed. She threw another glare at the worker. "You can't make me join. I want to leave."_

" _You already signed the consent forms and went through the examination tests." The worker smiled calmly, eyeing the young woman. "You cannot leave."_

" _And why not?" Asami clenched into her fists. "Why can't someone who willingly wanted to join an experiment leave halfway or right into the experiment? Don't you care about your participants' safety?"_

 _The worker frowned. He turned to the other participants. "Please enter into your capsules. I will talk to Ms. Karihime for a while."_

 _And, as if robotic and completely devoid of any thought, everyone went into their capsules- all except for the worker, Asami, Sagiso, and even Minori. The capsules made a noise, and they closed. Everyone else was left to their demise, their unconsciousness. Smoke. Steam._

" _What do you want?" Asami asked, looking at the worker. "Why won't you let me leave?"_

 _The worker's eyebrows furrowed. "Because you had already consent to this. You cannot go back on your word, Ms. Karihime."_

" _T-that doesn't make sense!" Asami clenched her fists. Her face was becoming red, beet red. "That's not ethical at all! I'm leaving!"_

 _Before the knight could turn towards the door, Minori quickly blocked her way. She looked at him in shock, and he looked down at her. The knight was unsure of what to say, silent. She glanced over at the worker who only sneered at her, then glanced near the door to find Sagiso to the side of it. They were definitely trying to stop her._

" _W-why are you blocking the way?" Asami held her breath, hitched. "I can't believe you would do this. They're our enemies."_

" _That's not it." Minori was speaking softly, bluntly. "You need to calm down and participate in the simulation. Please."_

" _But…" The knight frowned. "There's no way you're helping him. You and…" She glanced over at Sagiso. "I cannot believe it!"_

" _Yes." Minori's eyes were dull. "Now please step aside."_

 _Asami stood up, strong and confident. "No, I won't move."_

 _The pseudologist only frowned at this. He took a look at the worker who smirked at him. Silence. A sigh escaped his lips. Dull eyes stared down on Asami. "Please step aside. I don't want to hurt you. Orders are orders, and I have the order to hurt you if you try to leave."_

 _The knight only pursed her lips. Her breaths were hitched, shaky. "I… I'm going to leave. You cannot tell me what to do. Sorry." She slowly reached to her side, hand gripped over to the handle of her sword. "Just step aside."_

 _The worker smirked wider. It only caused Minori to frown. He took a step forward. "I cannot do that. Please don't act rash."_

 _Asami unsheathed her sword. She pointed it angrily at the man. "Move aside. I'm getting out of here, and going straight to the police."_

 _Minori's eyebrows furrowed, and he immediately pressed forward._

 _The sword rammed in, and the pseudologist quickly covered his palm red. It caused Asami's eyes to widen, and Minori to wince with the sword stabbed into his hand. It only caused a millisecond before he quickly moved forward and roughly pinned the knight down._

 _And she would call for help, but no one was there to help._

" _What a naughty girl." The worker grinned. He was towering over Minori and Asami. A shiteating smile kept steady on his face. "Why don't we punish her?"_

" _... Alright."_

 _And before there was anything else that can be done, Minori threw the knight over his shoulder and moved down the room._

 _Screaming._

 _All that could be heard left was screaming._

* * *

The projector was shut off. Everything went silent now, but all Minori could hear was his own heartbeat, his ears ringing. It was just… silence. What should he say? What can he say? He didn't know, and honestly he didn't even want to say anything at the moment.

Jiyuu was smirking, amused at the silence of the poor man. He ran through his red hair, eyes staring down Minori. A chuckle. "See? He doesn't need a bullet in him to make him know his role in this place."

"Hm… still." Sagiso frowned, gun still pointed for Minori's head. "He's still in shock. He might still be in denial. He needs to be the little lapdog as always, right?"

Jiyuu laughed. "Yeah, you do have a point there."

Minori shook his head. His ears were continuing to ring, his heart beating. His stomach had continued to churn and ache. "... You forced me into helping you guys because you knew I killed my dad."

"Not just because of that. We saw potential in you." The redhead snickered, now eyeing the people on the ground. They were unconscious, unable to do anything. "You were able to hide yourself well through all the lie detectors and detectives. Other than that, you had no remorse or guilt, only care for the future."

"Shut it." Minori averted his gaze, holding his breath. "... I don't want to hear it anymore."

Sagiso stepped forward. "That is alright. You don't need to hear it, just follow. Just come back to our side and you won't need to hear from his mouth." She chuckled, looking at Jiyuu who rolled his eyes. "Besides, it was mainly me who recruited you in. You're basically my partner!"

The pseudologist couldn't muster up the courage to refute her, only murmuring a single, "Partner?"

Sagiso smiled at him, the grip in her gun loosening. She brought it down in exchange for moving a hand to Minori's cheek, caressing it gently. "Of course. The only person you obey is me. Mr. Kaijin is also in control of you, but you're mainly my partner in crime here."

Normally, the man would've blushed and caressed her back as a teasing gesture, but all he felt now was disgust and utter humiliation. He quickly swiped her hand away, breath hitched and face pale. "Y-you are not in control of me, I…"

"Of course you are!" The woman laughed. She was swinging the gun in her hands freely. "Just a single drop of drugs and you're immediately in my control. You've been drugged to the point of no return, y'know? Sure, we could demonstrate it by drugging you right now and whatnot, but honestly, I think you're already under control that it only requires a lack of thought and powerful suggestion. The voice in your head that told you to create the deal with Mr. Kaijin- it was obviously a plan doomed to fail, but you still did it, right? A simple motion of eye movement from the one who drugged you, and you're immediately submissive to their will. It's amazing."

He felt… off. He felt like his entire body didn't even belong to him at this point. An existential crisis. Was it one? Was it even considered one? God, he didn't know. He just… couldn't think. He didn't want to think.

"One who's been drugged to the point of no return wouldn't have known that their thoughts aren't entirely their own, their life was a lie…" Sagiso stopped herself, silent. A few seconds passed, and then a sigh. "Truly, it's quite tragic." She turned to Jiyuu. "Mr. Kaijin. I suggest we should try creating a cure for that drug. It would help those who's been brainwashed and forced into those underhanded cults and organizations."

"Really?" Jiyuu raised a brow. "It wouldn't necessarily help your mother with her illness. You already got her cured anyways, so why suggest it now? You don't care about the safety of everyone else outside, only about the environment."

"Hmm, I mean, it'll help with money." Sagiso frowned. "We need to make as much money as we can to flourish this company and secure our finances. The space project cost over millions, if not at least a billion dollars."

"Of course it did." Jiyuu chuckled, then looked back at Minori who was silent. His expression brightened. "Do you have any suggestions? I'm sure someone like you can still contribute, Mr. Watanabe. You're not completely an animal without a brain to think."

Silence. He couldn't think.

He didn't want to think.

"He saw the entire world in a lie." Sagiso was speaking to Jiyuu now, frowning. "You should give him time to realize the game we threw him in." A groan. "I did not expect us to even get this far, so the sudden realization of who he is must be throwing him off badly right now."

The redhead merely snickered at that. "I suppose so." His head turned to the side. "I know I said that I was going to get rid of your friends, but do you have any other suggestions for them, Ms. Hazuki?"

"You mean…" Sagiso's face hardened as she followed his gaze. Her face fell as she noticed the black locks of hair that belonged to a specific friend of hers. "... I don't care what you do with them."

Lie.

Was that lie?

… It was a lie.

"Are you sure about that?" Jiyuu scratched his head. "I would assume you would have an idea. You always seem to give me suggestions to every idea I had before, even when I first met you that one time. The overpopulation issue was solved so easily because of you, and you can always find your use here."

"They're just Ultimates, nothing special." Sagiso glanced to the side, frowning. There was a moment of hesitation in her words, but Minori couldn't tell if that was his own imagination or not. "No matter what, they're just the same as everyone else- human."

Truth.

That was the truth.

Was it the truth?

God, he didn't know.

He didn't know, and he didn't fucking care anymore.

Jiyuu slowly stepped around one of the lying bodies. He dug a foot in. He observed the woman's reaction. A smile escaped his lips. "Hmm, so I'm assuming we should place an order for their bodies to be shipped tomorrow? We still have the other crates to ship."

"Mhm." Sagiso made a small glance over at Minori, but stopped herself. She sighed and crossed her arms. She stepped forward, slowly. She grabbed gently at his arm. "Hey, do you want to rest? I'll take you to your room."

Minori threw a look at her. He was silent.

Was that expression on her face genuine or fake? God, he couldn't even tell anymore. No matter what he would think, he was sure it was just someone messing with his head.

Was death preferable? Maybe he should've allowed himself to just die. He could die with his fucking father, and at least his siblings would still be alive.

Funny. That's a funny idea.

He felt Sagiso tug at his arm, and he heard voices. He couldn't care less though, only allowing himself to be dragged off. His dull eyes looked down at the unconscious bodies, and even when he thought they would move and tell him to take action, he was frozen and was taken away without a struggle.

Blackout.

Blackout.

He blacked out.

* * *

"Minori, have you seen this?"

Sagiso quickly made her way over to the man. He only looked at her for a second, then glanced down at the file she had in her hands. He slowly took it, breathing through his flu mask. Slowly, he brought his gloved hands over and opened it, reading it carefully with his dull eyes.

A few minutes passed, and he slowly fixated his attention to Sagiso. Her hair was braided as usual, though it was longer now given the amount of months that had passed by. He frowned. "... Chisiki Medical Institute? Why are they important? I thought you were more focused on monitoring the riot we took notice of yesterday. That cult is doing quite a lot of damage in Tokyo at the moment."

"Hmm, because Mr. Kaijin recently employed three of our coworkers to talk to the institute." The psychogeographer smiled, brushing back a few locks of unfixed hair. "I find it exciting, even more so than that dumb riot. Sure, I am quite interested in Watari since he obviously plays a major role in those things recently, but it's nothing too special nowadays. How about you?"

"... I don't care." Minori closed his eyes. "I'm more focused on following your orders."

"What? Aw, I didn't even order you to do anything today," Sagiso said with a pout, puffing her cheeks out. "You're such a workaholic."

The white-haired man raised a brow. "I suppose. I still need to go over the other files you told me to organize yesterday."

"You already looked through those like three times already." The woman sighed, shaking her head. "God, you're too high on drugs, I bet you."

"Drugs?" Minori's face slightly twitched into bewilderment. "What do you mean?"

"That's… nothing." Sagiso averted her gaze. A few seconds passed by in silence. It was an unnerving silence, and it didn't take long before the woman coughed, cleared her throat again. A small smile forced itself on her lips. "Look, even if I never say it, I… I actually really care about you."

Silence. Minori's focus was on the files on the shelf.

Her expression soured. "God, I guess they… I guess I drugged you that much, huh? I…" She nervously scratched her head. "It's alright. It's… yeah, it's just because we didn't want you to escape from our grasp. You really are good at deciphering lies and truth, y'know?"

The sound of flipping papers.

"... Yeah." Sagiso slowly stepped back. "I should… Yeah, I should probably leave. I need to tell Mr. Kaijin something."

Minori made a soft noise, but it was nothing more than a noise.

Another step back. "... Just for the betterment of the world… yeah…" A moment of hesitation, and the woman quickly made her way to the door.

It locked, and she quickly kept herself against the door.

Breathing.

Breathing.

Breathing.

Like always, a sudden picture of Kaniza and the others painted her head.

It wasn't her fault. It wasn't her fault.

She only did this to satisfy Jiyuu, Libertas. She only did this to better the world, to observe the world. She wanted to cure her mother too, so what was wrong with that?

Everything.

She molded Minori into doing what she wanted him to do. Sure, she lied to him and made him believe that he could trust her, that he had a mind of his own…

Yeah, but it was all for science. It was all for the betterment of the world. It was all for experimentation.

There was nothing wrong with that.

There was nothing wrong with that at all.

So, why does her heart hurt? Why does it ache?

Why is it aching now?

Why was it aching before, the exact moment when she would feel the warmth of Kaniza and the others against her skin?

And why was it still aching, especially when Sagiso knew she had the choice to keep them safe, and yet told Jiyuu to throw them straight into the beast's cage?

Betterment of the world. Observe the world.

She was justified. Her actions were justifiable, right?

She only did what she did because destroying the lives of only a few will save the lives of the rest, right?

Was that really right? Was that the answer?

Libertas believed that, so she had to believe that.

It's alright.

She grabbed her hands and cupped them together. She brought them to her chest. Her heart was beating, her body was shaking, her entire face was pale.

It's alright, at least she was saving the world.

She was saving the world.

* * *

... And that's the end of this chapter! I originally did think to make this happier, and then I had another thought to make this sadder than it is now, but this is what you get instead, oop. I had plenty of trouble writing the ending that I wanted here out of stress and a lack of like for what I had in mind, and in the end I ended up writing this which I'm fine with! I was having trouble actually getting to this part, so I'm happy I actually was able to finish this! I admit that I'm really lacking when it comes to working out trials and murders and whatnot, but this story helped me improve with it! I had to start somewhere, and this was the story that was it for me! Haha, I wrote this story back in high school, and now being in college, I definitely feel like I've improved since then, especially with my writing! I'm definitely going to try harder in my other stories and future ones to come, so I'm glad I was actually able to stay motivated and work hard in order to finish this!

I'm not sure if I'll make an epilogue or not for this though. I was thinking that I might do it, but it'd be heavily focused on making references to future things or stuff from the past, not sure yet! Of course, it'll mainly be focused around Sagiso and Minori, or maybe even just Libertas and the world itself. Hmm, not sure yet, but I most likely will!

I'm really bad at being mushy gushy, but it mainly thanks to you guys who read this story and show your love for it that helped me actually write! Even if I hate admitting it, I only write to see the reactions from other people and make them excited! I'm glad I was able to excite you guys and not just fall off from the pile into the dead ground. It makes me happy knowing that I've written so much to get to the end, and it was all because of you guys supporting me! It is really hard for me to be motivated when it comes to writing and actually doing work, so a huge shoutout to you guys for that!

Geez, I don't know how to end this. Er, all I can say is thanks again, and I'll hopefully see you all when I get an epilogue out!


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